Madeline at one day old, still in the hospital. Photo: Lindsey Lowe
When I asked about it on Instagram, many of you were interested in hearing Madeline’s birth story, so here it is! I’m happy to answer questions in the comments if there’s anything you’d like to know more about.
Preparing for Birth
To get ready for Madeline’s birth, I took the Mama Natural Birth Course, which I loved. It covers nutrition and exercise during pregnancy, breathing exercises, comfort measures for natural birth, how to consider interventions and avoid if desired, labor positions, stages of labor, what happens after birth, breastfeeding, and more. Genevieve’s book, The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth, was also an extremely helpful resource.
I also went for lots of walks and went to prenatal yoga every week (if you’re in Chattanooga, the prenatal yoga class I took is with Brenda at Yoga Landing. It’s the only one I could find in town but it’s fabulous! I wish it were offered twice a week). I read lots of birth stories and watched lots of birth videos. At night before I fell asleep I spent time going through the pregnancy and childbirth affirmation cards that came with the Mama Natural course and imagining myself having an easy, relaxed, and natural birth.
I met with two different doulas and decided to work with Ashley from The Scenic City Doulas. She came to the house for a prenatal visit to go over our birth plan, answer all our questions, and make sure the carseat was installed correctly. I highly recommend Ashley and was so glad we worked with a doula (Ben was, too!). I’ll share plenty more details of how she helped us throughout this post.
