Hi! I love talking about it too. There is a natural childbirth board on SK if you ever want to join us over there.

I had an incredible experience and yes, I'll definitely do it all over again some day. I wouldn't exactly describe it as "pleasant" but empowering, emotional, inspirational, PAINFUL, all of those things. My labor was 16 hrs total, 10 of those were easy. My water broke at home (though I wasn't at all sure at the time) and I was 5 cm when I arrived at the hospital about 10 in the morning. I labored in every imaginable position and started pushing around 2:00. Addi was born at 4:04 pm. I was really struggling about 1:30, my eyes were rolling back in my head and I almost asked for the epi. But I knew I had gone so far that I could make it. And once I started pushing the contractions were so much more bearable. My doula is an OB nurse and in school to become a CNM so she did all my cervical checks and all the other nurses stayed out of the room and left us alone. The lights were off, I had John Mayer on the ipod and my husband and my doula applying pressure on my back b/c I had terrible back labor.

The coolest thing after the birth was when the PP nurses would come in and say "let me check your IV" and I would say "oh I didn't have an IV", "WHAT, oh you're the one, yeah we heard about you, wow that's amazing" and I would beam with pride.

Addi was perfect, though a little cone headed from all the pushing, and scored 9/10 apgar. She nursed moments after birth. She did tear me a little and so I had to have some stitches which hurt like the dickens without anything to numb me. But hey, what are stitches compared to pushing out a baby?? My recovery was a little harder due to the tear and stitches but I was so proud of what I had done that I didn't mind the pain.

So what's your story. I'd love to read it. Oh and your babies are beautiful too!

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