The natural birth I desired...13 months later.
My desire for a natural birth is something that took me by COMPLETE surprise. Like so many other women, I didn't even think about labor until I was about 4 months pregnant with my first daughter, Alexandria, and one of my best friends from high school asked me if I was planning on having a natural birth or getting an epiidural. With very little thought or research I initially thought, bring on the drugs!! All of my sisters, close friends, co-workers all got epidurals so I didn;t think there was really a decision to make. BOY was I wrong.
After researching and learning about what the body experiences during an epidural only one person came to my mind. My brother Steven. He was in a car accident in high school that left him paralyzed from his waist down, the thought of feeling, for even those few short hours, what he feels every seconnd of every day was so terrifying for me. After discussing my concerns I had several friends reccomend Ina May's "Hypnobirthing".
The theory/beliefs/concept made a lot of sense to me. I have been a competitive ballroom dancer for most of my life so I have always trusted my instincts when it comes to movement, injuries and various journeys that the body goes through and LABOR was my next journey-and I was SUPER excited for it!
My husband, doctor, mom and entire support system were all on the same page with me when it came to what I wanted. Two days after my due date, I started having very severe migranes and after my blood pressure rose 60 points overnight, my doctor told me I had to be induced. I was devastated. I made it to 4 cm but the contractions were so bizarre and artifically painful (meaning they were extremely painful but labor was not progressing) that I got the epidural and that was that.
Four months later we decided we wanted to add to our little family and we were estatic when we learned we were having another healthy baby girl. This pregnancy FLEW by. With a little one to chase around I didn't have time to focus on this pregnancy. It wasn't until after Lexi's first birthday party that I thought, holy cow-I'm having a baby next month!!
The next 3 weeks flew by and all of a sudden I started practicing my hypnobirthing breathing and visulization techniques. The weekend my labor started I was really unsure of what was happening. I didn't go into labor with my first baby-so everything was completely new to me.
Sunday morning, I woke up and felt "off". I told Jimmy I was staying home with the kids and told him to keep his phone on him...ya know, just in case. Sure enough consistant contractions started around 3 pm and they became harder and more consistant, so around 7 pm, I told Jimmy it was time to head over to the hospital. When we arrived the triage nurse told me I was having consistant contractions that were about 3 minuted apart but I was only dialated to about 2.5 cm and 80% effacfed and because I was only 38 weeks they wouldn't admit me to the hospital until I was 4 cm so they would know that "real labor" was going to happen. Well, I was determined to have my baby, so she suggested we take a walk around the hospital grounds and she would check me again.
I made Jimmy run home and grab my tennis shoes because we had some serious work ahead of us! LOL I made him walk about 2 miles around Celebration hospital-there was one point where he thought we should stop, so I started adding lunges to my walking-I mean I REALLY wanted to get that baby out!!
Suddenly, my contractions became VERY different. Not necessarily painful, but more serious. It was more difficult to just keep my regular pace and when they became strong enough that I needed to stop and breathe through them-I told him it was time to head in. We arrived back at the triage unit and sure enough I was a 4!!
It took the nurses 45 minutes to get me set up in a room and that entire time I kept telling the nurse that I REALLY was progressing fast. I think because I was so calm she didn't believe me. She checked me and sure enough, I was 8 cm and there was no cervex. She called my doctor and told her to come ASAP.
About 2 minutes later, I felt the urge to push. That feeling is incredible. Again, I didn't experience any of this the last time. I had nurses and my doctor telling me what was happening and what I needed to do. This labor, I was in total control. It was so strange but I knew what to do. I focused on my little baby girl and thought about how we were in this together. We needed to work together to get this big job done. My body knew exactly what it needed and the only job I had to do was to stay focused and calm enough to hear it. As soon as my doctor arrived, I begged her to push. Twenty minutes later Giuliana Marie White arrived.
Her birth was so beautiful and peacful and exhilirating. I am still living off of the birth high and I am SO grateful I was able to be fully aware to welcome my baby girl into this world.
Jill
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