3rd time mom, would like to try a natural birth

Jenny0929

I'm a third time mom and this time am really excited and hopeful for a natural birth. With my first child I made it to 6cm before agreeing to an epidural, I was 20 at the time and open to anything that would help ease my pain. With my second child I tried really hard to stay med free up until around that magic 6-7cm mark again, I am sort-of glad I went the epidural route again because I had been laboring for over 24 hours and was just too tired to fight. This time I am really hopeful to manage the pain and make it without meds. I have a question about when the endorphins kick in... when and do they really? I felt like they weren't even close to kicking in to help me.. I would appreciate any stories from you experienced ladies so that I might have a better idea of what to expect.. thanks!

vintagejjane

I would say that I had a huge adrenaline rush when I was ready to push. I was so tired before, but as soon as I felt the urge, I just kept going and I did not want to stop.

AmyRI

When I got to that point, I laid down and actually started sleeping between contractions. It wasn't much, but that little bit of mental rest made all the difference. Transition still hit hard, but thankfully for me it didn't last too long (and my fear of needles and epidurals still made those options seem worse than unmedicated labor). Pushing was a total rush and I didn't feel tired at all, and the rush after pushing DS out was incredible. It didn't matter that I had only gotten 2 hours of sleep the previous night - I was wired for the next 5 or so hours.

allardr

AmyRI:

my fear of needles and epidurals still made those options seem worse than unmedicated labor

I think this is what'll get me through an unmedicated birth. 

jennyann28

vintagejjane:

I would say that I had a huge adrenaline rush when I was ready to push. I was so tired before, but as soon as I felt the urge, I just kept going and I did not want to stop.

This was true for me too. In fact, I begged DH for the epi in transition not so much because of pain, but because I was SO tired (luckily I didn't get it). Afterward I was so full of adrenalin I was shaking for a bit. And I didn't sleep for the next 2 days either.

xnbride

Talk about adrenaline! My third labor was so crazy because I guess my body went into serotonin overdrive and man I felt like I was on a sedative. I was SO relaxed and calm, it was insane. I felt like I was drifting into a dream state for the majority of my labor. They weren't going to admit me but because I have a history of fast labors they went ahead and did. Good thing because we got the 4 hours of antibiotics with only 20 minutes to spare.  To be honest, my third labor was my most painful because he was in a bad position and I had back labor but it was by far my favorite labor and I have fond feelings when I think about it and my little zen baby :-)

funchicken

Did you take a natural childbirth class or read some books on natural childbirth?  They can be really helpful in suggesting ways to help manage pain.  The first thing I would say is, go into it with the mindset that you can do it.  Don't feel like you're fighting through the contractions.  Breathe through them and , if you can, it helps to go totally limp in between them.  Remember that you're not having the same contraction over and over again--each contraction is a separate event that is bringing you closer to your baby.  When you feel like you absolutely can't do it any more you're probably getting to transition so try to make it through one more contraction, then another.

Does your hospital have tubs that you can labor in?  I felt like the tub helped so much with my second labor.

For me the endorphins kicked in right before I started pushing, but I think it's more important to focus on the moment, stay as relaxed as you possibly can, and take one contraction at a time.  You will probably be so caught up in it that you won't realize when the endorphins kick in until after it's all over.