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When did you realize you were really in labor?
Around 1am I was laying in bed reading and thought that I felt the baby move but it felt odd, not like baby's normal movements. A few minutes later I got up to go to the restroom and felt like I was going as soon as I stood. I realized that weird movement may have been my water breaking. Several trips to the bathroom, a phone call to our midwife, and my contractions starting about 20 minutes later confirmed it.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
This time around my labor was very quick and intense. The most challenging part this time was that from the start of contractions they were very close together so I never really had any time to rest in between.
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Read Ina May Gaskin's A Guide To Childbirth. The birth stories in that book helped me to feel so powerful and gave me a lot of ideas about how to focus my power to help control and cope with my labor, such as sincerely verbally asking my body to open up and bring me my baby, and reminding myself verbally that contractions are not pain, they are power.
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What surprised you about your birth?
How fast a s intense the labor was this time, as well as the fact that pushing felt very different. With my first pushing relieved the pain of my contractions and was easy. This time though the urge to push felt different and it was more work.
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You can do it. Prepare mentally and physically, but mostly remind yourself that your body was made to do this. Trust your body and your baby. Don't be afraid to try different things, even if they seem weird. Remember that relaxing positions while pregnant may not work during labor, and the comfort of certain positions/things during labor may wear off so be prepared to change it up.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
Laboring in the tub of warm water, and breathing.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
Hand and knees in the water.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Amazing, spiritual, and empowering. Plus no one told me baby's gender so I got to see for myself that we had a little boy after I turned back over to sit in the water and hold him. I will never forget the feelings in that moment.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
You can do it. Prepare mentally and physically, but mostly remind yourself that your body was made to do this. Trust your body and your baby. Don't be afraid to try different things, even if they seem weird. Remember that relaxing positions while pregnant may not work during labor, and the comfort of certain positions/things during labor may wear off so be prepared to change it up.
