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When did you realize you were really in labor?
This is my third birth, but it threw me through a loop since it was the first pregnancy where I experienced false labor. After a week of experiencing false labor daily, I woke up at 1am on 8/16 with contractions that felt similar to the Last stages of labor right before birth. I had three hard contractions and my Water broke. After that my contractions came about 3 mins apart. We almost didn't even make it to the hospital that was 15 mins away. Ryker Judah was born at 216am. One hour and 15 minute labor. That was it!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The most challenging thing is knowing and believing I can do it. In a culture where we are being taught that women are too weak to face the difficulty of natural labor and birth, it's easy to believe the lie that only a medicated birth will successfully bring a child into the world safely. It's not true. Thankfully I had a wonderful team consisting of my midwives, my sister and my husband speaking truth to me and cheering me on to do what my body was made to do.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
This was my second time going natural. But my first time I decided to have a friend attend my birth who had already experienced a natural birth. She was kind of like a doula. She coached me and reminded me that eveything I was feeling during Intense labor was normal.
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What surprised you about your birth?
That I was able to push through the pain. It truly is painful, but after its all over, I just couldnt believe I did it!
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Know you can do it. You can! The pain is temporary and it's normal. Bring a friend who has gone though it who you trust. What was huge for me was having someone there who could relate to my pain, letting me know what I was feeling was normal. This kept me from getting the epidural.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Honesty, for my first natural birth I didn't plan at all. I don't recommend that, but for some reason it worked for me. Just having a friend there who could relate and empathize helped get me through. My third birth went so fast I didn't have time for any strategies.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
Oddly, on my back. My first natural birth I birthed on my back and i swore I'd never do it again. But then during this birth, I found myself hesitating to push since other positions didn't feel familiar to me. There is a belief that your body will hesitate if you don't feel completely confident and comfortable. So on my back I went and our little babe was out in two pushes.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
So. Great. There is nothing like it.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Know you can do it. You can! The pain is temporary and it's normal. Bring a friend who has gone though it who you trust. What was huge for me was having someone there who could relate to my pain, letting me know what I was feeling was normal. This kept me from getting the epidural.
