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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I tend to have mostly back labor when real labor sets in, so once I felt contractions in my back I knew that I had left the realm of Braxton Hicks.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
My husband was working about an hour away from home, and since last birth I had been induced (due to water breaking and labor not starting on its own) I did not really know what to expect regarding how fast labor would start. So staying calm and trusting that he would get home in time to turn around and drive us an hour in the opposite direction to get to the hospital was difficult.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I think the exercises for getting baby into the proper position were the most beneficial. My first baby was posterior and this second one kept trending towards that same position. Doing the pelvic tilt on my hands and knees and using the birthing ball, both before and during labor, I believe, helped to turn this baby so that she arrived in an anterior position.
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What surprised you about your birth?
I was most surprised by how fast labor progressed and also the manner in which it did. My first delivery lasted 9 hours and progressed in a linear fashion; slowly progressing until it was time to deliver. This time labor (including pushing and delivery) lasted under 4 hours and progressed in a stair-step pattern. Instead of easing me into the next level my contractions would be at 20 minutes apart and all of a sudden get way worse and be only 7 minutes apart. I went from 5 to 10cms in 40 minutes and even caught the nurses and doctor off guard! In the end, my water broke suddenly and I needed to push NOW! I had not expected that at all!
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Go into it knowing there will be lots of pain, but also know that it is only temporary and at the end of all the pain you will get the most wonderful blessing imaginable!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Laboring on my hands and knees with pelvic tilts at each contraction helped in the beginning, but once I progressed far enough (mostly due to it all being back labor) nothing helped.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I delivered in a sitting position with my legs in stirrups. The back labor was so bad I didn't think that I could support myself in any other position, even with help.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
The most wonderful feeling in the world! The pain just melted away and I barely noticed the doctor stitching me up (I ended up with an episiotomy and a tear). I felt like the moment I had been waiting for my entire life had finally arrived! I was also 42 weeks along so I had really been wanting my baby to hurry up!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Go into it knowing there will be lots of pain, but also know that it is only temporary and at the end of all the pain you will get the most wonderful blessing imaginable! You can do anything for the length of your labor!
Also, give different laboring positions a try. I am convinced that sitting on the birthing ball for the last 10 minutes of labor is what escalated me to the end. Just opening up and changing what you have been doing can help get the baby into position and speed you to delivery!
