-
When did you realize you were really in labor?
I understood the feeling of true contractions as this was my second birth and even with this one I went into labor early twice (which we were able to stop). That being said, sometimes you don't know that you will have the baby that day until your water breaks and in my case that happened 30 mins prior to delivery. Don't assume it was a quick labor though, because it was not. It was roughly 30 hours. A relief compared to the 41 hours of my first. Both done fully unmediated at a hospital.
-
What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Although I have done it before, the hardest thing remains believing that I can do it. With my first I had a lot of confidence going in. I had a relatively normal pregnancy and leaned on the idea of how God made my body for this and to trust my body. For this one I was somewhat defeated by the rough pregnancy and no longer had full trust in my body. That is when I turned to trusting directly in God. My faith and prayer got me through this one. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13. I knew that even if my body failed, God wouldn't fail me.
-
Meredith16-1
-
What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Get a sound mind. Simply put. I had done all the classes and research for the first. While most wouldn't repeat the classes and research (at least fully) we still did (we are type A engineers); however, it was getting in the right paradigm that really was the most impact.
-
What surprised you about your birth?
How different labor can be from one child to the next. There were many differences between my first and this on; however, one example is how in my first I labored for 20 hours (!) after my water broke and in this one I delivered only 30 mins after my water broke.
-
If you believe you can. You can. You have to really want it.
-
What pain relief strategies worked best?
Prayer! and getting in "the zone". I found closing my eyes and being present only with my thoughts helps me. I know others that might sound like the worst thing but it helped me. For the vast majority of the contractions I would pray or sing worship songs in my head. Increasing intensity when the pain increased. Towards the end I would listen to my "labor coach"/ Bradley instructor and try to relax and let the baby into the areas I felt the most pain rather then resisting. For some reason this advice worked well for me.
-
What position did you end up delivering in?
Funny thing is... it was a very awkward unplanned position. I think I was kind-of on my side but sitting somewhat up on a bed. I was 7cm when I went into the bathtub. I had never intended on having any water involved in my labor by I had spent the vast majority of my labor on a ball and my legs were spent (!) due to stabilizing myself for so long. The tub was a "God-send" and was just what I needed. Five contractions later I had a baby!! Three of which were back to back attempting to get to the hospital bed. Once I got there I didn't really have time (or care) what position I was in. The baby was just coming.
-
How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Relief!! Of course I loved seeing her face for the first time and holding her close; but the part that some don't mention is how quickly you get full relief from the pains and chaos of labor. It is like a light switch. I also was very sick all pregnancy (even being hospitalize numerous times starting at 6 weeks pregnant) so I was surprised (and relived) how quickly I felt "normal".
-
What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
(1) If you believe you can. You can. You have to really want it.
(2) Prepare. Do everything you can to be prepared physically but most importantly prepare mentally.
(3) Give a lot of thought to your location. Often people make it sound like hospital births are for those that don't have other alternatives available. In my case I live in one of the biggest cities with all possible options in close range. We purposefully selected a hospital with one of the highest C-section rates in the nation (40+%). Why you ask? My husband and I are both type A engineers that understand statistics and are savvy researchers. Ultimately we chose to be where the most highly skilled teams of doctors could help in the event something did go wrong. We were very happy with our care and felt supported in our approach (never once did they ask me if I wanted meds). In the end I was happy with our decision as I lost more blood than most and was grateful for the afterbirth care.
