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When did you realize you were really in labor?
Well on Sunday early morning my mucus plug came out. I started having light cramping that night. The next day I was still cramping with some light surges. I went to the gym and continued my day as usual. I thought maybe I was having false labor. I didn't sleep much that night and started getting diarrhea. I ate a huge thing of salad that night.. not a great idea as everything was going right through me. The next day the 'surges' were still pretty mild. Decided to just relax although I still couldn't get any sleep. That evening I decided to take a nice bath. Once I got out I decided to time my contractions. Previously they were all over the place. At about 9:30 PM on Monday It started to intensify quickly and now my contractions were about 3 minutes or less apart. That's when I called the midwives and had my doula start heading over.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
I didn't find anything overly challenging. For me, there was no other way for me to give birth. Well, I guess the hardest was convincing my husband to be on board with a home birth. There were little things that came up like very mild gestational diabetes and GBS, but I kept myself positive and still was able to stay home for birth.
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SDP_4268
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I did a lot to prepare. I did prenatal yoga. I also went to a prenatal chiropractor at least once a week. I classified my long hours at work on my feet as my walking. My job kept me pretty active. I was biking a lot up till over 6 months. Only stopped because my husband was worried about me biking home late at night.
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What surprised you about your birth?
Once my midwives arrived at 10 PM how quickly things progressed once I realized I was really in labor. Just before 1 AM, my baby was born with about 45 minutes of pushing. Not once did I think I couldn't do it. It was not easy, but I just kept positive. Probably helps with short labor. My husband was surprised I was up walking around right after and even made us something to eat.
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There was a lot of great information. It helped me prepare for what labor would be like and gave me an idea of what to expect. It made me feel a home birth the birth of my dreams, that is possible and not crazy.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Breathing. I didn't even get into the counter pressure techniques. I was just so in the zone. Just focused on breathing through the contractions. Also, the pool helped.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I was leaning forward draped over the pool. I still had a lip of dilation left so midwives suggested to try changing positions. So I sat back for last bit of pushing. Also though not the best position for pushing thought it would be best for baby coming out and being able to immediately put him on my chest.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Incredible. I was scared at first when I saw his cord wrapped around his neck. Mama instincts kick in right away and helped the midwives unwrap the cord from his neck. I was instantly in love.
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How did the Mama Natural Birth Class help you in your childbirth?
There was a lot of great information. It helped me prepare for what labor would be like and gave me an idea of what to expect. It made me feel a home birth the birth of my dreams, that is possible and not crazy. It helped with after-care and what to expect after as well, some help with breastfeeding. There are some great resources in the course. It was the only course I took and only one I felt I needed.
