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Video Interview With Daron
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When did you realize you were really in labor?
When my water broke. I’m not sure I would have realized that I was in labor if my water hadn’t broken. It was a Saturday and I woke up early with my 8 and 2.5-year-old feeling ready to get a ton of chores done. I was 39.3 weeks and had been feeling much more intense Braxton hicks the last few weeks. I was also having prodromal labor. So when I started having a lot of Braxton Hicks I ignored it and carried on my morning. I went shopping at Target, I did like 10 loads of laundry, washed the dog and completely reorganized my daughter's room with the help of my son. My water broke at 1:45 pm that afternoon. I thought I had peed myself, but when I went to check there was meconium in my underwear. I knew labor was around the corner but wasn’t sure when it would start. I called my midwife and told her about the meconium. She lives rather far from me and asked if I was having contractions. I said I didn’t think so. At 2:30 she texted me to try and time my Braxton hicks. I had to sit in a quiet part of my house and really focus. Not because they were painful, but because I wasn’t sure if it was an actual contraction lol. Turns out they were 2-3 min apart lasting for 1 min. I guess I was in labor!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Going natural in and of itself wasn’t challenging. I had an accidental home birth with my daughter two years ago. I was all alone and delivered her myself. I knew I could handle going natural. However, this pregnancy was different. I was going through a lot of stress in my life and while it was mostly positive life changes it was a lot and I was stretched thin. Both my parents are medical professionals and didn’t understand wanting to do a home birth. They certainly were not judgmental or negative but they largely avoided talking about labor with me. It made me feel a little alone and isolated. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who would listen to me and support me and my midwife was an angel. The most challenging thing about going natural this time (my third birth) was the fact that I did have meconium in my water. When my midwife did arrive at my house at 3 pm she was very serious. She said if baby is distressed we have to transfer to the hospital. The best-case scenario is that baby flipped into the breech position and the uterus naturally squeezes and compresses baby, releasing meconium. I was trying to not allow fear to take over and poison my labor but I was concerned. My midwife told me either deliver the baby in 1 hour or transfer it to the hospital. I told her I’d do my best to have the baby quickly.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
An ad is blocking this question lol so I don’t know what it says! I think it’s about preparing for labor and birth. In my third trimester, I focused all my energy on getting into a positive mind space for labor. I treated it like a marathon and did everything I could to mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically prepare for labor. I also did CrossFit every day throughout my whole pregnancy. And deep hip opening exercises throughout to prepare for labor and birth.
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What surprised you about your birth?
What surprised me most was my water breaking early. With my other two kids, my water broke while pushing. I just assumed it would happen like that again. The second surprise was the meconium. I hadn’t prepared for that and really had to fight the fear that baby was in danger. I had to check in with my baby and make the huge decision to not transfer to the hospital. While I was confident that my baby was ok, it was hard to not second-guess myself. The third surprise was that I was actually able to birth the baby in one hour!!! A second midwife arrived to help assess the situation. She did a cervical check and noticed that baby's head was in a weird angle in my pelvis. She said to me, “girl, you need to shimmy shimmy and get this baby into position!” So I did! During each “contraction” (because they still felt like BH) I shimmied my hips and did circles with my pelvis, deep squats, and elevated lunges. Holy cow! Within 20 minutes I was in transition! I could feel the baby move through my pelvis! It was crazy. I had roughly 6 contractions back to back that were super duper intense and dropped me to my knees. No one time to fill the tub. I slowly made my way to the toilet and felt the urge to push! I delivered my son in under an hour. He was born at 4:08pm
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
I had no time to even try any pain relief strategies. It wasn’t painful until the last couple of contractions. But I’ll be honest, I had to remind myself in my head that there was no reason to be afraid, that it was supposed to feel this intense. I had to remind myself not to be afraid. I did my best to breathe deeply and slowly through the transition.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Absolutely glorious! The relief that came with knowing my son was ok, that I had made the right decision was so overwhelming. It felt so good to see his little face and to hear him cry. Just the best feeling.
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What did you name your baby, and why?
Zen because he is the perfect example of conquering negative thoughts and emotions. His presence/arrival was so peaceful and perfect, he is my little Zen boy!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Prepare yourself. Start now! Prepare for your worst-case scenario but allow yourself to fully picture the perfect labor and birth, and start working towards achieving it. It starts in your mind. Prepare your body as well. A healthy body will be able to handle labor much easier. Practice your pain relief techniques every chance you get, a painful bowel movement, stubbing a toe, BH, even at night when you can’t sleep. Practice practice practice!