Wow, what a nice comment! Thank you so much for saying that, it really means a lot. A lot went into this video and it was all worth it to know that people like you enjoyed it. Wishing you all the best on your upcoming labor!

Haha very valid!

Aw thank you for your support!

Wow, thank you so much for such a nice comment! I did put a lot of effort and love into this one so it’s always nice to hear when people recognize and appreciate that. Thank you so much. Wishing you all the best.

Haha definitely something to consider for the next one!

Wow what a nice compliment! Thank you so much, so glad you enjoyed it 🙏

Aw thank you! I'll be sure to show this to Char. She really is amazing. Communication with family was definitely new territory for us, this being our first birth, and we definitely learned a lot from it. So glad you enjoyed! --Mitchell

Aww yes such a special moment for me too ❤️🙏 glad you enjoyed!

Char here: wow thanks for sharing that. I’m so glad the video helped you! You absolutely CAN do it and you are totally right that your body was made to do it. If you have any questions about how to prepare or if I can help in any way, please reach out! Wishing you all the best in your journey and let us know how it goes!

I'm 42 and almost 20 weeks pregnant, so I can relate to the additional nerves and "negative Nancy" comments. We got this, girl! ❤

@@KitKat10281 Amen to that! You guys got this 100%

Aw thank you, it’s such an emotional thing. Glad you enjoyed!

Thank you so much, so glad you enjoyed and took some thing away from it! I think it can be so helpful to see other peoples experiences, so that’s great information for you knowing that you want to keep things more to yourself than we did. I’m so glad it helped you in that way. Wishing you all the best with your upcoming delivery! Let us know how it goes!

Thanks Ben! It was a difficult experience in some ways but also a memory that we will always cherish. We are just so blessed to have our healthy little girl. Happy holidays to you and your family!

Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! That trust is definitely something I had to work on over time, but I'm so glad I chose to trust my body to know what to do. Thanks for watching! --Char

Haha very fair decision to make!

Thank you so much for your comment! That fear of your water breaking before labor starts is definitely legitimate--and obviously we had to confront it head on (whether we wanted to or not haha). I'm so glad you appreciated the moments of real emotion that we were feeling. I definitely wanted to show all the emotions we were feeling. We're rootin for you and wishing you all the best with your upcoming labor! Let us know how it goes!

Contact a midwife and or doula to try to give birth in birth centre

Wow, thank you so much, that's so nice of you to say! Wishing you all the best. --Char

Aw thank you that means so much! So glad you enjoyed.

Wow, thank you so so much! That means the world. I’m so grateful for the strength God gave me, there’s no way I could have done it without Him. That’s so cool that you’re a doula! After my experience I have such a soft spot in my heart for doulas. You all are amazing!! Thanks again for your sweet words.❤️ - Char

Aww thank you so much. What a nice, thoughtful comment. My wife Char was incredible and all the preparation she did (mental, spiritual, and physical) beforehand really payed off as you can see in the labor. Just goes to show that with the right preparation and determination, we can accomplish amazing things. Thanks for stopping by the channel!

Aww you so much, that's so nice of you! Wishing you the best! --Char

Aw thanks Ash!

Aw thank you so much! 🙏

Aww thank you so much, that means so much! I know how that feels to experience ALL the emotions haha. I’m so glad the video helped. You’re gonna do great. Wishing you all the best and let us know how it goes! -Char

Aw thank you for such a nice comment! That means so much. I'm so glad the video helped you out. YOU CAN DO THIS. If I've learned anything, it's that laboring naturally is first and foremost a mental battle. If you do what you can to prepare mentally, and keep focused on staying strong mentally, you can get through the physical battle of it. Of course if you decide to not go naturally, don't feel any shame in that either. Wishing you all the best and let us know how it goes! --Char

Aww thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed 🙏

Thank you so much! We’re so glad to have you as part of our subscriber family! Happy new year to you and your family.

Thank you! 🙏

Aw thank you! 🙏

Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it! Yes here are some that were helpful for me: --HypnoBirthing, 4th Edition: The Natural approach to Safer, Easier, More Comfortable Birthing - The Mongan Method (by Marie Mongan). --I also did the Mama Natural Birth Course Online which was helpful and my husband did that with me to to prepare as well. --And "The First Fourty Days, The Essential Art of Nourishing a New Mother" is a great book to prepare nutritionally for postpartum that I would definitely recommend! --Char

@@MitchellMerrill Thank you so much for your recs! I am definitely going to look into these 😊👍

@@PharmTech_TN Anytime! Best of luck to you on your own journey. Please let us know how it goes!

