A great way to cope with labor and help the process feel shorter is simply to ignore it and go about your day for as long as you can. We always recommend doing normal things at normal times of day in early labor. That means eating regular meals, sleeping or resting at night, and going ahead with any tasks you already planned!

Repeat client Natalie shares her second Andaluz waterbirth story, where she didn’t let labor interfere with a normal family day:

I started what I now know as contractions around 2 am (but at the time just felt like period cramps). I texted my midwife around 8 am letting her know I didn’t think they were contractions but since it was consistent she should know, in case it progressed. Around 12pm I texted her again asking if they might possibly be contractions even though it wasn’t anything like I remembered with my first. We decided to start timing them while I tried to rest/nap with my toddler. But instead I ended up talking on the phone with my good friend, since she has just had her 2nd baby just a week prior, asking her all things to gauge if this was the real deal.

During this time I also finished packing my GO bag, just in case. After timing the sensations for about an hour or so, I determined the cramping feeling was actually wave like, so I came to the realization we were starting labor. Around 3pm I texted our friends, since we were supposed to be watching their daughter while they went on a date, letting them know what was going on but that it was slow progressing and we were still totally down to watch Ellie.

Up until this point we had gone about our day like normal, went on a walk with as a family (somehow I just like going into labor on Saturdays), and prepped dinner. When our friends dropped their daughter off around 5pm, my contractions had progressed enough that I had to pause during them, but between them I had a ton of energy and felt like nothing was happening.

I had let our friend know I wasn’t sure how long that was going to last so instead of dinner and a movie, I suggested maybe just dinner. By the time they picked their daughter up at 7pm, I was in active labor but still had so much energy between contractions. This was so different than with my first baby, Hezzy, where I had gone into my “zone” and wasn’t talking to anyone. Contractions were lasting about 30-40 sec long coming every 8-10 min or so.

There was already a labor happening at the birth center so my midwife Joanna said to come in whenever I felt ready. We decided to put Hezzy down for bed, hoping that with a quiet house I would be able to “get into my zone.” But that never really happened so my husband David insisted we head in to the birth center so we didn’t have a baby in the car!

We arrived at Andaluz a little after 8 pm where we met Bethany (my bestie), Tanya (my photographer and doula), and the rest of the Andaluz team. While I had some intense contractions, it felt like labor was slowing down some, maybe because of the excitement maybe because I was in my head and comparing my two birth experiences so much, but I had so much energy between the contractions—it was wild.

We had boba tea, walked the stairs, did lunges and squats and moved as much as possible trying to keep the baby moving down. At around 11:30pm, I spent some time birthing backwards on the toilet and then had the urge to throw up. Which is what I needed to put me in the last phase. At that point, I got in the birth tub and labored until my water broke at 12:30am, shortly after that I felt the urge to start pushing and within 2-3 pushes Evelyn joined us at 12:40am, on my birthday 12/31/22.

I am so grateful to my entire birth team, especially my hubby for being the best support. Also, swear by Christian Hypnobirthing to help keep me calm and trust the process. The female body is truly an amazing piece of Gods creation, it’s so powerful and hope that all my pregnant friends know just how amazing and powerful you really are doing this work!

Natalie’s Birth Story

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