Our Natural Birth Story….

Just thinking about it brings back a flood of memories and emotion…

My husband and I didn’t plan on having kids quite this soon. We wanted to get a little further along in life- but as we’ve learned, plans rarely go to plan!

Now that our son is here, we couldn’t imagine life without him. 

He’s made Greg and I such better people. 

I’m truly amazed every day when I wake up and look over at our son with his peaceful, calm look.

“Wow- he truly is ours!” I often think to myself.

I’m opening up and sharing our birth story not because I necessarily want to. But because I think it’ll bring value to you and give you an inside glimpse of my experience. 

Throughout this journey- Greg and I have learned the most from listening to others who had recently gone through a birth of their own. 

My hope is that we can help you too, and give you a better understanding of how a natural birth can play out. 

Remember- no matter how much preparation and planning you do- as with everything else in life- it rarely all goes to plan…

Our Natural Birth Plan

One thing that Greg and I learned early on was that we didn’t want a traditional hospital birth full of interventions. 

If you’re reading this blog, I’m assuming (maybe incorrectly) that you also are yearning for a birth that’s not filled with medical interventions.

We wanted a natural- unmedicated birth. 

Not because we think we’re better than those who use medication- but because it’s what we believe is best for us and our baby. 

For Greg and I, doing things the natural way is important!

It’s the Idea of working with and supporting the body- rather than getting in the way of it. Whether it’s treating a cold, working on a healthier lifestyle, or in this case- giving birth. 

So for us this meant no….

• Induction
• Medications
• Episiotomy
• Antibiotics
• Pitocin
• Epidural
• Few, if any vaginal exams
• Minimal fetal monitoring

Just to name a few…

We believe a woman’s body is created extra special for giving birth.

In most instances, there’s no need for any medical intervention. 

That’s not to say intervention shouldn’t ever be used- I’m thankful that we have those options to use when necessary. 

But for us, it’s a last resort- not our first choice…

To help us accomplish our birth goals we also signed up at the natural birth center at our local hospital. 

This would ensure we got the support we needed to make it through with our birth plan in-tact. 

Or so we thought…

Preparing for Natural Birth

The further along our journey Greg and I went we realized that if we truly wanted to pull off this natural birth successfully- then we needed to dive in headfirst and learn about the process. 

Giving birth naturally doesn’t require planning and thinking ahead. But if you choose to do the work upfront- the chances of you succeeding and actually enjoying your birth experience go way up!

There were 5 key things Greg and I did to help prepare us for our special day…

1. Took a Hypnobirthing class

As we quickly figured out, giving birth naturally usually isn’t something that you can just show up to the hospital for and expect to go flawlessly. 

We didn’t know anything about birth… 

So we needed to learn quality information from somewhere 

Taking a Hypnobirthing was one of the best things we did throughout this whole journey. 

It not only taught us about the process of birth and how the body functions, but gave us the tools to support the body through each phase of birth.

In case you’ve never heard of Hypnobirthing before, it’s sorta like a mindset one has while going through labor.

The goal is to keep the body relaxed so the body can open and release the baby out into the world. 

 Staying relaxed through labor is that tricky part- and that’s where the hypnobirthing technique comes into play. 

Using a combination of birthing positions, breathing techniques, gentle touch, affirmations, meditation, and a few others- to keep your mind focused on staying relaxed and not focused on the pain during labor. 

If done successfully it truly does work!

2. Hired a doula

Because this was our first birthing experience, and knowing we wanted a natural birth- hiring a doula was something we wanted to do nearly from the beginning of our birthing journey. 

Just like the hypnobirthing class we took, hiring a doula was a great decision. 

When asked, my husband will tell you that “It was the best money we spent during this whole journey”.

And I’d have to agree with him. 

Not only did our doulas support us through the third trimester and birth. But they stayed with us during postpartum recovery. 

Not sure what a doula is? Check out my post What is a Doula (And Why You Should Hire One) 

Our doula’s advice during all three stages proved to be extremely helpful.

From assisting us with our birth plan, to delivery day, to lactation support and baby care after we got home. 

They’re a great resource and are often overlooked by so many! 

I can with almost certainty that we’ll hire a doula again for our next child- they’re that helpful!

3. Created a birth plan -together!

Creating a birth plan without a doubt was the single most important thing we did throughout our birthing journey. 

I’ll briefly cover why here, but if you are really looking to learn more- read our earlier post What is a Birth Plan (And Why You Should Be Writing One). 

In that post, I go over all the nitty-gritty details and how to write your own!

Creating our birth plan brought Greg and I so much closer together and ensured that we were on the same page on what we both wanted. 

By creating a birth plan you force yourself to think through the entire process, do the  research if necessary and then make a decision on what you would like to have done when. 

This prepared Greg and I well ahead of time on the potential problems that could arise, the medical procedures to get past it, and the risks associated with those procedures.

Had we not done the research ahead of time, we would’ve been at the mercy of the doctor who was on site that night.  

Although we trust most medical professionals, we always prefer to do our own research and look at thing from a more natural perspective!

