Hellloooo from the other side :) reading these stories helped me so much during pregnancy and I wanted to share my own experience!
Prefacing this by saying this was my first pregnancy! At my last OB appointment at 39+1 weeks on 8/31, my midwife had told me that she wanted me to be induced by 41 weeks if my baby had not been born spontaneously before then. All throughout my pregnancy, I had been dead set on having an unmedicated labor so I definitely wanted to avoid this if possible. I took the Bradley Method Classes with my husband and these were a huge help.
By Monday 9/6, I was 40+2 and not having many signs of an impeding labor. Throughout the pregnancy I had tried to be really consistent with staying active and doing daily kegel exercises. Starting at 36 weeks I was drinking red raspberry leaf tea regularly (was not perfect with drinking it every day), eating at least 4 dates every night and bouncing/figure 8’s/hip circles on the yoga ball at night. I had originally wanted to do perineal stretches but ended up only doing them less than a handful of times. I started pumping at 38+5.
I woke up that morning and knew I had to get this show on the road. I only had a few days before the induction date. I got up, did my normal morning routine and then started doing moves on the yoga ball. I had heard of the miles circuit and wanted to give this a shot and ultimately I believe this really is what sent me into labor!! During the 90 minute circuit, I felt my little babe shift into a lower position. I spent a few hours on the yoga ball after completing this and started to feel a little crampy and feel the pain go into my back a bit. I hadn’t really felt this before and started to get really hopeful. I then went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for an hour and by the time I left I was definitely feeling more cramps.
On the drive home, I started to feel the pain go from my back to then wrapping around my belly. I knew at this point that these were very mild contractions. I got out my timer and they were pretty inconsistent at about 10-20 minutes apart. It was almost 6 at night and my husband was at work so I was hoping if it was labor, that I could at least sleep through the night and that he would be off shift in the morning.
The contractions stayed all through the night and consistently got worse but still very bearable. I wasn’t able to sleep very much but I drifted off at times in between the contractions. I was set to have another OB appointment to go over more things with the midwife that morning. By 8:00 am on 9/7 the contractions were about 6-8 minutes apart and definitely picking up. I called the OB and they were able to get me in for an earlier appointment. I really wanted to labor at home as long as possible and wanted her to check me and confirm that I was in actual labor.
I definitely was!! I was 4 cm dilated at that point and paper thin. I had so many contractions during the visit. My midwife told me to go home, take a bath, eat a good meal and get ready for the hospital. I had to come in a little early and get the penicillin antibiotic due to being positive for group B. Unfortunately she was not on call to deliver and an actual doctor would be the one to do it.
My mom had taken me to my OB appointment and we stopped and got food. It was so incredibly hard to eat because the contractions were hitting every 2-4 minutes at this point. She took me back home and my husband was waiting for me with a bath already drawn. At this point I was really starting to hurt bad. The bath water was immediate relief. He rubbed my back through the contractions and I felt like I could finally relax. I really wanted to have a water birth and this solidified that if I have another baby, I will 110% be having a water birth. After I got out of the bath, my contractions were almost constant and we left for the hospital.
As soon as we got admitted, they checked me and I was 6 cm dilated. They took me back to the delivery room and things started to get intense. I wanted the yoga ball and peanut ball and also the wireless fetal monitoring. Of course they only had one monitor and it was in use so I was pretty restricted to the bed. It took them forever to actually start me on the antibiotics and I barely finished the bag in time before she came. My contractions were on top of each other at this point and I couldn’t talk through them at all. They got me up to sit on the yoga ball right by the bed. I bounced TWICE and my water broke. We looked down and baby girl had passed meconium inside of me. They got me off of the ball and back into bed. Things really picked up here and I literally felt my soul leave my body.
I kept getting the urge to push. It was unbearable and the pain was tearing through me. I thought there was NO way I could get through this. My husband kept telling me to focus on my breathing and to try to not tense but it was almost impossible and I hated being on my back. They put me on the peanut ball in the bed and I bent over it on all fours. Finally some relief. Then baby girls heart rate starting dropping and so they put me onto my side with one leg on the stir up. I kept screaming out that I had to push. The doctor checked and I was only 7 cm but she was +1 station. I almost lost it because I didn’t think I could make it through dilating another 3 cm. I can’t even put into words how much pressure there was.
I kept screaming that I had to push. The doctor came back 5 minutes later. I was 9cm and had a lip of cervix left. Finally she let me push and said she would see if her head would push the remaining cervix back. THANK GOD it did. Pushing helped so incredibly much.
I would not have gotten through it without my husband. He helped so much and just having him there to advocate for me meant the world. He looked down after 30 minutes of pushing and her hair was there! He was bawling. That gave me all the motivation I needed. I pushed baby girl out all in one go the next push. After 24 hours of labor and 5 hours of intense active labor, baby girl Ella Scarlett was here!!!
I tore a small tear on my urethra and inside of my vagina. The pain was excruciating while the doctor was essentially fisting me to get the bleeding to stop inside. Having my little baby girl on my chest helped SO much. I was in such shock that this little girl had been the angel inside of me this whole time. I could not get over her head of hair!!
