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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I never went into labor. I went to the hospital for non-stress testing 10 days after my due date and my doctor encouraged me that my son needed to come out right away.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The most challenging thing for me was giving up on my dream birth in order to have a healthy birth.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
For me faith was the #1 thing that got me through. I trusted that God was always in control from day 1. I was able to let go of my ideas and expectations and believe that God knew what I needed. He gave me peace in what could have been the scariest situation of my life.
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What surprised you about your birth?
Cesarean section!!! I never in a million years thought I would be there... all my aunts and my grandma had natural, vaginal births and so would I! I was so sure of it.
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Although my birth was nothing of what I planned for it to be, it was THE. MOST. AMAZING. experience of my life!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
The only pain I experienced was after the c-section... at that point the only thing that helped was the DRUGS that they gave me. I had never in my life taken more than a Tylenol so I wasn't prepared for the side effects of hardcore opiates.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
Flat on my back with a terrible kink in my neck while my doctor cutting my 10 lb 22 1/2 in son out of my stomach.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It was the most amazing feeling! I don't even have words for it. It was like the most JOY, PEACE, LOVE, RELIEF that I have ever felt all together at the same time. And then watching my husband hold our baby and really realize that he is a dad... that was just as AMAZING!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
My advice is to listen to your body and your inner voice be at peace with your choices. Your birth will not be exactly what you envisioned (nothing in life really is). Although my birth was nothing of what I planned for it to be, it was THE. MOST. AMAZING. experience of my life! I struggled with feelings of inadequacy because my body didn't do what it was supposed to do! My baby never even dropped. I felt that something was wrong with me and that I had failed as a "woman". But then I came to peace with my story and my body. I love my body, I am amazed by the fact that my body grew a healthy baby! I have no regrets.
