Natural Birth

[StefStaf]

I had one. I had a birth plan and gave birth in a hospital with nurses and a dr. The first nurse i had switched over to another room and i got the 'natural nurse!' My labor from start to finish was 13 hrs (not too bad for a first!). To be honest, the contractions really weren't that bad. Im not saying they didn't hurt but seriously, breathing through them and finding the right position (i rocked in a chair for hours!) helped!! When it came time to push was when it got harder. Looking back, i wasn't quite ready to push when i first started and i ended up wasting time and energy on pushing. Anyway, dh was delivered without any meds and he weighed 8 lbs, 14oz. I didn't choose meds for a couple of reasons. I was really scared of the epi (for me and baby) and i didn't want narcotics because i didn't want to feel sick and be out of control during and or after. It was a decision that i had made before giving birth and i just stuck to it. I recommend it to anyone. As soon as ds came out, i felt awake and clearheaded. I hope to do it again this time around.

[Susy07]

I loved LOVED my home birth. I went into labour at 445 am. It mostly felt like back and poop pains that came and went. Finally at 6 I called the midwife and at 7 she showed up. By then the back pain was pretty bad but that's about all it was. She checked me and I was a 6 but she could stretch me to 8. She went upstairs to get some stuff and I started pushing! lol. Fully dilated in 2 hours. I pushed for an hour 15. That part was the worst. But at least I could feel what I was doing. I was just scared to push because it made it hurt more. Next time I'm just gonna give'r lol.

To prepare for it I bought a bunch of things my midwife told me to. But she provided most of the stuff.

What I'd do differently, next time I want to try the breast crawl, letting baby crawl his way to the nipple to nurse on his own.