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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I woke up around 8 am and went to my 39-week prenatal appointment. I had been having steady Braxton Hicks all morning but nothing painful so I didn't tell myself it was labor until after lunch when things kicked up a gear.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
My labor was incredibly smooth. I received great support through my husband, sister (doula) and midwife. I labored at home until my contractions were about 2 and a half minutes apart for a couple of hours and then I went to the hospital at the insistence of my sister but I would have been comfortable staying home longer. I gave birth about 6 hours after arriving at the hospital. The most painful part was transition since there was no rest between contractions. They rolled one right into another. However, I knew I was close when going through transition so I knew I could do it. I was almost there. The hardest part though was the pushing phase simply due to my son's dropping heart rate. His heart rate got down to 65 beats per minute. At 60 beats per minute, babies require resuscitation. There was a LOT of stress to get that baby out, and get him out FAST! I only pushed for about 45 minutes but they had to do an emergency episiotomy. That wasn't fun. But my son was fine after spending a couple of hours in the NICU to be monitored so that's a relief!
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
The most helpful thing I did to prepare myself was:
1) Exercise. I walked and did lots of squats. I felt great during my pregnancy, all the way up to the very end... and I think exercise and staying in a healthy weight range had a lot to do with it. I gained 28 lbs and had a 9 lb baby. I lost 26 lbs by the time my 2-week postnatal appointment rolled around.
2) POSITIVE birth stories. I learned a lot from my sister. She gave birth 3 times naturally. I also read (no joke) hundreds of natural birth stories online. It instilled in me a confidence that my body can do this and so can baby!
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What surprised you about your birth?
Even after preparing, there were still quite a few things that surprised me. I couldn't have foreseen my baby's heart rate dropping or the emergency episiotomy but the labor portion went awesomely well. It was work, but I never felt hopeless. I knew I could do it. And so did my birth partners.
The second thing that surprised me was how MUCH bleeding is involved after a baby is born. I knew I bled, I just didn't understand the scope/magnitude of blood. Haha. However, the heavy bleeding only lasted about 3 days for me, and then it was like a normal period for a few weeks, and then hardly anything for a few weeks and then it stopped.
The third thing that surprised me was how quickly the.. er... nether regions healed up. Even after an episiotomy. I felt great after leaving the hospital. I had little to no swelling and felt pretty much normal down there. The female body is an amazing thing!
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Educate yourself! I hear mommas say sometimes that they're just winging it and don't want to learn because they're afraid it will scare them. Don't make that mistake. The knowledge that you learn about childbirth will actually empower you, not disable you. The more you learn, the more you will be confident in your body. The female body is designed for carrying and birthing a baby without unnecessary interventions. Your body even has it's own pain relief strategies. It pumps you full of oxytocin, endorphins, and prolactin. I've never felt so empowered as I did after giving birth to my son. You can do it momma!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
1) Listening to my birth playlist. I picked things that made me feel calm. A lot of them were songs from my childhood. Listening to them made me immediately feel safe.
2) Massage and touch by my husband and sister. It was very comforting to me. I know some people don't like being touched. I wasn't sure which camp I would be in until I was in labor but I was surprised by how much I liked the support from them. Even their physical presence helped keep me calm.
3) The midwives brought peppermint essential oils to me at one point and it was AMAZING. I loved smelling that. It immediately made my contraction feel less painful. I put it on my pillow at one point and just stuffed my face into the pillow during a contraction.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Honestly, the first few moments I was kind of in shock. 1 moment prior, there were about 10 people yelling at me to push (The NICU team was in the room, in addition to a host of nurses and a doctor and my midwife) and suddenly he was out! It felt fast. Very fast. My son was suctioned out and taken to the NICU for 3 hours afterward so I didn't really get to bond and relax with him until later which was sad.
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What did you name your baby, and why?
I named him Gideon after the Bible character in the book of Judges. My husband and I LOVE the story of Gideon. He was a warrior for the Israelite people. Initially, he was a fearful man but he kept trusting God and obeying God even when the odds were stacked against him. At one point, he marches with 300 Israelite men against 135,000 Midianite soldiers. And they were defeated! Nothing but a big God could bring about such victory! I want my son to find his strength in God, the way the biblical character did, and not in himself.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Educate yourself! I hear mommas say sometimes that they're just winging it and don't want to learn because they're afraid it will scare them. Don't make that mistake. The knowledge that you learn about childbirth will actually empower you, not disable you. The more you learn, the more you will be confident in your body. The female body is designed for carrying and birthing a baby without unnecessary interventions. Your body even has it's own pain relief strategies. It pumps you full of oxytocin, endorphins, and prolactin. I've never felt so empowered as I did after giving birth to my son. You can do it momma!
