NaturalChildbirth.org

[Psalm127]

I thought I would share my previous birth stories since I'm new here. Besides, successful natural birth stories are such an encouragement to those who are considering it. I'll try to keep these short!

Daughter #1
My edd was May 3. I worked that day and even bought groceries. There didn't seem to be even a blip on the radar. I felt great and figured I'd go at least a week over. That night I was awakened by back aches that would come and go. Yep, it was back labor! Not what I expected. After timing them for about an hour I called my mom since dh was at work. We packed up and left for the hospital but I never knew for sure that I was in true labor. It didn't hurt like I expected. However, I tried to poop in every toilet between my house and the hospital because of the pressure! Still unsure that I was even in true labor (sporadic and weak contractions) we arrived at the hospital at 7am. The EFM confirmed regular contractions even though I didn't feel alot of them. (I hate the EFM. I brought my birth ball but it freaked the staff out every time the EFM lost the heartbeat when I would move. So I just gave up on the birth ball and got back in the bed. I refused to lay on my back though.) A cervical check let me know I was around 4cm. They hooked me up to the IV (I wasn't aware of the risks then. I refused IV for Baby #2). Family started arriving and that really helped pass the time. Not long after that they broke my water completely unexpectedly. Again, I was not aware of the risks of having that done early on in labor. For some reason I just knew that it bothered me and kind of hacked me off. By the time I was around 6 cm the contractions were picking up in intensity. But I still handled them fine on my own. Around 7-8 cm when I started going through transition I started getting nauseated. I also began to have trouble staying relaxed and breathing on my own. I began to hypervenilate. Have no fear! Mom to the rescue. She just took over and helped me stay calm and to breathe deep. That's all I needed to keep going. The nurses had me began pushing before I felt ready. I never felt the urge. I wound up pushing for a miserable hour. I hated the military drill sergeants with all their counting. I definately learned my lesson on pushing before ready. The doc gave me a local and an episiotomy even though I requested NO episiotomy. I pushed for an hour. 18 hours after labor began I had a beautiful 7lbs14oz daughter. She was soooo alert and nursed perfectly.

All in all it was a great delivery. I knew from the beginning that I didn't want to be induced or have any pain meds and I achieved that goal. Having never been in labor before, I was unaware of the other interventions that would be involved such as IV, artificial membrane rupturing, no food and drink, EFM, and the military drill sergeants demanding how I should push and when. For what education I had, it was a great hospital delivery. I'm kind of tired of typing now so stay tuned for Birth #2 which, despite being in the hospital, was better than this one!

[jwynn712]

I am looking forward to the story of #2!
_________________
~Jodi