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When did you realize you were really in labor?
When my water broke as we were getting into our Jeep to head out for dinner.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Fighting the nurses insistence to not be "too hard on myself" and their fight to put in an IV for JUST IN CASE I in fact wanted meds later on.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Classes, hands down. But beyond the classes, I brought a doula for support which happened to be my mom. I also did a ton of personal research in my spare time. Reading other moms success stories helped me as well.
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What surprised you about your birth?
That I never thought about giving in to take the epidural. I thought I would at least want it at some point as you hear so many moms say they did. But all I could think about was how my baby and I were working together and how we were made to do this.
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You can do it, but you have to be determined. If you go thinking "maybe" then you will give in. Go in thinking "I WILL" go natural and you will.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Counting... 1-26 slowly through each contraction. This gave me the sense that we were almost done... only 15 more seconds and so forth. During transition, this was the only method that I relied on.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
Squatting. I refused to be laying down, fighting gravity. As much as I had hoped to give birth in the tub, I ended up hating the warm water and wanted out. So squatting seemed natural.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Incredible. She was perfect, alert, eyes wide open and taking in every second just as we were. She was studying us as if she realized these were the faces to the voices she had been listening to. Her alertness was amazing as she was unmedicated, awake, and enjoying the beautiful moment right along with us. It was beautiful.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
You can do it, but you have to be determined. If you go thinking "maybe" then you will give in. Go in thinking "I WILL" go natural and you will.
