FTM all-natural birth with no medication!!
I was having preterm labor from 35 weeks all the way up until birth. I was 3cm dilated from November 7th-December 4th. On December 4th 2021 I started feeling contractions. I had gone into the hospital the night before due to painful contractions and I had dilated +1 but nothing worth keeping me for. I was sent home that night feeling extremely discouraged and sad.
The next night, I was up making a dessert when I felt a really powerful contraction. I didn’t think anything of it and just kept on doing what I was doing. I took some of the chocolate I had made to my husband and sat in my desk chair. As soon as I did, I felt a huge contraction and jumped out of my chair. I ran to our bed and instinctually bent over it to relieve the pain. I hopped in the shower to try to relax but nothing changed.
I noticed that I had the bloody show so I figured that I was in labor and these weren’t just Braxton hicks. I immediately started timing them. At 10:45 pm my contractions were 10 minutes apart and an hour later they were 5 minutes apart. At 12:20 am I had a very strong contraction and my water broke. My mother-in-law had been helping me breathe through the contractions and as soon as it broke I said “My water just broke!” and my husband started getting ready to go. Everything happened fast after that.
It took us 30 minutes to get to the hospital after my water broke and I honestly just remember bits and pieces from the car ride. The pain was very intense and I could feel the need to push starting to come on. We got to the ER and checked in. By that time I could not even concentrate on talking to people because I was just working through the contractions.
I got wheeled up to L&D and they wanted to check and make sure my water had broken. I put my gown on, needing lots of help from my husband, and as soon as the nurses came in I had another contraction and more amniotic fluid came out. At this, the nurses hurried me to the bed so I could be checked.
One of my doctors came in and checked me and I was already at 8cm and 90% effaced. She said she could definitely feel Ezekiel’s head. It was probably 2:30 am. Within a few more contractions I felt the incredible need to push. I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to.
I had my husband and the nurse putting pressure on my lower back which helped tremendously. I turned on my left side and pushed some and then turned on my right and did the same. I switched sides every few pushes. I started begging for pain meds at this point and the nurses told me to wait it out and see if it gets better. I’m glad they did this instead of giving me anything because I felt so much better afterwards without medication.
My doctor checked me again at 3 am and said I was completely dilated and effaced. She couldn’t believe I was being so quiet the whole time. I was groaning but I never screamed through any of it. The whole time I was just working with my body and praying. I knew I could do it, I just had to get past the contractions when they came.
At 3 am, after I was checked, I started pushing. It was painful. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It was the most intense pain I had ever felt in my life. During that last hour, I felt like I was in a different realm. I kept looking at the ceiling, imagining God looking down at me and I prayed for strength. The last few contractions were the most intense.
I had gone from repeating “I can’t do this.” over and over again to working with my body to get the baby out. God gave me the strength I prayed for because the last contraction was the hardest I had ever pushed myself before in my life.
Boy was that ring of fire real! My husband looked at me and said “I can see his head.” I reached down and felt the tiniest bit of hair poking out. That gave me the power I needed for that last push.
At 3:22 am I pushed as hard as I could and Ezekiel was born. He had his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and the nurses quickly unwrapped it. I immediately burst into tears and pulled him to my chest. My doctor waited until the umbilical cord had stopped pulsating before my husband cut it.
I didn’t feel any pain after that. It was just all about him. It’s true what they say, once you have your baby, you forget about all of that pain. I delivered the placenta and had to get a few stitches from a first degree tear.
Ezekiel Stephen weighed 6lbs 14 oz at birth and measured 19.5 inches long. He is an absolute blessing from God and I’m so thankful for the most magical and safe delivery. My labor ended up only being 4 hours long which is insane to me.
I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I loved it. Yes, it was painful. But what I was rewarded with in the end was worth all of it. I feel so empowered and I feel like I can do anything. I recommend going all-natural to every mama out there. It’s worth the pain for the experience. Your body was made for this!
