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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I heard and felt a pop like a bursting balloon in my belly around 6:15 am and when I realized there was no kick and the baby was sleeping I thought it could be time. This was on a Friday and I’d had 2 contractions that previous Tuesday night. There was a trickle of clear fluid so we left for the hospital. If the water didn’t potentially break, I’d always choose to labor at home.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The most challenging part about going natural is definitely the pain of contractions once they get strong. I knew I was going to deliver before my due date. It was a totally random guessed due date, to begin with, but not having those couple weeks to mentally prepare gave me an excuse of why I wasn’t ready to endure the pain on my date of delivery.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I definitely attribute my wonderful natural deliveries to red raspberry leaf tea drinking and my intake of dates before baby comes. So, research is the most helpful thing I did to prepare. Also, with my second baby, I spent an incredible amount of time squatting near the floor spending time with my toddler and I think made a huge impact.
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What surprised you about your birth?
I only pushed for 5 minutes once baby started crowning!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
I would like to say I don’t use any pain relief but it definitely gets too intense for me once the baby makes his way out so I am so grateful to be able to use nitrous oxide at my hospital. I wait as long as I can and it gives me the strength and relief I need for that final push.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It’s so relieving to feel free of the pressure of giving birth and knowing I have my baby safe and sound and finally in my arms. It’s a surreal moment to feel the warmth of the little baby from inside of you breathing on your chest for the first time. The only time they feel slightly like a stranger is when you’re going to spend the rest of your life with them, but not quite because you’ve known each other already...
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What did you name your baby, and why?
We named our baby Esteban after my father, Stephen. The Hispanic side of the family argued that it’s not even the same name but to me, it signified my late father completely and it felt so right to me and my husband. We didn’t even need to discuss it.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Figure out why going natural is important for YOU well before delivery. If your WHY isn’t super strong it’s hard to say no to drugs when the baby comes. Medical staff is all for a routine procedures and they seem to think going natural is “extra”, “annoying”, and “crunchy” was the word used by staff. Knowledge is power and having good reason to say no to an IV, fentanyl, epidural and routine Pitocin post delivery gives the confidence you’ll need when the doctors are questioning you. L&D staff is BUSY.. they don’t want to read your birth plan.
I don’t agree with the how-to in the book I’m about to suggest, but the history of childbirth in the First half was very helpful in solidifying my importance of a natural delivery. It’s called Hypnobirthing the Morgan method.