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Labor and Delivery – How to prepare and succeed
Having a baby is one of the most wonderful experiences in an woman’s life. It is also one of the most difficult things a woman will endure in her life. You truly learn what the human body is fully capable of during labor and delivery. I believe that preparation is crucial in order to be as successful as a woman wants to be. What I mean by this is you need to have a set plan and goals about how you would like laboring and delivery to occur, in a perfect world, ie. a birth plan. It’s not a requirement but I found it to be my “piece of mind” as I was approaching my delivery date. It was a way for me to feel like I had some kind of control and order about what was about to happen. In other words, I was scarred shitless about delivery!
1. What I knew before having a baby
I would consider myself to be averagely educated in the area of having a baby. I knew that your water would break and then you would go through contractions, dilate, push, and viola a baby would appear. I also knew that I would have an epidural because there was no other option in my mind. I am a wimp when it comes to pain so I just figured there were no other options for me. I went to my OB throughout my pregnancy, did what she told me to do, and that was it. I never really did much research into various options for laboring and delivery. And I just assumed that I was going to breastfeed and it was as easy as bringing the baby close to you and the baby will do the rest.
WOW, was I way off about everything! I was so naive! I have learned SO much since having my baby! I definitely don’t regret not knowing what I know now about labor and delivery (and everything in between) but some of it would have been nice to know more information about. I just wish I had done a lot more research and preparation. But all in all I am happy that I ended up with a healthy baby and healthy recovery in the end.
2. What I have learned since delivering my baby
I have learned SO much from other moms by hearing their birth stories. It’s amazing to hear their stories and personal experiences about their pregnancy and delivery! It really goes to show that no two deliveries are the same whatsoever!
First, I never knew what a midwife or doula was. I talked about this briefly here in a previous post. I thought everyone went to an OBGYN and that was all there was. WRONG! Since learning all the amazing things about midwives, I have transferred to a wonderful OBGYN office that has a great OB Doctor as well as two midwives and great nurses! A few moms from a group that I am a part of all know each other from that office and highly recommend them. I took their advice and am SO glad I did. At their office they have “centering” prenatal groups where expecting moms who have close due dates meet and talk about how their feeling, any questions or concerns they have, and are able to receive support and encouragement from each other and their midwife. For more information, please take a look at this website. So for our next child, I can’t wait to receive the services and expertise of a midwife. I believe that this will be the start of where I can find the best support and information to ensure success in having a natural child birth. Previously I was scarred to my wits end and never thought I would even ponder a natural birth but I believe with enough preparation, education, practice and support it is most definitely possible!
A friend told me about some great documentaries out there regarding the topic of birth. The first one is “The Business of Being Born.” I found most of the video here or of course you could purchase it or rent it from the library. The other one is “Orgasmic Birth” which I haven’t had the chance to watch yet but plan to with my significant other before our next child. The first video does a great job covering all the aspects surrounding child birth in America and facts that will really open your eyes about.
Second, I am going to look into doing Bradley Method birthing classes. You can find complete information about what these classes entail here. I have heard wonderful things about how these classes help prepare you during your pregnancy and birth as well.
Third, I am most definitely well educated about breastfeeding now but I do recommend for any new mom or new to breastfeeding to look into taking and/or reading about how to breastfeed and what you want to know before diving right into it. It doesn’t come as natural as we all may think it does. LaLeche League is a wonderful place to find lots of information on this topic, as well as find local meetings in your area.
All in all, labor and delivery is such an important area to be well educated about even before you get pregnant! Or at least something you want to do lots of preparation and research about during the beginning of your pregnancy as you can. There are so many options for women now. It is definitely a huge topic to be well educated about!
Pregnancy – Some love it, some despise it!
I used to look at pregnant women and have a sort of jealousy and awe about them. I would think about how fun it would be to be pregnant and have a baby and all the fun stuff that babies use. Then I would think about how much pain that woman was about to endure and all the other previous happy thoughts were erased. I never thought about all the other “stuff” that occurs behind the glow of being pregnant and having a baby.
Now, none of these thoughts go through my head! Now when I see a pregnant woman I still have that warm fuzzy feeling but I also have flash backs of all the sleepless nights, diaper blow outs, continuous nursing sessions, etc. It’s amazing what happens once you personally experience labor and delivery and everything that follows. Completely life changing!! Would I do it all over again? Yes, in a heart beat! (But we have decided to wait a little while before the next.)
Pregnancy is such an amazing experience. I loved being pregnant! I was never sick or had any complaints. Granted that I didn’t find out I was pregnant until 13 weeks along, so it was nice to “skip” that first trimester. However, I had lots of worries as well since I didn’t take the best care of myself during that first trimester as I would have if I knew I was pregnant. But thank goodness all turned out perfect and he’s the best baby ever! It was so much fun to be pregnant but exhausting at times, which allowed me to have another excuse to nap (a few times a day)! There are lots of women that have morning sickness and I completely feel for them. It has to be SO difficult to get over the fact that at the end of all the throwing up etc. that a miracle will arrive and change your life forever!
Food tastes so much more delicious (for the most part) when I was pregnant. I definitely indulged a little too much at times but it was well deserved indulgence for what my body was being put through. From stretch marks, to waddling, to back pain – it was a lot of change in a short amount of time. I was very sensitive to smells as well. C was a smoker during the first half of my pregnancy and I would tell him how much he wreaked and he didn’t notice until he quit. Then he totally noticed! I was so thankful that he quit because I don’t think I could have been with a smoker for much longer. Granted I was guilty as well but I quit cold turkey when I found I was pregnant. Easiest decision ever and so glad for it!
