Just Like Natural Childbirth

Before I was even pregnant with my first child I wanted to try for Natural Childbirth. I picked a practice that had midwives and then set out to get pregnant! Tom and I are very lucky and get pregnant very (VERY) easily. I always tell people that we talk about having a baby at the bottom of the stairs and by the time we are the top I am pregnant. I must say after watching friends go through months, years of trying to get pregnant I know how lucky I am...however fear an accident, although I was an accident and I am SO COOL! HAHAHAHAH...had to put that in!

Anyway....once I got pregnant and started my journey of achieving natural childbirth I was amazed at the comparison between natural childbirth and running/training for a marathon. Basically the gist is that you can't just show up at the hospital and decide to have natural childbirth you have to prepare or "train" for it. So for 9 months Tom and I set out to do that. We told family and friends, many who said I was crazy and that it hurts too bad and that I will ask for the epidural.

We started in the midwife program of my practice - LOVE THEM!!! The midwife, Carol, who delivered my daughter will always be an amazing lady to me, I think of her often. We bought books, reading them all and pretty much talked about the baby, pregnancy and childbirth constantly (so funny about the obsession now since when I was pregnant with my last I don't think I remembered I was pregnant most days). We also enrolled in a Natural Childbirth class and struck up a friendship with the teacher (I recently ran into her at a restaurant after 6 years and she totally recognized me - how cute!)

I hit the ninth month and we were prepared, I was taking 3 walks daily, drinking Raspberry Leaf Tea, doing lunges and squats, taking Evening Primrose Oil and obsessing over every little pain I felt. One day I totally thought I was in labor and the Comcast guy was hooking up the internet and I was freaking him out!

And then the morning of April 14 I had my last appointment with my midwife. She said I was 3 centimeters and 90% effaced and the baby had dropped. She stripped my membranes and sent me on my way. I got home very excited not because she said the baby would be coming soon but my sister, Laurie, who lived in Alaska was coming that day. Not only had I not seen her for about 9 months but she was bringing my brand new nephew Jake for me to meet for the first time. I was sitting on the front porch when she arrived, I still remember what I was wearing!

About an hour later we all decided to walk to a nearby restaurant for lunch, it was a gorgeous Spring day. At lunch I thought I felt a contraction but didn't say anything. Then at the end of lunch I had another one, like 30 minutes later. I told my mom and sister as we were walking to Target. My mom and sister looked at each other and said I think she is in labor. I said NO WAY! Then I had another contraction in Target and they were convinced, me I was in denial. I headed to the bathroom and just cried - I was so excited, nervous, anxious.

Then the pregnant in labor lady decided that we should walk to Pier One, across the street at another shopping center. I know crazy! We did some more shopping and hit Starbucks at Barnes and Noble but I wouldn't get a frappaccino since they would not make it decaf - WHATEVER!!!!

Go home and have contractions about every 20 minutes for the next 3-4 hours. I called Tom at work and told him what was going on but said don't come home it is early yet! We debate about calling my other sister Julie since it could still be hours or days or maybe I was not in labor. She really wanted to come for the birth but lives 3-4 hours away. We were about to call her when my contractions stopped for like 90 minutes. So we went for another walk...I think we hit about 4 miles that day!

Around 6pm while making dinner - Spicy Peanut Noodles - my contractions started getting closer and a little more painful. After dinner, Tom started writing them down and timing them, they were anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart but would only last for like 30-45 seconds. Then they started coming faster but still didn't last that long, however I was crawling on the ground through the contractions and doing squats...I am laughing at myself right now about that.

Tom convinced me that we should go to the hospital around 8:30...I didn't want to go, but it was a good decision. Laurie and my mom followed in the car...they called my sister Julie to come about an hour earlier...she was on her way.

We arrived at the hospital around 9:30 and I was 6 centimeters...WOW was I excited about that. I did monitoring for like 30 minutes and filled out all the paperwork. Then I headed to the waiting room to labor out there - weird I know - but they would not let my sister come in the room with her baby so I said then I am going out there. I went back into the room again did some monitoring and was 8 centimeters, Carol, my midwife, broke my bag of water and I headed to the shower to work through the contractions of the transition phase. It was one of the hardest 45 minutes of my life, I could not have done this part without Tom, he totally got me though this TOUGH part!

I wanted to PUSH and PUSH now...they called my midwife and sure enough I was almost 10 centimeters...she told me to push a little through the next contraction, I was standing up. Then we headed to the bed and they set everything up. I was crying, swearing, laughing...the whole range of emotions! I was so scared to push but boy did I WANT to push. And 3 contractions and 18 minutes later my beautiful baby girl was born, sweet Lily!

I did it, I managed to have Natural Childbirth and I was so proud of myself, so proud! I set out to do some and I did it. Yeah me!

At this point you are wondering why is hell am I telling you this story! Well, because while I have not run the marathon yet, I have trained, read books, researching on-line, talked endlessly with friends and nigthly with Tom about completing this goal. I am not just showing up on race day hoping I can run 26.2 miles. I am ready, I am prepare, I am scared, I am nervous, I am excited, I am anxious, I know I will feel like crying...I know there will be pain, I know there will be swearing, I know there will be laughter, I know there will be friends and family cheering me on and congratulating me. I know I will cross that finish line...while the gift will not be as wonderful as holding my baby girl Lily or kissing Sam for the first time after he was delivered via c-section (breech baby) or taking Brooke out of my best friend's arm after she delivered her but it will be WONDERFUL and I will be proud and I will have accomplished my goal. I will get to the finish line if I have to crawl.

So running/training for a marathon is like Natural Childbirth...