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When did you realize you were really in labor?
My water broke when I woke up that morning.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Although it was my 3rd child it was my first natural and at home. The most challenging thing was not knowing what to expect. Would my body stall like in the past, would my labor be super long, would I be able to handle it? The unknown of what was to come and mental aspect of laboring at home was definitely the biggest obstacle to overcome.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Physically I really felt like drinking red raspberry leaf tea and also seeing a chiropractor regularly toward the end made a huge difference. Emotionally I prepared by studying what God's word has to say about childbirth and meditating on his promises and the fact that women were born to do this and have been doing so for centuries...it's all part of His design. My husband was my birth partner and making sure he felt confident in his role was important to me and he took it very seriously, reading books and taking notes like he was studying for the biggest test of his life.. it really helped boost my confidence in what was to come.
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What surprised you about your birth?
The biggest surprise was how my body just knew what to do and how quickly everything went. In the past I had always had help with pitocin to move things along and an epidural for the pain so I had a little doubt that maybe my body didn't know what to do, but boy was I wrong. Being in my own environment and comfortable was amazing and my body clearly knew exactly what to do. From the time my water broke we had our baby in our arms 5 hours later. The entire experience was surreal, quick and honestly spiritual in so many ways that I never expected. The whole birth was empowering and I would love for every woman to experience the beauty of natural birth.
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Just believe!! Don't dwell on what ifs and how much it may hurt. Tune out those negative people that want to tell you you're crazy or how bad it hurts. Your body was born for this, God knows how much we can handle. Will it hurt? Yes, but when you see that beautiful baby the only thought you will have is the feeling of joy, success and empowerment and that is something no one can ever take away from you. Believe in yourself, you have got this mama!!!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Honestly for me distraction seemed to be my best response, talking and laughing during most of the labor. By the time transition hit it was out of nowhere because just a few mins before I had been operating as normal. When it was time to push the hot water of our birth pool was the only thing that helped. I only got to enjoy it for a few mins before the baby was born(we didn't have it ready in time for laboring) but it helped tremendously.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
On all fours basically holding on to the edge of the birth pool.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
In shock, honestly I couldn't believe I had just delivered a baby in my home naturally. My husband and I both looked at each other a few mins after and I said we are in our living room. The entire experience was so surreal and supernatural.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Just believe!! Don't dwell on what ifs and how much it may hurt. Tune out those negative people that want to tell you you're crazy or how bad it hurts. Your body was born for this, God knows how much we can handle. Will it hurt? Yes, but when you see that beautiful baby the only thought you will have is the feeling of joy, success and empowerment and that is something no one can ever take away from you. Believe in yourself, you have got this mama!!!
