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When did you realize you were really in labor?
At 1:30 AM while on the phone with my dad, who told me to call him if I ever couldn't sleep. He had to point out that I was occasionally breathing weird. I didn't really feel anything until 1 AM, and even then I thought it was just some very mild Braxton Hicks!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Honestly, this is such a tough one to answer, because I had such an amazing experience! The toughest thing for my labor was probably just not ever getting a break. Once I realized I was in labor, contractions were already coming about 2-4 minutes apart, and I was approaching transition.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I followed the Mama Natural exercises for getting baby into position, read the Mama Natural week-by-week pregnancy guide before and during pregnancy, and took the Gentle Birth tincture.
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What surprised you about your birth?
EVERYTHING! I expected her to be a week late because my husband and I were, and she was 5 days early. I expected and prepared for a long labor, as that's the norm for first-time moms, and instead had a 4-hour start-to-finish whirlwind of a birth. I expected plenty of time during early labor to take walks, naps, and practice other early labor techniques, but instead was thrown straight into intense contractions only an hour or so before transition!
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Stay confident and positive, do your research, follow your instincts, and be ready for anything! It is such a beautiful and amazing experience, but anything can happen and you just have to roll with it!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
I got almost no time to practice any strategies I had planned, but I did find it helpful to let myself vocalize. a. lot. My husband says that for the last 3 hours of labor, I didn't say a word, just sounded like a mooing cow! I think those deep vocalizations really helped me to stay open and relaxed. I would also say that I wouldn't call what I experienced "pain", but rather an intensity like none I had ever felt. It was also helpful to remember that birth is not a pain that is happening to you, it's your body working to bring your baby home! This was a great way to re-frame that since my body was doing the work, it wasn't stronger than me. It was me!
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
So surreal. I went from thinking I had another 2 weeks of pregnancy to go, to holding my daughter (we found out her gender at birth too, another surprise!) within 4 hours. The midwives had to remind me to check her gender, and then I just remember crying and yelling "I have a daughter!"
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What did you name your baby, and why?
Her name is Clover! We love natural, earthy, plant names, and had two options for a girl on our list when she was born. It was the beginning of February, and every other day had been very cold and wintry, but her birthday was a random springtime day. My husband went for a walk that afternoon, and came back sure that with the sun shining and plants starting to bloom, her name was definitely Clover!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Stay confident and positive, do your research, follow your instincts, and be ready for anything! It is such a beautiful and amazing experience, but anything can happen and you just have to roll with it! Something that I kept reminding myself during labor was that Ina May Gaskin advises mothers to let go of the impulse to try to control their birth, and instead trust their body to do what it is meant to do. By letting go, I allowed instinct to take over and I'm sure that was a huge factor in how wild, fast, and successful my birth was.
