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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I woke up feeling like I had period cramps, and then realized that wasn't possible because I was pregnant. I just kept feeling like it was a dream and then when the intensity of contractions picked up I realized this was not a drill. The ride to the hospital still felt surreal.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
The most challenging thing was realizing there was nothing I could do to speed up the process. My water didn't break until I was at a 9 and I just couldn't get comfortable so I spent most of labor bent over the hospital bed and groaning deep guttural sounds.
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Brand-New
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
I read a ton of birth stories, and I talked with my doula at great length about what I wanted to keep in mind while in labor. I kept saying over and over that labor is just a nanosecond in grand span of my life.
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What surprised you about your birth?
When my water broke I was on the toilet and didn't realize what had happened. I looked at my doula & the nurse and asked "what do I do now?" I knew how things were supposed to go, but seeing things in action it seemed totally foreign. I was also surprised at how much groaning and how primal it got in the delivery room.
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Try to remember that this is just an small snapshot of time in the grand scheme of your life. Learn about as many methods and coping techniques you can.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Believe it or not the best pain relief for me was to groan through contractions and to have someone press on my lower back and hips. I had anticipated that the bath would give me so much relief but I could not get comfortable and shivered the entire time I was in the water.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
I delivered on my back, I was fine with delivering in any position but that one felt the less stressful position.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
I couldn't even wrap my brain around it. I just wanted to breathe in the moment. I had him on my chest and was in complete shock that he had just been inside of me moments ago. I said aloud right away "his head isn't even that big" which my OB/GYN looked and me and said, " actually it's a decent sized head."
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Try to remember that this is just an small snapshot of time in the grand scheme of your life. Learn about as many methods and coping techniques you can, and don't rule anything out, you don't know what will work for you when the time comes. Anticipate more time & pain that you would prefer, anything under that time or threshold will be a bonus.
