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When did you realize you were really in labor?
The morning of Nov. 1st I started having light contractions about 10 minutes apart. I realized this was early labor a few hours later when contractions were 7 minutes apart. I kept waiting for contractions to be one minute long, 5 minutes apart for one hour, so I could head to the hospital. That never happened. Suddenly contractions went from 7 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart. I called my husband and told him to come home from work because it was baby time!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The unknown feeling beforehand wondering if labor would hurt.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
As soon as I learned I was pregnant with Baby number 2, I was determined to have a natural birth this time around. I researched everything I could about natural births (which included lots of reading from the Mama Natural website and book) and found a great midwife. I also started listening to the Mama Natural birth affirmations, eating dates, and drinking red raspberry leaf tea, including the “Labor Day” strength brew at 39 weeks.
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What surprised you about your birth?
How fast it happened. When my husband and I left for the hospital, which was 30 minutes away, my contractions were manageable and 3 minutes apart. I kept listening to birth affirmations and breathing. Then, without warning, I was in transition (which consisted of 3 big contractions). On the third big contraction, my water broke and felt like I needed to push. I told my husband we needed to be at the hospital now. We were still 5 minutes away. When we got there, my husband ran inside to get me a wheel chair. He asked me if he should park the car before going inside. I said, no way! So we left the car running in the hospital drive and rushed inside. We were directed to the elevator and met by a nurse who asked me lots of questions. I was able to answer them, so she guessed I was at a 7. She was wrong. As soon as we got into a triage room, I said I needed to push and got into just my blue tee shirt. I laid down, pushed once and out came Baby’s head. I didn’t know it though, so I asked if the nurse saw our baby. She said yes and asked if I wanted to touch her head. I reached down and touched her wet head, which was completely out, face down. My husband encouraged me by saying I was doing great. A doctor and like 6 nurses who had gathered around me by then instructed me to curl around Baby, slide my feet up and push with the next contraction. I did, and out came Baby Elena. It was amazing. And I said so. They put Elena in my arms and asked my husband if he wanted to cut the cord. He did not. We were overjoyed and somewhat in shock that she was born so quickly. We had been at the hospital a total of 5 minutes!
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Your body was made to birth your baby naturally. Just stay open to the process and let your body do what it was designed to do!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Breathing and listening to birth affirmations
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What position did you end up delivering in?
On my back. It felt the most natural for me at the time.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Amazing! I was shaking some from all the adrenaline and put baby Elena skin to skin. She didn't want to nurse yet and was content snuggling next to me. She was perfect and healthy, covered in white vernix with an adorable little face, cute button nose and lots of light colored hair. She made some crying sounds but was mainly quiet, taking in her new world and resting from what nurses kept calling a precipitous birth. I was so thankful I’d had a natural birth. As I held our new baby girl, I thanked God that she was here and healthy... and thanked God that His will for her was a hospital birth and not a car birth!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Your body was made to birth your baby naturally. Just stay open to the process and let your body do what it was designed to do!
