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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I was sitting on the rocker in my 2 year old son's room while he dozed off at 7:30 in the evening. I had a membrane sweep done earlier in the day so I was a bit uncomfortable but it wasn't until I was finally sitting quietly in my son's room with our 4 year daughter already in her bed asleep, that I started to pay closer attention to my body. I then texted my husband that he should probably forgo his hockey game that night.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
I was mentally prepared for natural childbirth with each child and so I had a certain confidence that I would get through it. It is painful towards the end but I could feel my body doing what it needed to do to get my little guy out. I think that this time around it was more intense because of how much my body had to work to get baby from very high up to out in 2.5 hours.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I surrounded myself with an amazing birth team that saw me through my previous births and gave myself the flexibility to birth where I felt it was right. I planned a home birth or birth center birth but during labor I realized that in order to give into the contractions I needed to leave the house. While at home I was too distracted thinking about my older two.
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What surprised you about your birth?
Having had my first at home and my second in hospital (high risk baby), this time I was able to plan a water birth. It was amazing how empowering the experience was. As difficult as such a strong fast active labor was, being in the water was wonderful and the experience felt very 'hands off'.
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I was mentally prepared for natural childbirth with each child and so I had a certain confidence that I would get through it.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
In early labour standing and swaying with my husband and humming my way through contractions aloud me to manage. The key was to stay focused and relaxed. The warm water at the birth center was great for active labor and delivery.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I was seated in the tub in a position that aloud me to catch our baby wtih the help of our student midwife.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Being able to catch our baby in the water was incredible. There is no feeling that compares to the rush of pure joy and love that I felt with my little guy in my chest. It was also fun to be the one to say "it's a boy" seeing as we had not learnt the sex of our baby earlier.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
You need to trust your body. Labor is not a type of pain that signals something is wrong, it is your body working hard. It is important to trust in those sensations and allow yourself to connect with them rather than fearing the pain. The more you allow your body to relax and release yourself into the contractions the better the experience will be. Fear brings tension and tension is counterproductive in labor. It can drag it out longer and it can hurt more. Surrounding yourself with right team is crucial. My husband and I hired a wonderful doula who saw us through each birth. We were also blessed to have the same midwife through each birth. Read only the amazing, uplifting stories of natural birth, do not focus on the negative scary stories that are also out there. They are not you!