@@MitchellMerrill 🙏💫

Thank you, right back at ya 🙏

Thank you, so glad you liked it! She weighed exactly 7lb. Ahh congrats, wishing you all the best with your labor and delivery!

I have considered it, and while I like the idea of being at home, I don’t feel comfortable delivering without a physician and hospital equipment accessible in case an emergency situation were to arise. If something happened and we lost the baby because we didn’t have the equipment or professionals present, it would be hard for me to ever forgive myself I think. Thank you for your kind words!

Char here-Thank you! I really tried to give it my all to be as ready as I could possibly be since I knew the labor would be such a difficult process. Going into it, I was very much prepared and willing to have them intervene with a C-section or induction if they felt like my or my baby’s safety was ever in jeopardy. I was very clear with my OB that if it was ever a question of safety, I was more than willing to accept whatever intervention they thought was necessary.

Aw thank you so much! She weighed 7lb even 💕

Thank you, glad you enjoyed!

Yes he did 👍

Yes she was amazing!

Haha we were on a big survivor kick at the time! Love that show haha

Love your story, thanks for sharing your experience. And great advice!

Wow what a quick labor, that's amazing! I'm sure that's a special memory to hang on to now!

She was born around 4pm, we then slept (or tried to sleep) that night and our parents were the first ones to meet the baby and they came in the morning around 10am.

Aw that’s sweet of you to say. Doing it unledicated definitely took a toll both physically and emotionally that probably we wouldn’t have felt at all had Char done an epidural. That being said, even though it was heart-wrenching watching my wife go through that pain, my respect and admiration for her grew so much. I saw how incredibly fierce and strong she was and it really connected us emotionally in a deep way that I don’t think we would have experienced with an epidural. I know she felt similarly with how much support she felt from me. Once our baby was finally there, we truly felt more connected emotionally than ever before. It was pretty special in that sense. But you’re definitely right that an epidural would have made it a whole lot easier! -Mitchell

I honestly didn’t know when I tore, I was so concerned about pushing and honestly more excited and proud that our baby was almost here. I did feel some burning (what I imagine some call the ring of fire) but it was a fairly short period of time compared to everything else. The hardest part of labor was transition (usually when you’re dilated 8-9 right before pushing). This phase is the hardest but also the shortest typically (30-45mins). Once you get through that it gets better! -Char

@@MitchellMerrill Thank you. I’m due w number 2 end of February I’m pretty terrified after a traumatic birth experience with my first

@@hannataylor2254 You're welcome. I'm so sorry you had a traumatic birth experience with your first. I know of women who have had traumatic birth experiences and I can only imagine how difficult that is to work through. It can definitely be super scary. I would take some time to sit down and really consider what may help make your experience this time more comfortable. An epidural? Having a certain friend or family member there with you? Having a clear birth plan laid out and discussed with the Dr. and staff beforehand so everyone is on the same page? Meeting with a therapist to work through that? Etc. Just some ideas of what could maybe help. But wishing you all the best. I'm sure you'll do amazing. Please let us know how it goes!

@@MitchellMerrill with my first I had an epidural but it didn’t fully work so was able to feel everything.

@@hannataylor2254 Oof I can only imagine how scary and hard that is when you're not mentally prepared to endure that kind of pain. I think mental/physical/emotional preparation is the key so you go into it knowing what to expect and how to get through it even when it's super hard

Wow, I’m sure that was not easy!

Many hospital staffs are very used to the standard western protocols of how to do things (ie, when your water breaks, you are supposed to come in due to infection risk, if you don’t begin laboring X hours after your water breaks, then you are supposed to get induced, etc). But the reality is that you don’t HAVE to do anything, really, as long as you communicate your desires and expectations well to the staff you’re working with. Since you’re paying for that hospital room, you can largely set the rules for your own body and what you feel comfortable with. This is why we recommend writing out a birth plan before the labor starts so that all of the possible outcomes are discussed and resolved according to your desires and comfort level before labor even starts.

That’s a good question. This was our first birth and neither of our moms gave birth unmedicated so I’m not sure!

