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When did you realize you were really in labor?
It was in the middle of the night around 2 am, after a couple days of having mild irregular contractions, I woke up to a contraction much stronger then the others. Around 7 am that morning my contractions were coming every 4-8 minutes and I had to focus on breathing through them. That's when I knew it was the real deal!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
For me it was pushing through the exhaustion! I had a long labor and couldn't get much rest in between contractions. By the time I got to transition I was already extremely tired both mentally and physically. Little did I know, I would be spending 3 more hours pushing my little girl into the world!
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I did a ton of mental preparation by reading lots of natural birth stories and by telling myself over and over that I was strong and that my body could and would birth my baby naturally! I chose to not fear the birth process! I knew if I allowed anxiety to set in, it would make it that much harder to get through! I also made sure I had an awesome birth team in place that I knew I could trust to help me when things got tough!
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What surprised you about your birth?
How long I would spend pushing!! I did not think it would take hours!
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I was beyond relieved!! It was pretty surreal. I was so glad to finally have her out and in my arms!!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Being in water and deep focused breathing!
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What position did you end up delivering in?
In a semi-reclined seated position in the tub!!
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
I was beyond relieved!! It was pretty surreal. I was so glad to finally have her out and in my arms!!
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How did the Mama Natural Birth Class help you in your childbirth?
I went into the Mama Natural Birth Class already very educated on natural birth but my husband was not! So we mostly took it for him to learn everything he needed to know. And by what he learned through the class gave me a ton of confidence in him to help me in the delivery room. And it also helped him feel better about the entire process just from having all that good knowledge!
