Non-Medicated, All-Natural Birth Story

When I was pregnant the first time around, I loved reading other people’s birth stories and watching birth story vlogs on YouTube. I wanted to be super informed and prepare myself for what was to come. 

Preparing myself for the birth of my second child is causing me to reflect a lot on the birth story of my first child. And therefore, I decided to share my all-natural, non-medicated birth story with you as well! 

But before we jump in to the nitty gritty, let me start at the beginning. 

I’m Pregnant! 

I found out I was pregnant end of September, just a month and a half after I had gotten married, what are the chances? 

We firmly believed in saving ourselves for marriage and were absolutely shocked that we were expecting so soon! 

And all it took was an intense craving for pickled mushrooms my mother used to make, a trip to the local drug store, and then a positive pregnancy test. 

I was absolutely shocked, scared, excited, relieved, but terrified at the thought of becoming a mother as I had no idea what was in front of me. 

Let’s just say my husband had a similar reaction when I told him that night. A whole kaboodle of emotions filled out hearts that day and the following days. 

Quickly, I got used to the idea of having a child so soon and was looking very forward to seeing my baby bump grow and becoming a mother myself. 

The Pregnancy 

The pregnancy was pretty uneventful, everything seemed perfect and great! I had no morning sickness, but an intense acne covered my face and chest and accompanied me until after birth. 

Due to my cravings of everything salty, vinegary, and citrussy, I thought we were expecting a boy. However, we soon learned we had a little girl on our hands. 

I guess you could say my entire pregnancy through I was obsessed with being pregnant. Throughout the entire pregnancy I felt great, everything looked great, baby was healthy, and I was up all day and night googling everything there was to know about pregnancy, babies, and labor and delivery. I also may have watched countless birth story vlogs on YouTube.

This is what ultimately led to my creating of this blog, my love for anything pregnancy, birth, and baby related! 

Related Posts:

–Prodromal Labor Birth Story

–Baby Proofing Your Marriage (with Exercises)

–8 Critical Tips to Survive Pregnancy With a Toddler

–Everything You Want To Know About The First Trimester

The Day Came 

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. I was 38 weeks and 5 days along, thinking I had at least a week more to go until the big reveal. 

I had lost some of my mucus plug already, so I knew labor was close, however, “it could still be weeks away” my midwife assured me. 

But I was so impatient. I wanted to have this baby now, as soon as possible. Being tired of sitting alone at home on maternity leave, wondering about how this baby will look like and who it will become, really brought on the impatience I had.

I woke up pretty early shortly after 7 in the morning. After a quick climb down our loft from our tiny house (yes those on wheels you see on TV), and a quick bathroom break and snack-grab, I headed back into bed. 

I felt stiff and sore, so I started stretching in bed. Bad idea. Suddenly it happened, my water broke. It didn’t all come at once, but surely, I thought I was peeing myself, but I couldn’t stop.  

I called out to my still peacefully sleeping husband who jumped up so fast at the words “I think my water broke” it scared me half to death. Insert here another gush, and we were confident our little girl would soon be here. 

The Never-ending Wait 

I immediately called my midwife, and after a short conversation she agreed that it was my water that broke. My contractions would most likely soon start, so rest, eat a meal, and wait, were her recommendations. 

Hah. Who could wait at a time like this? 

But we waited, and waited… and waited, and nothing came. I felt as good as ever. 

After a few hours, we decided enough was enough and went on a small hike to a nearby lookout. Surely exercise, some spicy food, and time would bring the contractions. 

Dusk came and nothing was happening. So we settled down for the night, hoping to get at least some sleep before the contractions started. 

That night was filled with lots of prayer, fear, and short power naps here and there. 

Being Induced? 

My midwife told me she would call me at 7:30 am that next morning. If the contractions had not started by then, 24 hours after my water broke, we would need to go and get induced to decrease the risk of infection. 

But the LORD said: 

Boy did I ask and pray. And surely, at 7:20 am that morning I felt my first, real contraction. Was I ever excited! A few more contractions later my midwife called and was on her way to check if these were early labor contractions or simply Braxton hicks. 

Oh yea, they were real! So then came a hectic drive to the hospital and I was officially admitted! 

The Birth 

I honestly don’t remember every detail about my birth, all I was focused on was the pain and surviving each contraction. 

I spent most of my labor in the bathtub. It felt good to have the warm water surround me like a big hug. It seemed to take the edge of the pain off, which was a godsend with no epidural. 

My contractions got closer and closer, and by 3:30pm I was in the transitional phase. It was here that I truly felt like dying. The contractions were non-stop and finally after a while I gave in and took some gas to ease the pain. 

Finally, at around 4:30 I was fully dilated, effaced, and ready to push. I was so excited! After 9 hours of active labor, I could finally do something about the pain. And soon, within the next half an hour everything would be over, right? 

Wrong. 

I pushed for 3 hours. 3 gruesome hours. Baby was coming slowly, but because she was sunny side up and came head and elbow first, it was so difficult.  

However, my midwife saw I had the strength to keep going, and she let me push. I was almost pushing for 3 hours when she warned me she would call a doctor to help baby come as it was taking too long. They would either use forceps or the vacuum to help me out. 

That gave me the necessary motivation, and exactly at 7:30 pm, my baby daughter was born with 38 weeks and 6 days. Dark like her dad, not blond and fair like me, and very chubby. 

Postpartum Life 

I immediately got to hold her and rejoiced in the moment that everything was finally over. The rest was a whirlwind. I birthed the placenta, a nurse massaged my stomach, I got some needles and an IV and was able to try breastfeeding for the first time. 

“You’re a natural!” my midwife told me after my daughter latched on for the first time. 

Hah. Little did she know I would have major breastfeeding problems in the weeks to come! 

Even better news, I didn’t even need stitches! Though I had some minor tears (kind of like scraping your knee on the road) I would need no stitches. I was ecstatic! I guess everything I did to prepare my body for labor and to prevent tearing helped! 

After a nice warm shower, some fresh clothes, and a healthy baby all cleaned and wrapped in a blanket, it was time to rest. 

A few family members came that evening to get a quick glimpse of the newborn baby, but who even remembers that stuff? I was exhausted, and so ready for a good night’s sleep and some sushi. And that’s it! That’s my birth story. While a lot of things did happen after our hospital stay, that’s for another time.

What’s Next? 

While I’m writing this post, my second little babe is using my stomach as a bouncy castle, making themselves very known that they are ready to come out in a few weeks! 

And boy am I excited! 

Who knows what this next labor brings? Will it be longer? Shorter? Will I have any complications, or will it fly by like a dream? 

Who knows? Well not us yet, so stick around to hear about this next experience, another birth story, and everything I did to prepare my body for labor! 

Until next time, 

Celina 

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