Before I got pregnant I never thought twice about having an all natural birth, I always thought you go the hospital, get an epidural, and then comes baby. When I became pregnant I started watching videos and fell in love with the idea of having a water birth...only thing is, I couldn't have an epidural. Consequently, I did more research and entertained the idea of having an all natural birth. That's when I really started to understand why women wanted an all natural birth and decided I wanted that too!
When I told Ronnie about having an all natural birth he wasn't as excited as I hoped. I told him the benefits of it and how great it would be, but he still was hesitant about the whole thing. After researching more, I read that The Bradley Method classes are the best classes to take if I wanted to pursue an all natural birth. After asking a good friend, she suggested her Bradley Method instructor and Doula, Michelle. After signing up for the classes, I felt good and confident in myself, and I knew I was doing the right thing. After a couple of classes, Ronnie told me that he was glad that we were doing an all natural birth and he felt like we were doing the right thing for our baby.
When I told Ronnie about having an all natural birth he wasn't as excited as I hoped. I told him the benefits of it and how great it would be, but he still was hesitant about the whole thing. After researching more, I read that The Bradley Method classes are the best classes to take if I wanted to pursue an all natural birth. After asking a good friend, she suggested her Bradley Method instructor and Doula, Michelle. After signing up for the classes, I felt good and confident in myself, and I knew I was doing the right thing. After a couple of classes, Ronnie told me that he was glad that we were doing an all natural birth and he felt like we were doing the right thing for our baby.
I'm not going to lie; I was afraid of the pain, I was afraid of getting induced, I was afraid of having a c-section, but I faced my fears and I told myself in the end it would all be worth it.
Day of the Birth: August 10th, 2015
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| Morning of August 10th, 2015 |
I felt so much pressure from the family to have him on or before my due date; I had family members from California going home on the 11th and both my sisters were moving for college shortly after. I knew I had some work to do if I wanted to try and have him before that time. I walked, I bounced, I danced, and I believe my hard work finally paid off. The morning of the 10th I had a crampy feeling all day, but nothing that really hurt. I told Ronnie that I needed to walk so we decided to go eat and do some errands. After finishing up at Walmart, I told Ronnie that I thought I was in early labor, but because I have said this many times before he was a little doubtful. However, this day felt different and my instincts were about to ring true. While driving home from Walmart, I felt a sudden pop; I turned to Ronnie and told him "I think my water had just broke!" My contractions started immediately afterwards and I began timing them on an app. After about 30 minutes of off and on contractions, the average showed that they were about 4 minutes apart. During this time the contractions were also getting stronger and closer together. We decided to call the midwife, Cherie, and she told us to come to the birthing center due to the contractions.
When we arrived, I was already in the transition state of labor and I did not want Cherie to touch me! After explaining she needed to do this, Cherie checked me and said I was 5cm dilated. I asked to go into the tub and she started filling it up for me. After about an hour of hard contractions in warm water I felt an urge to push, but thought it was too soon. My midwife told me if it feels good, to go ahead and push. I tried pushing in the tub for about 15 minutes but I couldn't find the right position, so I decided to get out. My midwife suggested holding onto the bedpost, squatting, and leaning back onto Ronnie all while pushing during contractions. After about an hour of pushing in this position I never thought the baby would come out. However, once I got the hang of correctly pushing in this position the baby began to crown. Once I started to crown, they had me get onto the bed and I really didn't want to because I knew that laying on your back is counter productive to pushing out a baby, but at the same time I didn't want to have the baby on the floor either! Fortunately, the midwife arranged pillows, allowing me to sit up rather than lay flat. Not even 5 minutes later and after a few good pushes, Ronnie caught the baby and laid him on my chest and it was the best feeling in the world.
Ronnie and I planned to name him Bradley Terry Campbell, and after seeing him for the first time we thought it was a very fitting name. Once everything settled down, Bradley was very alert and didn't
cry; he was perfect. After it was over, Ronnie and I both learned that I was only in labor for 3 hours, everything went by so fast but also felt like an eternity; it was definitely a surreal experience. Ronnie told me that he was really surprised how focused and tough I was throughout the whole labor. To be honest, I even surprised myself. If you ask me if I would do it again, I would say "YES!" in a heartbeat. It was the most amazing, self empowering experience I have ever been though.
When we arrived, I was already in the transition state of labor and I did not want Cherie to touch me! After explaining she needed to do this, Cherie checked me and said I was 5cm dilated. I asked to go into the tub and she started filling it up for me. After about an hour of hard contractions in warm water I felt an urge to push, but thought it was too soon. My midwife told me if it feels good, to go ahead and push. I tried pushing in the tub for about 15 minutes but I couldn't find the right position, so I decided to get out. My midwife suggested holding onto the bedpost, squatting, and leaning back onto Ronnie all while pushing during contractions. After about an hour of pushing in this position I never thought the baby would come out. However, once I got the hang of correctly pushing in this position the baby began to crown. Once I started to crown, they had me get onto the bed and I really didn't want to because I knew that laying on your back is counter productive to pushing out a baby, but at the same time I didn't want to have the baby on the floor either! Fortunately, the midwife arranged pillows, allowing me to sit up rather than lay flat. Not even 5 minutes later and after a few good pushes, Ronnie caught the baby and laid him on my chest and it was the best feeling in the world.
Ronnie and I planned to name him Bradley Terry Campbell, and after seeing him for the first time we thought it was a very fitting name. Once everything settled down, Bradley was very alert and didn't
cry; he was perfect. After it was over, Ronnie and I both learned that I was only in labor for 3 hours, everything went by so fast but also felt like an eternity; it was definitely a surreal experience. Ronnie told me that he was really surprised how focused and tough I was throughout the whole labor. To be honest, I even surprised myself. If you ask me if I would do it again, I would say "YES!" in a heartbeat. It was the most amazing, self empowering experience I have ever been though.
