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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I woke up at 12:15 am to pee for the 10th time that night (nothing out of the norm at that point in pregnancy) and thought I was dreaming I was having contractions. After 3 or 4 contractions I knew I wasn't dreaming!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
With my first two babies I had second degree tears that had to be stitched so I had many conversations with my midwife about trying not to tear this time. When my body started pushing our plan was to let my body do all the work without my extra effort so as to get her out more slowly and give time for stretching. The pain of pushing without helping to just get her out of there was excruciating, BUT I didn't need any stitches this time and healing "down there" went a lot faster!
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lolablog-13
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Read positive birth stories and watch home birth videos
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What surprised you about your birth?
We decided to be surprised with the gender this time. We have two other girls and this pregnancy was SO different than the others I thought for sure it had to be a boy! Nope! Girl #3!
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Believe in yourself, do all the research you can and read/watch videos of as many birth stories you can.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Deep breathing, remaining calm and relaxing every muscle I could think about, and thinking about how amazing my body was and that it was designed specifically to be able to do this
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I started off with squatting in the pool but ended up leaning back, getting a grip with my feet on my husband (who was in the pool to catch the baby) and leaning back holding my midwife's assistant's hands.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Incredbile! I couldn't believe she was another girl, but when holding her it just felt right
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Believe in yourself, do all the research you can and read/watch videos of as many birth stories you can.
