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When did you realize you were really in labor?
When my water broke! Although according to the no stress test I had that morning, I was already experiencing contractions, the first 'real' contraction came in only 15 mins or less after the water and they didn't stop till she was here!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Maintaining my confidence publicly in front of those who thought I didn't know what I was getting myself into :-/ I didn't want to come across the wrong way, esp to people who had had 3+ children already (Not natural).
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
My diet, including lots of red raspberry leaf tea, as well as continuing my job teaching dance classes (lots of dancing and easy but deep stretching) until my delivery, and educating myself as mush as possible about all aspects and techniques for natural birth. I somewhat knew what to expect and was not nervous or scared... I was so excited!!!
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What surprised you about your birth?
How long it took me to push baby girl out!
The AWESOME twilight zone I found myself in all the way up to transition.
How great I felt afterwards....I couldn't believe we had done it!!
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Trust in the God who created your body and in the process he designed for birth. Be confident in your ability to trust God and your body and take each moment of each day, as it comes and treasure it!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Breathing deeply, allowing myself to give into the pain...my endorphins kicked in and made me more relaxed and sleepy.
Closer to transition, moving/rocking my knees/hips side to side helped me to be able to get through it.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I wanted to use squat, but apparently that wasn't good for the doc/nurses, so we completed in a left side lying, kind of curled.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Not just another "New experience", but like I had become a new person. Even though we were meeting face to face for the first time, we were finally able to embrace the one we had come to know and love for nine months already!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Trust in the God who created your body and in the process he designed for birth. Be confident in your ability to trust God and your body and take each moment of each day, as it comes and treasure it! Educate yourself from all sides, read, read, read and realize that every birth is different, special and anything can happen. It may not all go the way you really *want* it to, but God has you in his hands and at the end of the day your birth experience will be just as special as it could ever be!!
