And the good news is the second one wasn’t nearly as bad. And maybe the first one wasn’t so bad either?
After the birth of Austin, I saw my birth story like a war badge that I was proud to display. Something horrible, but amazing. Something I endured.
But the thing is, Austin’s birth wasn’t that bad. There was no ‘emergency’ situation. No one was at risk at any point. A healthy little baby was born at the end, and apart from being a bit knocked around I was totally fine.
Yes, this was the most intense pain I’ve ever felt (beyond this world bad). Yes, the baby had moved posterior creating horrible back pain. Yes, I was induced which (depending on who you talk to) makes the pain so much more intense. And oh boy, a big yes, I was NOT coping with the pain at all.
But it’s taken me until after the birth of baby number two to think, maybe it wasn’t so bad?
Things went a lot more smoothly with baby number two. Yes there was pain (a lot), and it was uncomfortable and at times your body is doing some really gross (but equally amazing) things. But really I think the big difference was me. Being prepared for the pain and being proactive in managing it. With birth number one, I remember laying there just waiting for the pain to wash over me. Birth number two I just thought there is no way I can do it in the same way. Sitting and waiting for pain. So I needed to do something different. So I looked into pain management techniques, tried to get in to a really good positive mind frame and created a plan that involved Pat (aka the best #instagramhusband going around) so we would be in it together. Of course, labour is a totally unpredictable beast, and anything could have happened which would have totally changed all of these plans. But things went pretty well (amazingly so), hello, did you see the cute little button we produced?
So I just wanted to say, to all the women out there (especially the ones I told the story of me screaming down The Freemasons hospital, with the nurses trying to get me to shut the hell up) it’s not so bad, your body was built for this and you can do it!
Well, there’s my bit.
And if you’re interested in some of the pain management techniques I used during labour get your hands on “Birth Skills” by Juju Sundin (thanks to my darling friend Hayley for the suggestion, what would I have done without this?!!). I don’t think it’s ground breaking material, and it may not work for everyone but if anything you can walk (or scream) in to your birth with some skills (and confidence) up your sleeve.