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When did you realize you were really in labor?
My first symptom of labor was my water breaking. With this baby, I didn't REALLY realize I was in labor until about an hour and half before the baby was born. With this birth, my water broke in the middle of the night (at 37 weeks) and then nothing happened for several hours! My contractions didn't begin until about 3.5 hours after my water broke. I kept waiting and waiting to feel something. It was so strange because I felt so NORMAL and comfortable after my water broke, like I wasn't even pregnant :) It was so different than my first birth, in which my labor started with contractions and my water broke about 20 minutes before I gave birth.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Honestly, the most challenging thing about having a natural birth for me, was how fast each of my births have been, in the absence of any interventions So fast in fact, that my husband has missed BOTH of our sons being born. The first time he was hunting and the second time he was at work! Being so comfortable in my home environment and lacking interventions, seems to make the whole labor process go so quickly for me.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
The number one most helpful thing I did to prepare for childbirth was mental preparation! I spent so much time mentally preparing with birth affirmations on my bathroom mirror, practicing relaxation techniques, visualizing myself having a fast, easy, and natural home birth. Telling myself to 'let go' and just let the birth process take over and not try to control anything. Really just turning my brain off, so that my body could do what it was meant to do, and already knows how to do!
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What surprised you about your birth?
The most surprising thing about this birth was how mild and fast it was! This baby came so quickly and painlessly, in fact, that I was home alone, and delivered him myself with my own two hands! Both my midwife and husband were on their way, but neither of them made it home in time. In both my births, what was so surprising, was how painless it was. Don't get me wrong, I feel sick and uncomfortable during labor. But pain? NO. And it such a far cry from what we see on the movies and in the media of women screaming and crying. The portrayal of birth makes it look so scary and horrible, when it reality, my births were not painful and were the BEST experiences of my life.
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Every woman can have a natural birth, you just have to be willing to prepare mentally and physically for it, and get rid of any fears you may have about natural childbirth.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
To just let go, don't fight it, and let labor happen to you. Just give up to the process completely and know that your body knows exactly what to do to birth this baby...and you just have to let it!
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I was on my hands and knees during labor, but ending up delivering while laying on my side, so that I could have a free hand to catch the baby.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Each of my births have been very fast and feel like such a whirlwind each time, so my first thought and feeling has been a sort of euphoric shock, like "What just happened?" and "How is the baby here already?!"
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Every woman can have a natural birth, you just have to be willing to prepare mentally and physically for it, and get rid of any fears you may have about natural childbirth. My advice would be to prepare physically by eating a clean, healthy diet and working out/exercising to prepare your body for childbirth. And preparing mentally with birth affirmations, removing fears and anxiety, and letting go of your mind, so that your body can do the work it was made to do.