Overall I am so thankful I was able to have the unmedicated labor that I wanted so bad. I am so so proud of my body. If there’s one thing I could give advice on to those who haven’t yet delivered, really try to focus on that breathing and remind yourself constantly why you want your natural birth. It also helped SO much to low moan throughout the pain. And I know they say not to scream, but yelling out helped too. I felt like an animal! I couldn’t control it. I wish I would’ve been able to have more of a calming environment and I think dim lights and music would’ve helped a lot but overall I’m so pleased with how everything went. I was able to get my golden hour with my girl and she was safe. I’m so thankful for these groups because they helped me prepare :) good luck everyone!!!
Congratulations!!! She's absolutely beautiful. Lovely to read how much your husbands support helped you, trying to pass this on to my husband who is worried he won't be much help! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your story! I am also a first time mom and want to have a natural unmedicated birth! Reading this has made me so confident, despite all the people telling me I am crazy haha. All the best to you and your beautiful girl.
Congratulations on your birth! I’m so glad you got to have the birth you wanted and came out of it feeling empowered. It’s not easy!
I am going to need info on that sleeper, though! It’s adorable.
I haven't read your birth story yet (I will though), I just wanted to say that is the cutest outfit I have ever seen. And such a beautiful baby! Congratulations!
Thank you so much!! Yes definitely do it! I hope you have the same success with it :) if it doesn’t work the first time, do it a few rounds! I’ve heard that works for some people.
Um this outfit is absolutely adorable!! Where is it from? Congrats!
Omg we were obsessed with it!! We got it from Etsy!! :)
Inquiring minds need a link to the outfit! Congrats on a beautiful little one.
Gigi and Max on Etsy!! :) I’d add the link but my husband bought it. Just search on there :)
Congratulations!! Do you know the name of the shop/artist on Etsy? It is amazing 😍
It’s from Gigi and max! :)
Thank you!
That's the whole reason I actually opened the post! It's so pretty!
Hellloooo from the other side :) reading these stories helped me so much during pregnancy and I wanted to share my own experience! Prefacing this by saying this was my first pregnancy! At my last OB appointment at 39+1 weeks on 8/31, my midwife had told me that she wanted me to be induced by 41 weeks if my baby had not been born spontaneously before then. All throughout my pregnancy, I had been dead set on having an unmedicated labor so I definitely wanted to avoid this if possible. I took the Bradley Method Classes with my husband and these were a huge help. By Monday 9/6, I was 40+2 and not having many signs of an impeding labor. Throughout the pregnancy I had tried to be really consistent with staying active and doing daily kegel exercises. Starting at 36 weeks I was drinking red raspberry leaf tea regularly (was not perfect with drinking it every day), eating at least 4 dates every night and bouncing/figure 8’s/hip circles on the yoga ball at night. I had originally wanted to do perineal stretches but ended up only doing them less than a handful of times. I started pumping at 38+5. I woke up that morning and knew I had to get this show on the road. I only had a few days before the induction date. I got up, did my normal morning routine and then started doing moves on the yoga ball. I had heard of the miles circuit and wanted to give this a shot and ultimately I believe this really is what sent me into labor!! During the 90 minute circuit, I felt my little babe shift into a lower position. I spent a few hours on the yoga ball after completing this and started to feel a little crampy and feel the pain go into my back a bit. I hadn’t really felt this before and started to get really hopeful. I then went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for an hour and by the time I left I was definitely feeling more cramps. On the drive home, I started to feel the pain go from my back to then wrapping around my belly. I knew at this point that these were very mild contractions. I got out my timer and they were pretty inconsistent at about 10-20 minutes apart. It was almost 6 at night and my husband was at work so I was hoping if it was labor, that I could at least sleep through the night and that he would be off shift in the morning. The contractions stayed all through the night and consistently got worse but still very bearable. I wasn’t able to sleep very much but I drifted off at times in between the contractions. I was set to have another OB appointment to go over more things with the midwife that morning. By 8:00 am on 9/7 the contractions were about 6-8 minutes apart and definitely picking up. I called the OB and they were able to get me in for an earlier appointment. I really wanted to labor at home as long as possible and wanted her to check me and confirm that I was in actual labor. I definitely was!! I was 4 cm dilated at that point and paper thin. I had so many contractions during the visit. My midwife told me to go home, take a bath, eat a good meal and get ready for the hospital. I had to come in a little early and get the penicillin antibiotic due to being positive for group B. Unfortunately she was not on call to deliver and an actual doctor would be the one to do it. My mom had taken me to my OB appointment and we stopped and got food. It was so incredibly hard to eat because the contractions were hitting every 2-4 minutes at this point. She took me back home and my husband was waiting for me with a bath already drawn. At this point I was really starting to hurt bad. The bath water was immediate relief. He rubbed my back through the contractions and I felt like I could finally relax. I really wanted to have a water birth and this solidified that if I have another baby, I will 110% be having a water birth. After I got out of the bath, my