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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I had eaten scrambled eggs cooked in an ounce of castor oil that morning (on the advice of my midwife - it was the day past my due date), so I had been having mild, painless contractions all day. My husband, my doula, and I had been texting back and forth all day, checking to see if they should come home from work or come up, but it was my fourth baby and all my other births had had false alarms. I didn't want to call them in until I was SURE. I knew the contractions meant business and it wasn't a false alarm shortly after my husband got home from work - that's when they really kicked in hard! He got home around 5 PM, we got checked into the hospital by 7, and just before 9 the baby came!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
I had gestational diabetes this time (well controlled by diet and Metformin) and I've dealt with PCOS for several years. I had had two rather large babies before, and one case of shoulder dystocia (broad shoulders that got stuck in my pelvis for a bit). What's more, the shoulder dystocia birth was also a very bad experience with an epidural - my blood pressure crashed, I was unable to move around to free the baby's shoulders while I pushed, and I had lasting pain at the injection site for a full year after. Another birth I tried Stadol, and that left me feeling so out of it that I couldn't prepare for and relax through the contractions. I knew that I didn't want to mess with any pain relief this time, but I also knew that with my history the doctors would want me to deliver before my date (I always delivered past my date by several days), and that might mean an induction attempt.
So really the biggest challenge was making sure the doctor/midwife practice I was dealing with knew that I COULD manage labor, that I didn't need a scheduled c-section or induction. This baby was measuring "small", about 7 1/2 lbs, and I had vaginally delivered 8 and 9 lb babies before. I knew I could handle a natural delivery.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Getting advice from and hiring a doula. She was such a support, and even though my husband is terrific at helping me through labor, she was really skilled at helping me relax. The hospital where I delivered is more like a birth center than a standard hospital, so I delivered on my hands and knees with midwives, nurses, and a doula present. They were very supportive of my labor and helped me deliver naturally, and thankfully the labor was quick - 4 hours of REAL contractions, and 2 long pushes.
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What surprised you about your birth?
That it progressed so fast! My previous 3 births had been 22 hours, 18 hours, and 10 hours. To have a 4 hour labor was shocking! Also, this was my first birth where my water broke on it's own, and the first one where I didn't deliver on my back. MUCH easier!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Breathing and mooing. :)
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What position did you end up delivering in?
On my hands and knees, in the bed. The midwives didn't turn a hair, but my MIL was shocked when she heard about it - she had never heard of someone delivering that way!
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Wonderful, of course! They had to pass her through my legs so I could see her, because I couldn't roll over yet.
