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When did you realize you were really in labor?
When I started crying because of the pain of the contractions. I tried to message my mom & tell her, but I couldn't hit the 'send' button.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The last push. I just didn't want to feel the pain anymore & the urge to push suddenly stopped before baby was all the way out.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Breathing, but nothing could have prepared me for how quick it went. I didn't have enough time to process what I'm supposed to do, fortunately the nurses coached me through.
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What surprised you about your birth?
How fast it was. And pain medicine doesn't help, at all, for pain relief only an epidural works during delivery, but there was no time for it. So I had no chance to change my mind on a natural birth. I went from barely dilated to done in 1.5 hours. The contractions came 3 right after each other, then a 20 second break before the next 3. Nature took over & i started pushing before i could call the nurse. By time the nurses arrived, baby was crowning. I was still lying on my side clinging to the bedrails. I know 1.5 hr delivery sounds great and all, but its not, I didn't have that gradual work up and time to adjust to the pain the way the body normally does. The pain was sudden, sharp, & intense.
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Be prepared for anything. If it doesn't go as you plan, have faith God has a reason.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Nothing really helped, I barely had tone too breath, i did deep breathing and gripped the bedrails snd cried.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
The nurses made me lay on my back, even though I was doing fine one my side. Rolling over hurt immensely, then theu made me bring my knees up? I cried I didn't want to. I wanted to stay curled in a ball on my side.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
I was so exhausted, I gave baby to daddy. We didn't have the opportunity to delay cord clamping, baby had already ingested meconium.
Then they put her in an incubater, she was there for an hour.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Be prepared for anything. If it doesn't go as you plan, have faith God has a reason. For example, we wanted too delay cord clamping, but the nurses cut the cord & whisked baby away. Then we find out me & baby are blood type incompatible, delaying cord clamping could have made her really sick. As it was I had multiple clots the doctor had to remove, there's no way i could have held the baby during that. I started screaming & climbing the bedrails. Needless to say, my OB had terrible bedside manners.
