What I learned from childbirth

I had no idea what to expect during childbirth. It didn't matter what or how much I read nothing would have prepared me 100%. That's life. However there are many things I learned throughout this process that I want to remember. When I look back at my blog book one day (there are websites to help you make your blog to a book), I want to remember the entire process. That is why I blog. For me. For my little family. For memories.

What I learned from childbirth...

• Have an open mind. This is probably #1 on my list. I wanted to have a natural childbirth more than anything. Josh and I felt it was best for me and for H if we could try. I never said no to the idea of drugs. I always told people I would try to go natural and if I needed something then we would assess at the time. Because J and I both having an open mind it made getting the epidural much easier when the time came (even though I felt undefeated). I was really only against a c-section but would have done it if H was in danger at all.

• Having a good support system is a must. Yesterday I posted all about my husband. When I told him that I posted H's birth story, he asked if I talked about him. I replied, "not really, because I have a whole post about you." That is how important he was to me through this experience.

• Eat before you go to the hospital. If you have time or you can...haha! Since I was in labor over 24 hours I could not eat or drink during that time. The eating thing wasn't as important as the drinking. I just wanted water for hours. Ice chips and popsicles did not help my thirst. I remember telling J at one point I just wanted a PB&J and a coke...and I'm not a big pop drinker. Thank goodness I ate before we got there!

• Don't tell your husband to push on your legs. Okay this is hard to explain. When I was pushing, J was on my left side and the nurse on my right. The doctor told me I needed to push harder. So, I told J that I wanted him to push my leg towards me as I pushed. Bad idea. While having the epidural and having him push back I ended up damaging nerves in my leg. This has put a major wrench in things. Three weeks out of the hospital and I still cannot walk normally and have to be careful using the steps. I actually fell in the hospital while walking because my leg just gave out on me. So be careful with the pushing, especially when you can't feel much of your legs!

• Sleep. As much and whenever you can in the hospital. Then when you come home sleep when the baby is sleeping!

• Recovery is not easy. I some how thought that I would have a baby and walk out of the hospital like it was not a big deal. I thought I'd be cleaning the house and feeling great when I got home. I knew I would be tired but I did not know that I would feel like I got hit by a bus. It's like recovering from a surgery or having the flu. On day 3 and 4 my body went into shock. I thought I had the flu! When I called the doctor they told me it was totally normal and that my body had to recuperate from everything it went through. I never thought about it like that. Next time, if there is one, joking, kind of, I will plan to give myself two weeks of recovery time. Just in case.

On top of the 28 hours of labor and difficult recovery (see birth story for more detail) I would do it all over again for Miss Hadley.