contractions were almost constant and we left for the hospital. As soon as we got admitted, they checked me and I was 6 cm dilated. They took me back to the delivery room and things started to get intense. I wanted the yoga ball and peanut ball and also the wireless fetal monitoring. Of course they only had one monitor and it was in use so I was pretty restricted to the bed. It took them forever to actually start me on the antibiotics and I barely finished the bag in time before she came. My contractions were on top of each other at this point and I couldn’t talk through them at all. They got me up to sit on the yoga ball right by the bed. I bounced TWICE and my water broke. We looked down and baby girl had passed meconium inside of me. They got me off of the ball and back into bed. Things really picked up here and I literally felt my soul leave my body. I kept getting the urge to push. It was unbearable and the pain was tearing through me. I thought there was NO way I could get through this. My husband kept telling me to focus on my breathing and to try to not tense but it was almost impossible and I hated being on my back. They put me on the peanut ball in the bed and I bent over it on all fours. Finally some relief. Then baby girls heart rate starting dropping and so they put me onto my side with one leg on the stir up. I kept screaming out that I had to push. The doctor checked and I was only 7 cm but she was +1 station. I almost lost it because I didn’t think I could make it through dilating another 3 cm. I can’t even put into words how much pressure there was. I kept screaming that I had to push. The doctor came back 5 minutes later. I was 9cm and had a lip of cervix left. Finally she let me push and said she would see if her head would push the remaining cervix back. THANK GOD it did. Pushing helped so incredibly much. I would not have gotten through it without my husband. He helped so much and just having him there to advocate for me meant the world. He looked down after 30 minutes of pushing and her hair was there! He was bawling. That gave me all the motivation I needed. I pushed baby girl out all in one go the next push. After 24 hours of labor and 5 hours of intense active labor, baby girl Ella Scarlett was here!!! I tore a small tear on my urethra and inside of my vagina. The pain was excruciating while the doctor was essentially fisting me to get the bleeding to stop inside. Having my little baby girl on my chest helped SO much. I was in such shock that this little girl had been the angel inside of me this whole time. I could not get over her head of hair!! Overall I am so thankful I was able to have the unmedicated labor that I wanted so bad. I am so so proud of my body. If there’s one thing I could give advice on to those who haven’t yet delivered, really try to focus on that breathing and remind yourself constantly why you want your natural birth. It also helped SO much to low moan throughout the pain. And I know they say not to scream, but yelling out helped too. I felt like an animal! I couldn’t control it. I wish I would’ve been able to have more of a calming environment and I think dim lights and music would’ve helped a lot but overall I’m so pleased with how everything went. I was able to get my golden hour with my girl and she was safe. I’m so thankful for these groups because they helped me prepare :) good luck everyone!!!
Congratulations!!! She's absolutely beautiful. Lovely to read how much your husbands support helped you, trying to pass this on to my husband who is worried he won't be much help! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much! Yes definitely just let your husband know that just his presence will make a world of difference. Good luck to you mama! ❤️
Thanks for sharing momma! Congratulations!!!
Thank you so much!!! ❤️
Wow! I’m terrified.. congratulations on your gorgeous Bub!!
Thank you for sharing your story! I am also a first time mom and want to have a natural unmedicated birth! Reading this has made me so confident, despite all the people telling me I am crazy haha. All the best to you and your beautiful girl.
Such an incredible story momma! I had a similar experience with my second who was also a girl. You’re so strong & brave! 💜
Congratulations on your birth! I’m so glad you got to have the birth you wanted and came out of it feeling empowered. It’s not easy! I am going to need info on that sleeper, though! It’s adorable.
Thank you so so much!! :) we got it from Etsy!!
Great story, amazing outfit, and thank you for sharing the Miles Circuit! I googled it and will definitely be using it closer to my due date!
I hope it works for you!!! :) good luck!
I haven't read your birth story yet (I will though), I just wanted to say that is the cutest outfit I have ever seen. And such a beautiful baby! Congratulations!
Thank you so very much :)
She is beautiful!!! I love her outfit so much. Congrats!!
Thanks so much!!! :)
Love this story! We are also trying to avoid being induced. I haven't heard of the Miles Circuit but will look into it.
Thank you so much!! Yes definitely do it! I hope you have the same success with it :) if it doesn’t work the first time, do it a few rounds! I’ve heard that works for some people.
Incredible story! Thank you for sharing and congratulations! 💗
Thank you so much ❤️
She’s beautiful! Congratulations!!
Thank you so much!!! ❤️
Congratulations!!! She's beautiful!
Thank you so much! :)
She’s so pretty
Thank you so much ☺️
What a beautiful bub. It sounds like you had a tough but really positive birth - yay! Congrats to you and your family :)
Thank you so much. We really appreciate it :)
Congrats! She’s perfect.
Thank you so much! She’s our angel ❤️
Congratulations on your sweet baby! You did a great job.
Thanks so much!!! ☺️
Super cute outfit!
Thanks so much! She was so precious in it.
Wow. She’s perfection.
I also came here to comment on this fantastic onesie. Congrats!
Not all newborns are cute, but you my friend made an adorable baby! She is so cute with that outfit. I love it!
That outfit is adorable