“Labor” Day Stories
This Labor Day, Beautiful Births & Beyond wants to take a moment to honor stories of labor, birth, and beyond from our clients, our friends, and our families. We can’t help it - Labor Day makes us think about the hardest labor there is - giving birth!
These stories below have been collected from friends, family, and clients, and give a little insight into the beautiful journey of labor, birth, and beyond.
From pregnancy and all the changes the body goes through, assumptions made about you, and new feelings of joy and love:
“Your nipples get darker and you get a dark line on your stomach, so when the baby comes out they can find their way to your breasts easier. It’s a holdover from evolution, and it’s crazy!” - AW, Client
“The cravings are real. The heartburn is real. The constipation is real. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” JD, Facebook
“Not all pregnancies are miserable. I would have stayed pregnant for a whole year if I could have - plus it was the only time I loved my belly all the time! It really helped with my body confidence!” - KF, Facebook
“Pregnancy is not a handicap. Obviously there are factors that make an individual pregnancy higher risk, but I don’t need a parking spot close to the store like handicapped spots just because I’m pregnant.” - HS, Facebook
To the first signs of labor kicking into full swing:
“I had no idea what to look for when labor started - what is a mucus plug? Braxton hicks? Water breaking doesn’t gush out like in the movies?!?” - KG, Facebook
“My water broke during an acupuncture appointment and there was SO. MUCH. LIQUID. My acupuncturist was aware it could happen but I think it was the first time it had happened in their office - I had to squat over a trash can and let it drain while the front desk called my husband!” - HB, Friend
To what the throes of deep labor are like, and what can happen along the way:
“When you start to moo, they know you are getting ready to push!” - AG, Facebook
“I had an amnioinfusion which I didn’t even know was a thing. I basically became a human fish tank!” - RK, Facebook
“The only way I was comfortable was on all fours. It took the pressure off my back during contractions.” - SS, Facebook
“Make sure you have someone in the room to advocate for you when you can’t. They should know your birth plan and wishes back to front, and also know your threshold and bail-out word/phrase if you have one.” - JC, Instagram
“Throw out the birth plan if you have to and do what’s best for you in the moment. It all changes anyway!” - DM, Facebook
To the beautiful climax of giving birth itself:
“They call it the ring of fire for a reason when the baby crowns. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I never want to again.” - CK, Family
“My babies are 14 months apart, and both pregnancies and births were completely different. What surprised me the most is with my second birth I caught the baby standing up! I was getting out of the tub and on my way back to the bed to push. On my way over, I grabbed onto the bed and held on. My body just did it’s thing and our baby was born. I didn’t even feel like I’d pushed - I caught her and climbed onto the bed with the umbilical cord still attached.” - TW, Instagram
“How weird c-section surgery is! I was in a learning hospital - it felt like there were a million nurses, students, and a surgeon in the operating room. It was bright and loud. Everyone was chit chatting and laughing (which was fine for me - glad you’re comfortable and having fun at work!) but I was struggling to breathe from being numbed and needed to puke a lot, which was hard to tell someone in the moment. I was totally numb from the waist down and started feeling this weird tugging, which was the baby being extracted. Then you’re expected to be happy when you touch your baby for the first time when you can barely see or breathe and they’re putting you back together. I wasn’t prepared in the slightest, and c-sections happen for 1 in 4 births but I never read anything about it in any of the books or articles before giving birth.” - MS, Instagram
“The adrenaline/hormone rush you get right after giving birth is intense. Your whole body shakes and you can’t do anything about it. No one prepares you for it, but when you’re in it you’re reassured it’s totally normal!” - SP, Facebook
“Have someone in the room to support you. It could be a partner, a parent, a friend, a doula - just make sure you have someone there who will be able to share in all the pain, process, and joy of birth when it happens!” - DD, Instagram
And post-partum revelations for new parents as they adjust to their new life:
“The fear of the first time you poop after giving birth is very real.” - CC, Facebook
“The placenta got me. I said ‘Wait, I have to push out more?!’” - TC, Facebook
“Everyone talks about birth - no one talks about how to prepare for right after. I’m talking jaundice, latching, sleeping in a hospital with a newborn, the cramps when they push on your belly afterwards, how to advocate for yourself when you’re not the start anymore… all of it.” - RL, Facebook
“Adult Diapers > mesh panties with a pad. All day.” - CC, Facebook
“No one tells you how much liquid will come out afterwards, especially if you have a planned c-section. My water never broke, so I was leaking fluids for days afterward in the hospital bed. Every bodily fluid you can imagine. Luckily my doula had told me to not even bother getting dressed afterwards while I figured out tandem feeding my twins, so I could just let the hospital staff change the sheets and hop right back in bed.” - AW, Client
“The most incredible thing is you were pregnant a moment before, and then you suddenly have this tiny human on your chest. It’s an indescribable feeling.” - AA, Facebook
We at Beautiful Births & Beyond have a goal that everyone’s personal “Labor Day” goes as smoothly as it can. While it’s impossible to prepare for everything that could happen along the way, we are committed to being your pregnancy and birth support, advocate, and educational resource from conception to postpartum and beyond. With our Digital Doula services, you get 24/7 access to our doulas to make sure you have all the random questions that come up answered in real time. At Beautiful Births & Beyond, you will never be left in the dark.
Contact us for a consultation today! We can’t wait to meet you!
