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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I had taken a long candle lit bath after getting DH and DD to bed, they both had colds... when I finally laid down at 1 am, contractions that I couldn't sleep through started coming at 1:30... I've realized that I know I'm in labor when I don't even think about being in labor, just there.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The ridicule and lack of support from the larger community... personally it was easier to believe in and trust God and how He created my body!
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
My husband and I took the indie birth course. We prayed and talked through all our fears and researched, researched, researched and read Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Susan Buckley and Grantly Dick-Reads Childbirth without Fear.
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What surprised you about your birth?
It happened almost exactly how I envisioned it!! It was night, DD was sleeping (she woke cause of her cold at 3-not part of my plan) but stayed in her room with new colors and playdough we had bought just in case... it was just 6 1/2 hours (my first was 24!) Even though she was posterior I stayed upright and active and birthed her in a full squat! It was Soo powerful!! My first birth that was at home but disturbed and managed, I felt like I was barely coming to the surface with each ocean wave...this time I felt like I was the ocean bringing my baby to the shore...it was intense but I felt like I was doing it!
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You can do this!! It is hard to fight all the fear and the lies that we have been fed, but it is such an important thing to do!! Perhaps one of the most important things we can do!!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Because she was posterior I needed my husband to apply counter pressure to my back until she got past my sacrum, but that was all! I belly danced in the beginning, tried to follow the waves in my mind, sometimes I counted (earlier on), I tried to keep my mouth open, my face relaxed and my noises deep and low...
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I was hands and knees most of the time towards the end and in and out of runners squats, but I ended up in a full squat grabbing my own ankles-which surprised me!
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Absolutely the most amazing thing to catch her and bring her up! I really can't even describe it!!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
You can do this!! It is hard to fight all the fear and the lies that we have been fed, but it is such an important thing to do!! Perhaps one of the most important things we can do!! And if I can do it, in my living room with just myself and my husband and the glory of God...you can too!!
