I am in need of some advice and support!?

Hello,
My name is Tierra and as of today I am 35 weeks pregnant. As the time gets closer to my DD, I am beginning to not only get more anxious but also feel very nervous about what I want or how I am going to deal with labor. I have two children already, a five year old daughter and a 2 1/2 year old son. I had an epideral with both children but I am now considering a natural birth this time around.

With my first child I was able to deal with the pain of the contractions at home until I reached 4cm dilated. I then went into the hospital and I was not progressing any, so the doctor broke my water which helped me dilate a little bit more. After 4 more hours I finally made it to 8cm and I got an epideral. That is what got me to be fully dilated and I finally was able to push. Labor was about 23 1/2 hours long. Ugh.

With my second child I was scheduled to be induced a day after my DD. I thought it went very well considering my first experience. The pitocin was definitely doing its job and was helping me dilate. I went through the contractions with no pain medication and made it to 7cm dilated before giving in to the epi. Once I got the epideral it totally kicked my contractions into gear and I was almost immediately at 10cm dilated after about 20 minutes and ready to push. My labor was only about 6 hours long.

Now I am considering a natural birth. I am very nervous and am so unsure of what I want to do. I have had a mediocre experience with an epi my first birth and a good experience with an epi my second birth, but for SOME unknown reason I am very weary of getting an epideral with my third child this time around. If I could hear some experiences about natural birth and good techniques to help get through it I would VERY VERY much appreciate it!! =)
Thanks

I also had two epidurals and chose to go natural with my third son. I had a homebirth and loved it.

I didn't take any classes or use in particular methods.
What I found to be the best for coping with contractions was focusing on a particular spot in the room, for me the corner of the wall, where it meets the ceiling and chanting a specific phrase over and over agian. This helped soothe me and also helped make the contractions seem shorter because I was semi distracted.

Welcome!  

Natural labor is an amazing feeling. If you really want an all natural birth tell the doctors and nurses not even to bring it up to you. Breath thru the contractions. Try to find some thing that calms you, like a focus point or music. Keep yourself hydrated. Dehydrations makes contractions a million times worse. Try to labor at home for as long as possible. (When i arrived at the hospital i was nearly 9cm) Dont stress yourself out. Dont let someone force an epi on you.

Thanks for your input! =) I have really been considering a natural birth for a while now. My mother had three of us all natural and I definitely look up to her. I have heard things about when you get an epideral it makes it more difficult to judge when you need to actually begin pushing and that it can actually make the delivery process longer as well. I am definitely going to try the advice from both of you ladies about concentrating on one thing during each contraction and just managing through them while I breathe. I have experienced how difficult contractions are if you hold your breath so I am for sure going to concentrate and my breathing technique as I find something to pinpoint my attention too. I have a Doctor's appointment this Tuesday and I am going to go over my birthing plan with her at that time which will be to give a natural birth with support from the nurses.

I have also heard that about keeping yourself hydrated, that it is a miracle worker during labor. Now that I have heard from someone with personal experience it makes me feel a ton better! I will most than likely try to stay home as LONG as possible so that I can be in the comfort of my own surroundings for sure, then hopefully by the time I do get to the hospital it will be about time to actually have her. I am glad to hear that a natural birth was a good experience for the both of you and this definitely boosts my confidence about making it a positive experience instead of a nervous, bad one. I will be sure to try and remain calm, drink lots of water, concentrate on one study thing, and work through the contractions as they come! Thanks again for your imput, I for sure appreciate hearing any and all I can get! =)

I am such a baby when it comes to pain, I did my first baby with no epidural, It was horrible, I had all these mothers tell my how it was so much better for the baby and stuff so I was determined, I did it, labored for about five hours, worst five hours ever...then my second I had an epidural and LOVED it, I labored for about two hours, it seemed surreal, no pain and out comes baby perfectly healthy happy and alert (I was told she would be sleepy), so from then on I have done epidurals, I am terrified of birthing at home for fear that something will go wrong, I do feel like I am not strong enough to do it either, I have seen women do it and barely make a sound...makes me feel like they are more women than I am, there is no way I could do it, this is only my personal experiences in no way am I trying to scare you out of it! I hope the best for you and your baby