Alexa's Second Unmedicated Hospital Birth

Throughout my own pregnancies, I loved reading about positive birth experiences. I felt like each unique experience prepared me for what my own might be like. Thus, the idea for this page was born!

First Kick Co. publishes the birth stories of those who offer to share theirs (thank you!). We hope that sharing these stories will help other expecting moms feel more prepared for what their birth might be like. Although every birth is different and you can never predict what might happen, I hope that sharing my own birth stories will make other women feel more confident going into their own. If you're a first time mom feeling anxious about birth like I was, just know that you were truly made for this.

My Second Birth Story:

If you read my first birth story post, then you already know that I prefer to labor at home as long as possible, and then head to the hospital for delivery. I did this for my first birth, and chose to do the same for my second birth-- although this time, I was in the hospital for a much shorter amount of time.

You might also remember that I did not feel like I had much of an "early labor" stage with my first birth-- I felt like I went right into active labor. However, this second birth had a long early labor stage, and I personally enjoyed the slower progression, as I was able to get more rest before labor really picked up.

I had Braxton Hicks contractions occassionally leading up to my due date, but the first time I felt like I had more consistent "real" contractions was the evening of 39-weeks + 5-days. I was simply noticing the contractions and occassionally they would make me pause, but I knew it wasn't anything worth paying much attention to yet. I went to sleep that night, and then stronger contractions woke me up at 7:00am on 39-weeks + 6-days. I was grateful to have slept until 7:00am, because I had prayed for more sleep prior to this labor starting (since I had only gotten 2.5 hours of sleep prior to my first labor). I felt like this was probably the start of real labor, but I still wasn't sure since the contractions were not very intense.

I ended up having contractions throughout the entire day, but they were very manageable. I still took my toddler to the park and did some curb walking, while occasionally breathing through contractions. I felt grateful that they were not very intense and I didn't need any counter-pressure... at least not yet. I still was not sure how long this labor might take, so I tried to rest. I took an afternoon nap while my toddler napped, and once again woke up to stronger contractions. I knew things were progressing, but I wasn't sure how long it would continue to take.

We went about our evening as normal. I tried to eat a nourishing dinner and relax as much as possible through this "early labor" phase.

Around 9:00pm, I put my toddler to bed-- as I was reading a bedtime story, my contractions were picking up. It was as if my body was waiting to go into labor until he was asleep so that I could finally give the contractions my full attention. Sure enough, they immediately picked up and got much more intense.

My first labor involved 21-hours of intense labor, so I felt like we probably had plenty of time before needing to go to the hospital. I decided to take a shower and worked through my contractions by telling myself this affirmation over and over again: "this is normal, this is natural, I am safe". After a while, I tried to lay in bed and get some sleep, but shortly realized that was not going to happen.

My husband tried to help me understand that this labor was suddenly progressing very quickly. I still felt in denial that it could be moving so fast. I finally agreed to go to the hospital around 12:30am.

The hospital was 30-minutes away, and thankfully there was no traffic at that time of night. I kept my eyes closed for most of the drive, breathed through contractions, and listened to worship music. When we pulled into the parking garage, I knew we were running out of time before this baby was going to be born. We checked into the hospital security booth at 1:05am and then a nurse brought us back to our room.

After a few intense contractions, my baby was born at 1:26am, just 20-minutes after we arrived to the hospital. I had a midwife as my provider this birth, and she encouraged me to push in any position that felt right for me, which was hands and knees. I really preferred the birth experience I had with a midwife. I felt like she was hands-off and let me lead the way with my birth, while still feeling safe and supported. I will likely opt for a midwife again in the future.

My second baby was born on his due date. No membrane sweeps, no induction, just curb walking, eating dates, and drinking red raspberry leaf tea! A quick fun fact: only about 4% of babies end up being born on their due date.

This labor was so much more enjoyable for me than my first baby's birth. They say that the labor for second babies often goes faster, and that was true for me! I found the recovery to be much easier the second time around, too.

If you're interested in giving birth unmedicated, check out our post titled How to Achieve an Unmedicated Birth for more tips, and consider purchasing our First Kick Kits, where we provide the pregnancy and birth-prep essentials you need to feel ready for the experience.

Any way that you bring a baby into this world is truly incredible. I hope that reading my second birth story can help you feel more prepared for yours. You got this!