About the Natural thing...

Having a natural, drug-free childbirth is something I’ve always said I would do. It really seemed like the only way to me. As far as I can see there are a million pros & no cons. 2 minutes after I had Alice, and there was no pregnancy amnesia, I said I wouldn’t change a thing and I would do it natural again.

I used the Hypnobabies program & felt so prepared. I had several tools & resources from them that I could’ve used to prepare me even further; it was all at my disposal to use as I wished. The program changes verbiage, so there in no negative context or association to words about childbirth. Contractions are pressure waves; labor & delivery is your birthing time; there are no references to pain, it’s your comfort level; you really teach your mind and body that the strongest you will experience is pressure and discomfort. It definitely helped to be committed to a program and have a supportive birth partner. The Hypnobabies program teaches & uses self hypnosis, relaxation, visualization, and creating and directing anesthesia.

I had to keep my mind & thinking very positive. I didn’t show up to the Labor & Delivery marathon, without training for it. I also read up on the FEAR-TENSION-PAIN cycle. You FEAR it’s going to hurt, because of what people have told you or what you’ve seen on TV (Why do people want to share and exaggerate their BAD stories?); Therefore you TENSE up; which causes you to have PAIN. I could tell when I would start to tense up anticipating a strong pressure wave, I would tell myself to relax or Hootie or my mom would, I’d relax, and the pressure and discomfort was nothing. I think that another difference is I said I was having a natural childbirth, not that I was going to try (already setting yourself up for failure). So many people thought I’d chicken out or cry for an epidural, I had no desire to, and I am too stubborn and determined, it never would’ve crossed my mind.

Since I wanted a natural childbirth, I had to be committed to everything being completely natural, no interventions. No Pitocin to speed things up, I didn’t want super-human contractions, if I was doing things the natural way. Intense piggy-back contractions I can do without.
I was at a 2 ½ & had been for a couple hours. The Dr. told me if things didn’t speed up he’d want to administer Pitocin, because I was Strep B & my water had broke, he said I needed to deliver within 12 hours. Here’s another example of mind over matter for me, I asked him to talk to me about it later, if it became an issue. I was determined no Pitocin. So I told Hootie we needed to walk. Immediately, my contractions became much stronger and intense. I had 2 ½ hours of these productive contractions, then told the nurses they needed to check me again because I felt like I wanted to push. I was at an 8½, and the nurse said she could make me a 10, I was so close. It all seemed like no big deal, and went by so fast.

I would love to say she was out in three pushes, but she wanted her elbow to come out with her head, so it took more than that. My little darling was crowned for awhile & did a good job of tearing me. Even with that, I’d say I didn’t hurt & I wasn’t miserable. I could still smile throughout the experience.

I am still on a high, and am so glad I did everything natural. I would recommend it, and if anyone ever has questions about it or wants advice, from my experience, I'd be happy to share it.