4. Went to the hospital before the due date

When I first mentioned to my husband Greg that we should go to the hospital a few weeks before I was due, he wasn’t exactly thrilled of the idea… 

I couldn’t blame him, it was 40 minutes away with heavy traffic across town!

But we can both say that doing this turned out to be such a great thing! 

And you’ll soon learn why… 

I highly recommend getting to the hospital, or wherever you’re planning on birthing before your big day. 

That way you know where to park, where to walk in, and where to go. 

It may seem petty and a waste of time- but for us it was worth it! Especially given the high-stress situation that our birth ended up being. 

5. Read a ton of online resources and blogs

And finally, the last important thing we did to prep for our natural birth was research, research and research. 

Guys, there can be a lot to know when it comes to giving birth naturally. 

Greg and I spent hours learning about the birthing process, what things could go wrong, what medical procedures we would be offered if things did start going wrong, etc.

This gave Greg and I more peace of mind about the whole process. 

Don’t get me wrong- I was still super nervous- like really nervous…

But we knew a lot so if something came up, chances are we already knew what our plan was for it. 

This is why having a birth plan is so important too. Your research should make its way into your birth plan. 

You can’t research and plan for everything, but you can put yourself in a better position for success!

Our Natural Birth- What Actually happened

While at Home 

Two days before my due date I started to feel contractions roughly 15 minutes apart at around 11pm. 

I didn’t think too much about it because I had some Braxton Hicks contractions earlier in the week.

Just to be sure I reached out to our doula.

She thought it was the beginning stages of labor!

Excited! But super nervous, I laid back down in bed, going over some positive affirmations- trying to rest the best I could.

Then 1am hit..

I hadn’t slept a wink! 

And the contractions were getting more frequent and intense… 

I rolled over and told Greg “I don’t think you’re going to work tomorrow, I think I’m having this baby soon”. 

“Wake me up at 5am” he said. Thinking he had plenty of time to get ready and go to the hospital.

3am rolled around and my contractions were getting super painful and much closer together. 

Frantically, I was logging them into my phone, trying to determine when we should leave for the hospital. 

I felt like I was having to go poop, which is a sign that baby is shifting further down on the pelvis, getting into position for birth. 

Covered in a cold sweat and starting to shake I was sitting on the toilet trying to keep my cool… 

By 3:30 I had our doula on the phone trying to talk to her in between contractions and holding back tears. 

My mucus plug had dropped and left the “bloody show” in the toilet- another indicator that things were starting to progress. 

But my contractions were still 6-7 minutes apart!

We were taught that as a general rule you start driving to the hospital when your contractions are  about 3-4 minutes apart… 

Being further away from the hospital… we were planning on leaving closer to 5-6 minutes apart. 

We didn’t want to leave too early because if I wasn’t dilated fully- they’d send us back home or make us wait in triage. 

Neither of which we wanted to do…

The pain kept getting worse…

At this point we couldn’t wait any longer. Greg called our OB GYN office and told them that we were coming to the hospital so they would be ready for us. 

We hastily grabbed our packed overnight bags birth plan binder- threw them in the car and drove off. 

Getting to the hospital

15 minutes into our drive I was nearly levitating off the seat of the car…

My body felt like it was trying to let go and release our baby, but I was doing all I could to keep it in.

That feeling to me was much more difficult than the actual delivery itself.

Trying to keep him in when every nerve in my body was trying to force this baby out… 

You know that feeling when you need to throw up or have diarrhea… try to keep that inside your body when it’s coming out at full force… all while having excruciating and intense pain.

I kept shooting glances at the GPS, counting down the minutes when we would be there..

40 minutes…

35 minutes…

22 minutes…

Clenching my cell phone in one hand, and the car’s “oh shit” with the other- I was trying to listen to my doula on the phone reminding me to breathe and stay as calm as possible. 

I’ve never clenched my cheeks so hard in my life. 

I was terrified- as I’ve told Greg from the beginning that my worst fear was having our baby in the car. 

And we were about to have exactly that!!

It was this moment where our doula really came through for the win! 

Talking with me, allowing Greg to focus on the road and get us to the hospital as quickly and safely as he could. 

Meanwhile I’m yelling in the passenger seat with each new contraction swearing at all the red lights that we came to at 4 o’clock in the morning!

Finally, we get to the hospital!!!

Arrival at the hospital

We finally arrived at the hospital after what seemed like an hour!

Greg pulls right up to the front door- because we checked it out a few weeks earlier we didn’t have to spend precious moments looking for where to go in a large metropolitan hospital 

Half bent over Greg gets me into the lobby..

A staff member brings a wheelchair over and whisks me away.

With COVID restrictions- our Doula had to stay in the lobby- this was a huge bummer- we were really looking forward to her support through this process.

Down the hall and up the elevator to the 3rd floor birthing center…

3 minutes and another contraction later we finally arrive at the birthing wing of the hospital. 

The nice lady behind the counter starts checking us in, asking for insurance cards and to fill out paperwork.

I felt another contraction hit me and I started levitating again in my wheelchair and yelled out in pain. 

