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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I woke up about 2:30 am and started feeling cramps. Since this was my fourth baby, I knew this was probably the early stages of labor. The contractions stayed very spaced out the rest of my day, and by my 12:15 doctor appointment I was already 4-5 cm dilated! I went home to wait it out since I knew I wanted a natural hospital birth and wanted to labor at home as long as possible.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Getting through the contractions
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Read about lots of natural birth stories. I also had been through it before so I knew what I was capable of.
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What surprised you about your birth?
This labor was very different than my previous ones. I waited and waited all day for the contractions to reach the consistent 5 minutes apart that would send me to the hospital but they never did. They would be 6 minutes apart, then 10 minutes apart, then 15 minutes apart then back to 6. This went on until 9:00 pm, when my water suddenly broke and they pick up to back to back with no break and I got the urge to push. I left for the hospital about 9:20 but the baby couldn't wait, I pushed him out in the car! His head was out by the time we reached the parking lot, then I managed to hold him in until an er nurse came running outside to help catch the rest of him!
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Trust yourself! You CAN do it.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
I found that trying to remain calm, and yelling through the contractions while pushing helped.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I was sitting in the front seat of the car when I delivered the head, then my husband laid the seat down for the rest.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It felt amazing! The best feeling in the world.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Trust yourself! You CAN do it.
