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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I was induced, but given sleeping pills and told I would only feel a few cramps the following morning. Well actually the cramps hit immediately and I couldn't lay down through the pain, and had to walk and move around to get through it - I thought it was just cramps, until the midwife told me they were actually contractions and that I had to go to the delivery room!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
I felt everything! Every little bit.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Read Juju Sundin's active birthing book. Apart from some very useful techniques (few of which I actually had time to apply in my 3.5hr labor), it gave me information about the actual process. Very few people/books actually get into the nitty gritty and then share others stories about what they did, how they coped. Going in armed with knowledge meant the unknown wasn't quite as unknown.
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What surprised you about your birth?
Everything! The date (had to be induced), the speed, how I coped, how it felt, how I felt.
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Amazing - indescribable really. Just amazement at what my husband and I had created, that this little boy came from inside of me and then that he was here! Overwhelming love. And so much relief that labor was done!
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Through the initial stage, walking and movement was key. In the active stage, focussing on breathing was the only thing that got me through.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
Upright in bed - went there to be checked, and was to distracted to remember to get up again! Plus I didn't really have time, it all happened so quickly.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Amazing - indescribable really. Just amazement at what my husband and I had created, that this little boy came from inside of me and then that he was here! Overwhelming love. And so much relief that labor was done!
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Read up on and prepare many coping strategies (breathing, stress balls, essential oils, movement, vocalizing, etc) - you will likely only use one or two, but you'll never know which ones will be the most useful until you're in the moment.