Within seconds 4 nurses came running out-they rushed me through a set of double doors and into a triage room. 

According to our birth plan, we were supposed to head over to the Natural Birth Center across the hall- but nope!

That didn’t happen! 

There was just no time for it! 

After checking a few vitals and the staff getting a plan together they wheeled me into a hospital birthing room. 

In the labor room

At this point I was having contractions every minute or so. 

Everything in our birth plan about wanting a quiet, dimly lit room with few staff was thrown out the window.

There was no time- this baby was coming and he was coming now!

Before Greg  could say anything, the nurse was hooking up an IV on my hand so they could get fluids into me or any medications if it came to that. 

At this point I was laying on my back, on a hospital bed with my legs and feet lifted up. 

The exact opposite of what I wanted and not what we had planned for. 

The doctors instructed me to “push push push” with each new contraction. I was burning up- my cheeks on fire and my mouth felt like it was filled with dry cotton.

It didn’t help I had to wear a mask due to covid-19 protocols… 

They didn’t have time to administer a COVID test so I was forced to wear a mask doing one of the most difficult things my body has ever endured… not fun at all!!

Greg stood there feeling helpless, but doing his absolute best trying to remind me to stay calm and breath as best I could.

Getting me plenty of water and ice cubes in between contractions, and lifting my mask up off my face so I could get a few deep breaths in.  

The Baby’s stats were dropping so the doctor there gave me two more attempts to push him out before they would do an episiotomy. 

Well, I wasn’t able to push him out, so they did an episiotomy- something that we also didn’t want to have to do. 

Two excruciating pushes later- baby’s head had finally popped out.

With a third and final push the rest of him was out in the world for the very first time. 

Finally- he was out!

It was a beautiful, exhausting moment- one that I’ll never forget. And one that really only a mother can truly understand. 

All that pain, stress, and endurance ended with an awesome finish of holding a new little life in my arms. 

It was truly amazing…

As the doctors stitched up where they did the episiotomy and the two second degree tears, I held our new little boy and just stared at him in amazement. 

“We made this! He’s ours!” I kept saying to Greg. 

After a while they moved us to a recovery room where we stayed for the next 36 hours checking baby’s vitals among other things. 

We had done it! We successfully gave birth naturally, albeit not exactly to plan, but it was accomplished nonetheless. 

At 5:01am our son was born – 25 minutes after we arrived at the hospital!

We barely made it- yikes!

They say your second baby usually comes faster… so for the next one you shall find me camping out in the hospital parking lot 2-3 weeks before the due date or possibly considering a home birth 🙂 

Several weeks later, I requested my hospital charts to get a better understanding on what exactly happened during that crazy whirlwind of events. 

It turns out that my placenta had an abruption, Which is why my body was trying to flush out baby so quickly!

Preparing For Your Natural Birth

So I tell you all this for a couple of reasons. 

First, despite all of our preparation and planning- not everything went how we wanted it to…

Your attitude during this process is everything! 

We didn’t give birth in the natural birth center…

I wasn’t able to labor in a quiet, dimly lit- stress free environment…

An episiotomy was done…

I had an abundance of vaginal bleeding after delivery so they gave me Pitocin after birth… (also to help shrink my uterus)

But, there were a lot of things that happened that we did in fact have on our birth plan.

Like..

No medications during labor

Minimal fetal monitoring…

Few vaginal exams…

Delayed cord clamping…

A quiet golden hour after birth…

Just to name a few.

Guys- despite our best efforts, it didn’t go exactly as planned. 

And that’s totally ok! Few things always go to plan. 

Our preparation still paid off in the end.

And it was that preparation that helped Greg and I get through this. 

Another reason I’m sharing my story is that during labor things can change so fast. This is where it really helps to have a solid support team around you. 

Birth was never meant to be done alone. 

Get your partner involved, hire a good doula or midwife, get your family involved if you’d like.

Another thing we struggled with was the fact that due to COVID restrictions, our doula wasn’t able to be in the room with us during labor. 

Or in the recovery room…

It was just Greg, myself and the hospital staff. No doula, family or friends allowed at all during our hospital stay.

Hopefully these restrictions will go away soon so you won’t have the same problem.

The point is, having that additional support- even if it’s only your partner- really goes the extra mile when things feel like they’re spinning out of control. 

Now, for the vast majority of you, your birth experience will be much slower and more relaxed leading up to active labor. 

But for some of you- it’ll be similar to mine. 

This is your first lesson as a new mom- to take what you get, and roll with the punches. 

Things aren’t going to plan? 

That’s ok!

What are my options?

When do I have to make a decision?

What are the risks involved?

These are the questions you should be asking, and the attitude you need to have. 

Above all, lean on your support team. 

Whether that’s your husband, partner, doula, midwife, mom, dad or someone else whom you trust. 

You don’t have to make all of the decisions on your own- that’s exhausting! 

Birth is a wild adventure that can throw you a curveball at any moment. 

But that’s why it’s so rich and full of beauty!

What are some things that you have questions about concerning natural birth? 

What can we help you with?

Leave a comment below!