Today I’m sharing my birth story with you. Which is funny because before giving birth I avoided reading birth stories of any kind. Just wanted to go into the situation totally blunt. No wonder, with all the horror stories out there. Like seriously, have your ever read or heard about an easy birth?! Is it because people like to share hardships more? Time to change that!

If you are currently pregnant with your first child then you don’t have to worry about a thing reading this. I can reassure you that my birth story is an easy one. But if you still would like to refrain from knowing too much, then stop right here and maybe come back later after your child was born.

As I shared before, my pregnancy (besides the usual first trimester shenanigans) was pretty mellow. Only in the last three weeks leading up to the birth everything became a little harder. I was constantly out of breath going up the stairs, my appetite vanished, and my right leg swelled up. Being out of breath was annoying (me being so athletic before and all) but totally doable. What really got to me was the fact that nothing tasted good anymore. My beloved breakfast suddenly became totally disgusting. To be honest, everything was disgusting because each time I ate something I would burp it up again. Some days I would only have a little coconut milk with cinnamon and maple syrup (my version of the Mexican Horchata) for breakfast. 

So yes, I was more than glad when baby W finally decided to come to the world. There were a few signs that signaled it wouldn’t take long anymore. My right leg swell up on Sunday. On Monday I finally felt like I was ready for the birth and on Tuesday I woke up with inflamed gums. This still didn’t prevent me from running around with my mom to find a noodle machine the entire day. With Corona and being in lockdown since November last year, we were in desperate need for recipe inspiration. When we saw a delicious Ravioli recipe on our favorite cooking show, we knew we had to recreate it. Thinking back it’s all too surreal. Making Ravioli in one moment and holding your child in your arms the next.

After dinner my mom and I watched the afromentioned cooking show in the living room while my dad and Roman watched James Bond in the kitchen. It was just around 8 pm when the first contractions hit. I seriously worried before that I wouldn’t recognize the contractions as such. But our bodies are very smart and I immediately knew. It felt a little like period cramps. Luckily, The contractions came every 20-30 minutes. I couldn’t really tell at that time. I decided to keep it to myself because I didn’t want my mom to worry. She went to bed around 11 pm asking me if everything was alright (of course, she sensed something was up). I still didn’t say a word to her.

Once she was upstairs, I went over to Roman and told him about the contractions. They weren’t too bad yet so I decided to see if I could get some sleep. It didn’t take long until the contractions worsened. Around 1 AM I decided to wake my parents to go to the hospital. Since it’s only a few blocks away, we arrived there 1.10 AM. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, I didn’t get the chance to visit the hospital beforehand so we were a little lost where to go. When we finally found the birth station, the admitting nurse was really weird. She told me that I should go on a walk for 1-2 hours to help with the birthing process. The mere thought of walking for 2 hours in this condition, in the dark, totally exhausted wasn’t really appealing to me.

She then continued to test me for Corona telling me that she hoped I was negative. Like what would happen if I wasn’t?! Would you send me back home? In the meantime, Roman had to wait outside (even though we booked a family room and he was allowed to be with me during labour). It was just all so weird and confusing. Looking back, this was even worth than labour itself. 

When the test came back negative, she connected me to the CTG machine and looked how far open my cervix was. I think I laid there for at least 1 ½ hours. Mask on and everything. Every time a contraction came I removed the mask a little to get some fresh oxygen. Not the nicest feeling. Even though my cervix was already 4 cm wide, she told me to go for a walk until to widen it even further. You clearly felt that they weren’t comfortable having people in the hospital for too long. So, off we went. What really helped me to manage the pain was all that I had learned in yoga the years before. Like breathing into the pain and letting go instead of tightening up.

After 45 minutes I had enough of running around and just wanted to lay down. When we came back, my cervix had opened up to 10 cm. Now I was ready for the delivery room. Once in there, everything went very fast. I had one really intense contraction laying on the side and two more on my back and then he was out. The nurse and doctor looked at me in disbelief asking me if this was my third. Nope, just quick fella over here!

Holding my baby in my arms for the first time was the weirdest moment ever. I can’t really say that I immediately was overwhelmed with love and emotions like some mothers told me about. I was more in a state of disbelief, confusion, and exhaustion. It all felt so surreal. There he was. This tiny human being that I’ve carried around with me for 9 months and only saw on ultrasounds. Was this even real?

After he was washed, weighed, measured and thouroughly examined, we were assigned our room. Unfortunately, all the family rooms were booked. So, Roman had to leave us at the elevator which I didn’t really understand. He was tested and everything and I had a single room. Why couldn’t he at least stay for the day? Seriously guys, next time I would give birth during a pandemic again.

And that’s how our little prince came to this world. I think what really helped me to have an easy delivery was that I didn’t think too much about it before but just went with the flow. I also continued to practice yoga until week 38 as well as some light toning. Everyone is different, though, so just do what feels good to you. But the most important thing is to relax. 

Can’t wait to hear about your birth story. Share with me in the comments below.