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When did you realize you were really in labor?
When I was having trouble talking and being comfortable. I was in and out of my shower because I was crampy and the hot water felt amazing but there was a point where I needed my husband to call the midwife because I couldn't even form a sentence and the midwife told me to come immediately because when she was listening on the phone she knew labor was in full swing because I could only answer between contractions!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
PEOPLE. When I told people I was pregnant. ..women would automatically tell me horror stories. When I told them I wanted a natural birth, most women told me I couldn't do it. When I said I wanted a water birth women told me I was downright crazy. My mother and husband were pretty much the only people who supported me wanting a water birth so that was really hard to hear people being so negative about something that was supposed to be so natural and beautiful. So I pretty much stopped telling people because I didn't want the negativity to get to me.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
YouTube videos! I wanted a waterbirth....so I watched tons and tons of waterbirths....I also took a childbirth class and that was great because they taught you some great labor techniques. I also had an open mind. I didn't really make a birth plan because I knew most of the time it never went as planned. I just knew I wanted to do it natural and in the water...but I also did research on emergency c-sections among other things because I knew everything is a possibility and I didn't want to be upset if my birth plan didn't go exactly as planned.
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What surprised you about your birth?
I was surprised how calm I was. Your body just knows what to do, and all I did was listen to my body....it's such an amazing raw feeling and I just followed my body's lead. I was also surprised that I really didn't want my husband's help or for him to be right by my side the whole time. I wanted the midwife and the nurses help and most of the time while I labored I just wanted to be left alone sitting in the shower. It also surprised me how perfectly fine I felt in between each contraction...I was cracking jokes when his head was out and I honestly thought I'd be in pain the whole time and I really wasn't.
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Listen to your gut and do your research. If you believe you can give birth naturally than you can. End of story.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Water. I was in the shower at my house for hours....I was so relaxed that when I got to the hospital I was already 7cm! It was great working with a midwife because I wasn't hooked up to ivs or anything so I was free to sit in the shower at the hospital while they were filling up the tub(there was rust in the water when they were filling up the tub and then it was too hot so it took a while to get the tub ready). The birthing ball was also amazing.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I delivered his head kind of floating on back in the water and then I was on my hands and knees when I delivered his body.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Surreal! I was so focused on getting him out and when I delivered him I had to turn around and sit back down for them to put him on my chest. We didn't find out the sex of our baby and I really thought I would have been so eager to see what he was...but I was instantly enamored with his face that it was a whole minute or 2 before we were like what is it? A boy or girl? There is no better feeling in the world than meeting your baby but I was definitely in shock that I just had a baby!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Listen to your gut and do your research. If you believe you can give birth naturally than you can. End of story.
