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When did you realize you were really in labor?
When I had really painful contractions that aches my hip and pelvic area.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
I can’t think of anything that was challenging. It was all attainable!
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Read lots and lots of natural birthing stories (off of your website!) and read a really good book called “The Essential Homebirth Guide”.
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What surprised you about your birth?
It was super simple and it was everything I dreamed it would be! It was absolutely perfect and went so smoothly because of my birth team and all the things I made sure to do prenatally! It just surprised me because I wasn’t expecting my first home birth to be AMAZING and PERFECT!
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Believe in yourself. YOU CAN DO IT. Period. No matter what the world or other people say, or what the medical system says, YOU are the ONLY one who stands between you and your dream home birth.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Taking showers. I took 3 showers within like a 3hr period while my husband slept. (I went into labor at like 6 pm and then had my baby at 3:30 am) It was great to just labor on my own and get through the contractions until we thought the midwife should come over. Swaying back and forth and being able to MOVE around was also really helpful!! (Something I wasn’t able to do with my first birth that was in the hospital which was a natural birth too with the exception of Pitocin)
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
I felt utter relief and unspeakable JOY and CONTENTMENT because a homebirth is what we really wanted for our first birth but it couldn’t happen due to complications, (but I was still able to do that birth naturally!) and because of that, it caused a lot of regret and pain for me personally because I wasn’t able to have a homebirth with him. But holding my second child after laboring fully at HOME was like a Victory to me!! And still is to this day!
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What did you name your baby, and why?
We named him Lance Edward because we live in the south and we both liked the names and the second name sounds very old English. ?
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Believe in yourself. YOU CAN DO IT. Period. No matter what the world or other people say, or what the medical system says, YOU are the ONLY one who stands between you and your dream home birth. And even if you have complications as I did with my first child, I still was able to labor through that one almost fully naturally!
So never give up on yourself or your baby-you both deserve the BEST!!