My significant other was so very understanding and helpful when I was pregnant (and still is, for the most part ;). He would cut my toenails when I could no longer reach them. He would make dinner for me so I wouldn’t have to be on my feet. He even got the heartburn that I never had during pregnancy! He was always talking to the baby in my belly, kissing it, and showing off that he was going to be a Daddy. He went to every doctor appointment and ultrasound. It was so wonderful to see how excited, proud, and supportive he was about everything. We went to a birthing 101 class and a breastfeeding class at the hospital we were delivering at and he paid more attention than I did to some things – it was great to see how attuned he was about everything.
It’s so important to have a good support system and help when your pregnant. I would have never been able to survive by myself. There are times when you feel so ugly inside and out and that support will help you pull through all those emotional highs and lows.
My pregnancy did have one complication, which was almost having placenta previa. This is where the placenta is low lying and covering the exit into the real world. The doc was watching this closely by having ultrasounds done every month until the end. Thank goodness the placenta moved and we were able to go full term without any complications. I was almost put on bed rest. I was ordered not to carry anything heavier than 5 pounds and abstain from sex. These were orders I could easily handle in order to keep my baby inside until he was fully ready.
Everyone always says the last few weeks are the hardest. I never believed them because I was loving being pregnant. But once I reached mid-February I was very uncomfortable! I was impatient and wanted that baby out of me. I was thankful that sleep wasn’t affected much except for the constant needing to go to the restroom! I definitely slept a lot and watched TLC’s programs about delivering babies constantly. I thought it was a good way to prepare myself for what I was about to go through. It helped me get into the zone that my life was about to change forever! I also went walking at the mall a lot to help gravity do its thing. Which, in the end, worked and one day after walking at the mall a bunch with my mom my water broke that night! It was actually the night before we were supposed to go in to be induced. So, I think the baby heard what we were saying and he decided to stop being stubborn and come out by himself. 🙂
If I could do it all over again I would have done SO much more research and reading than I did. I never knew about things like midwives and doulas, or Bradley Method birthing classes. I just went to my OB that I had been going to, followed her lead, and let her inform me what I needed to know. Don’t get me wrong, she did a great job and I didn’t have any issues with her but for the next baby I am doing it differently.
I ended up having a c-section after 3 hours of pushing. I believe that if I had a midwife and doula I would have succeeded in birthing the natural way. At the time, I was exhausted and felt let down that the baby wasn’t moving any more. I was so done with everything and threw in the towel pretty much. I remember my OB saying something about the fact that she didn’t think I was as far as the nurse who had been helping me push for 3 hours. So in hindsight I might not have even been all the way ready and was pushing prematurely anyways. Thus, if I had just gone another hour he might have arrived naturally. So next time will be a lot different and will hopefully be the experience of a lifetime to never forget!
All in all, being pregnant was amazing and I loved everything about it. (Well mostly everything…) Every baby truly is a miracle and a gift! D has changed my life completely and I am so grateful for being blessed with him. I can’t even remember what my life was like before him. Well I can but it sure was uneventful compared to now! I wouldn’t change a thing and can’t wait for the next baby! 🙂
Welcome to the Natural Mommas Blog!
Welcome to the Natural Mommas Blog! I am so excited to embark on this new journey of blogging. When I was brainstorming about what I wanted to blog about I thought it would be fun to talk about all the lessons, challenges, and discoveries I’ve learned so far about parenting. I wanted to create a place where people can read about my personal experiences with parenting – what I have learned, discovered, and been through – in hopes that they might find out something new and pass it on to others. As well as, share what worked for them or didn’t work, so that we can all learn from each other! It should be a fun project and a great learning experience for all to enjoy!
Please feel free to create an open dialogue about your experiences and thoughts so we can all learn and grow together! In this blog I am going to discuss topics like breastfeeding, baby food making, cloth diapering, teething, sleep, baby wearing, traveling, and lots, lots more! The journey of being a parent, especially a new parent, is such an amazing one! There are so many ups and downs and twists and turns, it’s like a crazy roller coaster ride that never ends! Nothing can prepare someone for all that parenthood entails. When you hear people say it takes a village to raise a child, it is SO true! And at the end of the day you can sit back and realize that every day is a miracle of life and you would never change a thing!
I wanted to create this blog because all of the topics that I would like to discuss here are things that I NEVER thought I would be writing and talking about a year ago. I have always wanted a child but I never thought of all the other things that go along with raising a child. I just wanted a baby and I sure got one that has grown up WAY too quickly already! It never even crossed my mind to cloth diaper or make my own baby food or breastfeed my child until people asked these questions while I was pregnant. I just assumed that breastfeeding comes naturally after the baby is born and you don’t need to read books about it. But after D was born, WOW did I ever realize what a full time job it is to breastfeed! No one can prepare you for all you will struggle with in order to succeed! But as I see it, succeeding is the only option! It does come naturally but only with time and lots of sleep deprivation!
It’s topics like the ones mentioned above that I can now share my experiences with others so that they can learn more about what to prepare for before their child is born and hopefully feel a little less overwhelmed about. Or for people to learn more about which they might not have even known existed or was out there.
So if you have any comments, suggestions, ideas or quarrels – PLEASE feel free to contact me or leave a comment. I would LOVE to hear them all and learn more from readers! 🙂 It would be great to have an open dialogue here on all the subjects discussed and more!
Hope you enjoy and explore away! 🙂
Super Baby Foods
Natural Mommas 