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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I woke up around 6am on Thursday, December 29th, with mild contractions. I waited and timed them for about 3 hours before deciding to let my midwife know about them. Once I told her, she came a little after 12 to check in on me and see how dilated I was. I was having contractions about 4-5 minutes apart, not really getting worse but some were easier than others. The duration of the contractions were inconsistent, so that made it a little easier to relax. Once my midwife came and did our checkup to see how serious everything was, we realized that I was 7cm dilated already! I was so excited that I was so far along and wasn't in that much pain yet. Thats when the reality of our baby deicing to come really set in.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The most challenging thing about going natural was definitely the labor pains and not knowing how long it would last before the baby decided to come. Since I didn't go natural for our first baby, it was definitely me going in blind, not knowing anything about the pain and what I would experience.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I did a lot of researching, trying to find out the best way to be organized for my midwife for while she was at our house. I ended up having a list put together for my husband so he would know what to do to help out without having to ask me while I was focusing on staying calm and relaxed. I put everything I needed for the birth in a laundry basket, and put clothing that I would possibly need and clothing for the new baby all in another basket. I also put together a coffee, tea, and snack area together for everyone while they waited for the birth. I honestly had nothing to worry about the whole time, with the help of my husband guiding the midwives where to go for stuff and knowing they had snacks and drinks to keep fueled up on.
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What surprised you about your birth?
The actual birth was probably the easiest part about my birth! It was hard to feel where exactly the baby was facing because my water was in the way and didnt break until right before the baby came. Once my water broke, my midwife asked me to sit on the toilet for a couple contractions and then she said I could go back to the birthing pool to try to relax for what was supposed to be the worst of my contractions since the water finally broke. The first contraction I had once I moved to the toilet was the first of the birthing process. I had the urging need to push and there was no stopping once that feeling came. That process lasted 10 minutes! It went by so quickly, we were all shocked and thankful!
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The advice I give to mamas who want to go natural is to just be as prepared as possible, so once the time comes all you need to do is focus on yourself and your healthy baby. Also making sure you have good encouraging people around, whether its just your husband and midwife, or family/friends. Just make sure you have only people there that are completely supportive of your decision of a natural birth.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
The best pain relief I found was sitting in the birthing pool with the hot water. It seemed to even out the pain better.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I ended up delivering on my bathroom floor on my hands and knees! I was barely able to move from the toilet, so once I got off the toilet, my hands and knees felt like the best way to push for me.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It was just amazing! The feeling of being able to do it all on my own without any medications, and being able to hold our precious baby boy for a good hour before taking my herbal bath, with the baby. I loved being able to have my baby without Doctors taking him away to clean him up and do all the tests they do. My midwife did all the important testing while I was holding him, so he was calm the whole time.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
The advice I give to mamas who want to go natural is to just be as prepared as possible, so once the time comes all you need to do is focus on yourself and your healthy baby. Also making sure you have good encouraging people around, whether its just your husband and midwife, or family/friends. Just make sure you have only people there that are completely supportive of your decision of a natural birth.
