In this photo I am 39 weeks pregnant with our daughter, Brooklyn, she is now 2.5 years old and we’re expecting our second daughter any week now. I thought it would be fun to share a bit about my first experience giving birth and what I’m doing differently this time.
So, my pregnancy was pretty uneventful in the most fantastic way. I felt really great the entire time. I had almost zero morning sickness; only slight food aversions for a few weeks; a little less energy than usual, which I expected; but really, I felt great and loved every second of being pregnant. So much so that I couldn’t wait to be pregnant again before I had even given birth.
I think because things were going so well with my pregnancy, I assumed that labour and delivery would be a breeze, as well. I mean, clearly my body was made for making babies, right?! And so because of this I didn’t prepare as much as I should have for what my body was about to endure.
Here’s the gist of my labour and delivery: I ended up being in labour for just short of 48 hours and got every medical intervention they would give me – yes please! I didn’t get much sleep during those 2 days, and neither did my little labour team, my partner, Kris, and my Mum. We were all exhausted by the time we finally decided to go to the hospital (for the third time) to get an epidural, which was around 30 hours after labour had started. Nothing really changed for the next 6 hours in the hospital, but around midnight I had the urge to push. I pushed for 5 hours!!!! I remember looking at my Mum and saying, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I’m so tired’. She looked at me and said, ‘I know, honey, but you have to.’ And somehow, in an altered state of being, we all kept going and welcomed Brooklyn into the world at 5AM. Even though it was such a long process, I loved my medical team, who were amazingly supportive throughout labour and during my recovery.
But, here are some things I wish I had done differently to prepare for labour, all of which I’m currently in the process of doing now to *hopefully* have a different experience this time around.
- See a pelvic floor therapist to understand what is going to happen to my undercarriage during labour, delivery and recovery. Even though we covered this topic in our prenatal class, it wasn’t specific to me. Seeing a pelvic floor therapist gave me insight on my own body and how I could personally prepare – which I found so, so helpful!
- Stay busy during contractions (if you can). The first (many) hours of contractions were not as intense as they grew to be. While they were uncomfortable, I wish I had kept moving while I could. This time I plan to stay busy, distracted and upright. Because the first time the contractions eventually got so bad that there was no moving; the only thing I could do was hold onto something and squat on lie down.
- Mentally prepare for pain. I think I was so naive because of how well my body was handling pregnancy that I didn’t actually think about the amount of pain I would be experiencing during labour and delivery. I was totally unprepared. I also learned that my pain tolerance is a lot lower than I thought it was – that was a harsh reality for me.
- Breathe into contractions. Your body is meant to give birth and contractions are your uterus pushing the baby down and out. Because I was in pain, I was trying to fight it by tensing my whole body and not breathing properly. To prepare for this baby’s labour, I am working on breathing techniques, relaxation strategies, and I’ve been practicing small meditations to do during labour to help keep a clear mind. I’m also reminding myself on a daily basis to relax my jaw – just trust me.
- Prepare your postpartum care basket. You’re going to leak a lot after giving birth, so make sure you have pads, adult diapers or comfortable underwear, stretchy loose clothing, your peri bottle, and epsom salts. The hospital supplied us with lots of big pads and disposable undies, as well as peri bottles, but make sure you have everything ready at home. Comfort is key to recovering well.
So, there we have it. This is what I’m doing differently to prepare for labour and delivery for baby number 2. While I’m optimistic that things will go differently this time, I will be sure to report back once the baby is safely in my arms. Until then, you can find me breathing and relaxing.
x Ashley
