The night before I went into labor was much like any other during the last week of August. My husband and I had a late dinner and then did a little work before digging into some Ben & Jerry’s while watching an episode of “The Office” to unwind. It had become our nightly ritual and I looked forward to it after a long day of huffing and puffing around with a growing belly and pregnancy-induced sciatica.
When I woke up at 5am on my due date with cramps I thought nothing of it. I had been having gut twinges all week and a few other times throughout my third trimester. It felt like business as usual. Plus, who actually goes into labor on their due date?
But, I couldn’t go back to sleep. By 6am my husband and I were timing contractions at four minutes apart. At 6:30am, I couldn’t speak. I was in the zone. Six hours later, our daughter was born and nothing would be the same again–especially my view of childbirth.
I was secretly (and not so secretly) preparing and hoping that I would give birth without drugs. That said, the labor and delivery were quite different than I had expected. Granted, every woman’s experience and each individual birth can be vastly different, here’s what surprised me about my first go-round:
1. I had zero warning about going into labor: Besides the fact that my due date was fast approaching, there were no other obvious indications that I was ready to give birth. My belly hadn’t “dropped” and I never saw the telltale “bloody show.” My water didn’t even break until I was already at the hospital for three hours and ready to push.
2. Contractions were a breeze…compared to pushing: This is probably not the case for every woman, but the contractions were relatively manageable (though severe at times) whereas pushing was mind-bendingly agonizing. I’m not exactly sure why, but I thought it would be the opposite.
3. I barely spoke the entire time: Given the strong opinions I had on how I wanted my labor and delivery to go, I figured I’d be chatting up a storm between contractions, making requests, and asking pointed questions. But I don’t think I uttered a single word to anyone for the 6-7 hours that I was in labor. Also, my husband and I had a code word for the epidural in case I wanted to request it, but I was barely capable of verbal expression at that point.
4. The Jacuzzi was paramount: I’m not sure I would have been able to have a drug-free birth if it weren’t for the warm tub of water that I spent more than two hours floating in. The weightless feeling made the indescribable discomfort of contractions all the more bearable. Before going into labor, I thought I’d be walking the halls of the hospital, doing squats at the bedside, and rolling around on my yoga ball. I did none of that.
5. I was practically manic after the birth: For about 72 hours postpartum, I had so much energy that I didn’t know what to do with it. I anticipated sheer exhaustion, but I was so keyed up that I could barely sleep. Of course, this was perfect for my daughter who needed to nurse every two hours.
Whitney C. Harris is a freelance writer living in Westchester, NY. She has a newborn daughter named Rowan. Find her at whitneycharris.com.
