“You don’t get a trophy for an unmedicated birth.”

I’ve heard that time and time again when I share with people that I want to have my daughter without an epidural.

But there’s a very specific reason that I want to have her naturally:

There are very few times in life when one will truly experience physical suffering.

Childbirth is definitely one of those times.

And it is my deep desire to experience fully that pain, so as to share in the suffering of Christ.

In fact, I want to unite it with Jesus’ suffering, and offer it as a form of prayer for a very specific intention that I hold deep in my heart.

At the end of the day, I want to birth a healthy, thriving young lady; and I am well aware that there may be circumstances outside of my control that will impact how my baby comes into the world — especially given the fact that she is in the 96th percentile.

But this is why I want to deliver without an epidural. I want to feel it. I want to embrace the suffering so as to feel a sliver of what our Savior felt on the Cross.

If you have any tips on unmedicated birthing, please leave them in the comments! ? Thank you!