Lets be Honest Mamas

Its Lets Be Honest Mamas Chat time. This month I am excited to share a story I haven’t shared as of yet. I meant to over a year ago, but never took the time to really sit down and write about it. So this month Kacie over at Elements of Ellis is asking the group of us mamas about our birth story. Promise, its fairly G rated 😉

Did you have a birth plan? If so, what was it. Did your labor go as planned?

My birth plan was pretty simple. Lets do this natural and don’t give up. I had been going to a OBGYN the first part of my pregnancy. I knew I wanted to do a natural birth but was deciding where I would actually deliver. Where I live there are soooo many options. One of my best friends gave birth at a birth center and raved about them so I decided to transfer over to them halfway through my pregnancy. It was the best decision I had made. If I hadn’t of, I would have definitely gotten a c-section because of how my birth story went. At the end of the day my labor went as planned. Because both me and my little man stayed alive and I was able to deliver naturally. It however took way longer than I expected.

Share your thoughts on a natural birth vs. a medicated birth vs. a c-section.

If you’ve followed my journey at all you’ll know I always lean towards as natural as possible for everything in life. I grew up very healthy, even in that I lost my mom and two grandparents to cancer and disease so I do what I can do live a natural lifestyle the best I can. When it comes to any kind of medication I will always pass. I have a fairly high pain tolerance but I also do like to take medications if possible. I try and use any kind of preventative measures possible in life to prevent our need to go to the doctor or need a medication. I believe our bodies know how to heal themselves. We just have to do our part. For labor I knew I wanted to be able to feel everything and be apart of the process if at all possible. So opted to do a natural birth. I thought I would want to do a water birth but once I transitioned to pushing I was like get me out of this tub now. haha.

Briefly share your birth story/stories.

I am so proud of my birth story simply because I did not give up. I think its very interesting how my birth story with my son Isaac has been a very similar to my life story. The process itself takes about three times longer than anticipated or that others imagined it would but the end result is beyond words. I was group b positive so I had to make sure I had IV at least four hours before I gave birth so when my contractions began being 4 mins apart at home we booked it to the hospital around 11pm. The midwife told me after the fact that when I walked in and saw how I was still laughing, talking, and walking around fine she didn’t think I was anywhere close to going into labor. But checked me and I was over halfway ready to go (G-rated version for ya;). haha. Thats just me.

I had just settled it in my heart the pain is apart of the process, so embrace it. Fighting the pain would just delay the process and ultimately the outcome.

It means I am one step closer to meeting this little boy I have dreamt of. 30 hours later my little man was here. My labor stopped several times over this time and I began to get so tired.

What advice would you give an expectant mother in regards to child birth?

My best friend had shared this with me and it ended up being the KEY THING for me having a natural birth. She told me the moment she thought she couldn’t do it everything came crashing down. So she told herself you can do this. Towards the very end of my labor I was telling myself this outloud. You can do this! I kicked any kind os self doubt in the teeth. The other big thing that helped me was remember there are thousands of other women doing this right now. THIS IS POSSIBLE. Not only that, but my body was made to do this. There are certain points in labor that it can seem impossible. That is when you MUST push through to see the end result.

Are there any books or classes you would recommend to an expectant mother?

NOPE! Honestly I just talked to one or two friends about it and left it at that. We had to take a class but really it didn’t teach me anything. If anything I wish they had taught about how to push. Its the one thing no one tells you about. Its solely trial and error. haha. I remember thinking how the heck do I do this? lol. But He is here. So I am thankful. I would say stay away from birth horror stories and people who are negative about birth in general. Keep a positive outlook.

** I want to be really clear that I understand not everyone has the opportunity to have a natural birth. This is my first and only birth at this point so this is all I have to pull from. One day when I have more kids (that is the dream:) who knows what will happen but my goal will be all natural births if possible. **