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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I had regular but spaced contractions that I could sleep through for 24 hours before my son was born. So I tried not to get too excited when I woke up on his birth day with bloody show and regular crampy contractions. My husband said he knew we were having a baby when I started making the chili for our midwife to eat if labor went long or through a meal time. I did not realize how quickly the baby was going to come until contractions woke me up from a nap and were very close together requiring me to visualize and lean into them.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Postpartum recovery is the most challenging part of giving birth for me. The initial nipple tenderness, vaginal swelling and tenderness, and feeling like all your abdominal organs are flopping inside you.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I did improvisational comedy for a number of years. The principles of improv are useful in labor (as well as a ton of other situations). Because I was improv-ing the process, I had to say "yes, and". Yes, and I can talk, walk, play football, and cook breakfast through these contractions. Yes, and these hurt more and make me really focus on getting through them. Yes, and this only lasts for a minute rising and falling...I can deal with that. Yes, and it is definitely time to push so I will push.
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What surprised you about your birth?
In the same way that I improvised through the process, I had nothing surprising because I had no expectations that would lead to surprises. I am grateful that everything went well despite some unusual circumstances.
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I keep reminding myself that the contraction lasts about a minute with a rise and fall so it is really only crazy intense for a few seconds.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
I keep reminding myself that the contraction lasts about a minute with a rise and fall so it is really only crazy intense for a few seconds. Of course then they come back to back to back and each time I think "oh shit, another one" followed by "ok, closer to baby" and then lean into it, sway at the hips. For a number of them I pressed my forehead into a hard surface and imagined I was swinging a hula hoop (which I actually cannot do in real life).
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What position did you end up delivering in?
Standing up in the shower with the warm water on my back and my hands and forehead pushing against the shower wall, coaching my husband about how to catch a baby.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
I was like, "wow, you're here...that was fast." Then, because the midwife had not arrived yet, I got very systematic and starting checking him for any signs of distress that would require us to transfer to a hospital.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Take off your watch so you don't time things. Let someone else do the timing. My husband was amazing about this. Almost too attentive. Take off your glasses if you wear them or do things that let you focus just on your body and what's happening there instead of on everything else going on. I personally prefer to be left alone, but it helps many women to have someone there with suggestions for position changes, pain relief strategies, even laughter. Or rather, especially laughter. Don't take the process too seriously.
