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When did you realize you were really in labor?
My water broke on Sunday 11/10/19 but I didn't start to feel contractions until Monday afternoon. The contractions didn't seem to have any pattern and they weren't getting more intense. My midwife came over to check on me Tuesday morning and to decide whether we'd need to go into the hospital since my water had been broken for so long and I still didn't appear to be in labor. When she checked me I was 7 cm and then the contractions really started getting intense. Long story short I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I knew I was definitely in labor around 11 am Tuesday 11/12.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
I couldn't keep anything down and threw up everything including water. Because I was so dehydrated my contractions kept coming right on top of each other. On top of that when they checked me after about 5 hours of being fully dilated the baby had gone from engaged to not engaged. The exhaustion was by far the worst part for me.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I think the most helpful thing I did was continue to exercise through pregnancy. I also think taking the Mama Natural Birth Course with my husband was super helpful. He felt much more prepared to be my helper than he would have without going through the course.
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What surprised you about your birth?
My water broke before going into labor and my daughter's shoulder was stuck (shoulder dystocia) and she had meconium. I knew all these things were possibilities but I also knew that I was a low-risk pregnancy and that the risk of all those things happening was small. I was surprised that all three happened to me.
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The Mama Natural Birth Class was so essential for us. I think this most helpful part was watching it with my husband.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
My husband pushed my hips during contractions and that really helped. I also had to keep telling myself that no matter what the baby was coming and that helped me to get through the worst of the pain.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
My baby came out blue and covered in meconium after being essentially pulled out because of her shoulder dystocia. When she was born my daughter wasn't breathing (although she had a strong heartbeat) so the midwives had to give her rescue breaths. I couldn't see her from my position, I could only see my husband and he was balling his eyes out. I was so scared, so when I finally heard her crying and got to hold her I was so relieved and happy. I can't even put into words how grateful I was that this little life was okay. We also didn't find out the gender beforehand so I was so excited to finally know I had a little daughter.
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What did you name your baby, and why?
We named our daughter Elliot (Ellie for short). I really like the idea of a boy's name for a girl's name but we wanted a girl nickname. The only name my husband and I could agree on was Ellie, so we called her Elliot.
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How did the Mama Natural Birth Class help you in your childbirth?
The Mama Natural Birth Class was so essential for us. I think this most helpful part was watching it with my husband. I'm a nurse and although I'm not an OB nurse, I have witnessed births in nursing school. I also listened to birth stories and watched birth stories all the time my whole pregnancy. I felt very aware of many possibilities but my husband felt very overwhelmed and out of his depth. I think watching the course together helped both of us, to feel like we were on the same page.