I think the main motivations to go unmedicated are faster recovery, less tearing, avoiding the 'cascade of interventions' that come with with epidural, and lower risk of things like amniotic embolism.

It is an amazing thing to be a part of.

Haha I don’t mind. I put this video on my channel to help those who are preparing for birth so they can have a slightly better idea of what to expect. I know everyone has their own way of approaching this very personal topic so I welcome everyone else to share their opinions and how they would have done things differently!

@@MitchellMerrill oh no I meant with family not the channel 😂 … because in the video you can see how stressed out everyone was and giving their opinions on what you should do and I know it can be overwhelming for someone who’s expecting their first child. I meant no harm by my comment lol ❤️

@yasminehilary I 💯 agree 😂 if my family was acting frustrated at me that way when I’M the one having the baby, I’d be like “I’ll let you know when there’s something to know” and turn the phones OFF. I’ve been through way too much of people pleasing in my life especially cause I think, well, it’s family so… 🤷‍♀️ and the only thing it brings is more stress. It doesn’t do them good to be catered to nor good for the person doing the catering. After 2 babies and being pregnant with my 4th, I think I’ve finally learned my lesson. 😅

@@yasminehilary Oh! Haha 😂I see now what you're saying! Yes I totally understand that point. Sharing details with our families was definitely a point of stress throughout the labor haha. We're definitely going to re-think that for the next one a little bit better. It's tough though because if you don't keep them informed, we have anxiety from THEIR anxiety of not knowing what's going on and worrying, and if we DO keep them informed, they share their feelings and opinions with us on how to do things which also causes anxiety. Definitely something to consider.

@@stephaniejoy1500 I love this comment haha ^^. I definitely feel much more this way now than before we had our baby. I love the quality in people who are able to shut off what others around them think and just do THEM. That can definitely be a really good and attribute and it's always refreshing when I meet someone who exemplifies that. For us, at least, I think the heightened anxiety from our families came from the fact that Char was laboring and delivering naturally (without an epidural) and didn't want intervention with an induction if possible. This was not only new to all of our family members (none of them had ever experienced that themselves), but it was also new to us since it was our first baby and we had never been through it before. So I think going into the next one, we'll all hopefully be more confident and able to remain a little more at ease.

Thanks for your comment Judy. Of course our video is simply showing our experience and in no way serves as advice for how anyone else should proceed with their labor or delivery. I agree that exercising extreme caution and consulting with medical professionals should be top priorities for anyone whose water has broken (in terms of how to proceed with getting appropriate medical attention). This was our first birth, so Char felt unsure and somewhat fearful about hospital staff potentially pressuring her to get induced if she decided to go into the hospital right after her water broke. She wanted to avoid induction, if possible as long as it was safe for the baby to continue naturally. Char knows women who, after desiring to proceed without an induction, had their water break, went to the hospital, and came under a lot of pressure from hospital staff to get induced or have even more invasive intervention than they wanted. Because of those stories, I think Char was anxious that she would face similar pressure from doctors or nurses to intervene when still not totally necessary. However, looking back, we could have definitely gone in sooner and there would have been no pressure from the hospital staff to do anything against her will. We had great, supportive staff and I think next time we will feel far less anxious about going in sooner, as we now feel more confident in making our wishes known and working with hospital staff to fulfill Char’s birth plan wishes (within the bounds of safety of course). All that being said, as you can see in the video, we were in close communication with our OB and our doula, as well as trusting our intuition and relying on prayers to God for guidance. We felt that all of those influences gave us the guidance and direction to make the choices that we did with confidence. We’re so grateful that everything turned out as well as it did and that our baby was safe. Thank you for your kind wishes! Wishing you the best.

Because they check you and if you're not dilated enough and there's not enough rooms available they send you home for 24 hrs unless there's cause for emergency. What your aunt is probably referring to is when the waters is not clear. It's really not that urgent. Checking too often after water has broken is actually MORE cause for infection. Everyone has preferences but the science is science. The doctor said it was fine because..... it was fine.

@@MitchellMerrillbeautifully said ❤

@@ashleysherman1400 Thanks Ashley 🙏

Totally understand those emotions. Wishing you all the best with your labor 🙌🙏

Not true.

@@mbwilson8592 No, completely not true... This is why they tell you in preparation classes, right? Because it's not true... 🤨