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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I actually didn't realize. Contractions started at 4pm on Saturday. They'd get closer and closer and then stop. On Monday I went in before work and they told me that they weren't 'real enough' and to come back when they were 5 min apart (my cervix was so high that the oncall doctor couldn't feel it). Tuesday morning around 2am the contractions really picked up but I didn't want to be told it wasn't 'real' again so I went to work. I was supposed to go back to work after lunch. I was laying down, resting on my lunch, when I felt 'something'. I wasn't sure if I peed myself a little or what. I just sensed this little pop feeling and was like "um what was that". Sixth baby to be born and I have never had a spontaneous water burst.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The pain. I never intended on going natural. I wanted an epidural because I am not good with pain. I always assumed that I would get to the hospital and have an epidural. That some hours later the baby would come without pain. It wasn't meant to happen like that.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Read a lot of worse case scenario choices for labor. I was prepared for a c-section. I wish I would have read up on alternative methods of pain control.
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What surprised you about your birth?
How alert she was without any pain meds in her system. The others were sort of alert and then nodded off, but she was wide-wide awake!
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Don't panic if things start going pear shaped. Birth is unique and individual for each baby. Things don't always go according to plan.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
I found keeping my eyes closed during the worst of it helped me focus on my goal.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
We tried a few but with the baby being so very stuck, I was on my back holding my own legs behind the knees. I did eventually tire myself out and needed vacuum assist to get her here.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Relief and exhaustion, and to be honest I felt a little cheated and a lot like I failed. They actually had to coax me into actually looking down to see her after she cleared the birth canal. I was so trapped in the pain that I had a hard time coming back from that.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Don't panic if things start going pear shaped. Birth is unique and individual for each baby. Things don't always go according to plan.
That being said, it's okay to mourn the birth you wanted.
