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When did you realize you were really in labor?
I was checked by my midwife on Monday, October 15th and was told that I was 4 cm and 100% effaced. My very light contractions subsided overnight and I was left discouraged the next morning (10/16). I had stopped working when I discovered my dilation/effacement because I work an hour away from home. I spent all day bouncing on a medicine ball. Later that night, after my husband got home from work, I went to the bathroom before we began to eat dinner. This is totally TMI - but, I was constipated my entire pregnancy and going #2 was awful from day 1. While pushing to go to the bathroom, I felt the most extreme surge of pain that I never felt before. I called out for my husband bc it scared me (literally came out of nowhere) and I realized a lot of my mucus plug had come out. The pain subsided but I did not think "contraction" immediately. I was more thinking along the lines that I pushed so hard that I pushed her down into my birth canal and labor would begin. Ten minutes later I had the same pain - same intensity (1 and a half minutes long right out the gate) I realized I was in labor and we had to GO! Told my husband to pack up the car and away we went!!!
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
Coping with the pain. My hospital had a Jacuzzi tub to labor in but it was getting cleaned after someone else used it and my labor was fast, so I never had a chance to go in. Bouncing on a medicine ball, all fours - nothing seemed to help, I hated it all. I was also under the false impression that pushing would be relieving and not the most painful part (as I had read in numerous birth stories) BOY WAS I WRONG. Pushing was excruciating but I had wonderful support around me to help keep me focused. I did not think about that epidural once - You have to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF and know that this pain is temporary and you will survive!
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Reading Birth Stories And Mama Natural Book Helped Laura Achieve Her Natural Hospital Birth
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Reading birth stories on Mama Natural, reading the Mama Natural book and listening to birth stories. I read about everything that could happen during birth and educated myself to the point where should a complication arise, I would know what would be the best option for me. Also, when contractions were on top of one another with no letdown and I was sweating like a pig, I knew I was in transition and I was right. Knowledge is power!!!!!! I also listened to the birth hour podcast. I read that keeping your face and hands relaxed during labor will help you progress faster - because think about it - if you are clenching your fists and wincing in pain, you can almost immediately feel close off. I told my husband this and to tell me to relax my hands and face should he see that happening - which it did multiple times and he would gently remind me and I would stop immediately and just focus on my breathing. This is my first child - I got to the hospital at 7:30 pm and she was born at 12:08 - I guarantee that it helped with progression.
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What surprised you about your birth?
I was surprised that the second she was out and I mean that very second - the pain was immediately gone. My midwife told me this while I was pushing but I did not believe her!!!!! She was right! Also, the pure rush of endorphins after - it was amazing! I was able to get up and go to the bathroom like an hour after she was birthed. Then I walked myself from the bathroom over to where she was getting weighed and watched the whole thing while standing. The recovery and how I felt immediately following the birth was 100% worth all of the pain. You can do it. If you and the baby are healthy, go for it. THE PAIN IS TEMPORARY! We were built to do this and you can do this! Yes, it's going to hurt but nothing worth having comes easy!
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Educate yourself. Know all of your options. Find pain coping techniques that work for you.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
My husband reminding me to relax my hands and face during contractions. Breathing. Reminding myself that this pain was temporary and to focus - baby will be here soon!
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What position did you end up delivering in?
On my back but I did flip over to all fours (with my hands on the back of the hospital bed which was in an upright position) to push about halfway through pushing to move her down - it worked.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
There are no words. Euphoria. Shock. Happiness. Relief. We did not find out what we were having. I was convinced that she was a boy. CONVINCED. My husband was the one to announce and we could not believe she was a girl! Best surprise of my life. It was also the best night of my life. There are no words to express the feelings that overcome you at that moment. It is so special and literally worth all of the discomfort of pregnancy & pain of delivery. I would do it 100 times more if I could.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Educate yourself. Know all of your options. Find pain coping techniques that work for you. If you have any feeling that your doctor/practice/hospital will not support you having an unmedicated birth, switch immediately. This happened to me at 28 weeks and I switched providers - it was the best decision I ever made. Trust your gut. Treating with the midwives was great and the hospital that their practice delivers at is very natural minded - no cutting of the cord until it stops pulsing, no bath until 6 hours, immediate skin to skin. These things are all beneficial and are so worth it. You can do it! We were made to do this and it is all worth it in the end!
