first time mom, being induced tomorrow. advice?

beffybaby

My name is Bethany, I'm 21. I'll be 41 weeks pregnant tomorrow with my first, a boy, Landen Cade Baehr. I wanted to do this thing all natural and drug free but I have a pretty big baby growing inside me. He's estimated at 9 and a half pounds already, and my doctors don't want him to get too big to be born vaginally so they want to induce. I wasn't a fan of the idea, but really, who wants to be cut open and.completely miserable for the first 2 months of their baby's life? So I'm going to the doctor today to schedule my induction tomorrow, and needless to say I'm really nervous. Absolutely terrified. So I was hoping some more experienced mommies could give me some advice. What to expect, anything extra I should pack, what to drink, what to eat...I don't know. Anything.
Thanks in advance!

TikiTurtle

No babies for me yet, but I just wanted to chime in on the estimated baby size.
1. It's notoriously hard to accurately estimate their size at that point in a pregnancy
2. Your body won't grow a baby larger then it can handle (in like 99% of cases)

So if you and the baby are healthy and you want to go natural, you still have time. Waiting a few more days to see you start labor naturally is not going to alter the outcome drastically.

TikiTurtle

Also, there's a whole natural birth board that might be able to help you better. Good luck!

beffybaby

Thank you!

soaringflutes

I was induced three weeks early, due to pre eclampsia, and ended up having to have a c section.  Recovering from the c section was easier than I thought.  Recovering from severe pre eclampsia was horrible!  

I packed lots of clothes for myself, but didn't need that much.  I was pretty out of it for my 3 night 4 day hospital stay, since it was difficult for me to sleep there.  

Inducing took much longer than what I thought, and I had weird reactions to the drugs, such as being up all night itching like crazy, prior to the hard labor starting in the morning the next day.

You are young, and will be fine.  Take the pain medication as the doctors suggest, after delivery, and you won't feel pain from the incision.  I only took Tylonel and Ibuprofen after I came home, since prescription pain medications make me feel funny, and I did just fine.

If people ask what they can do for you, tell them to bring you food to your house after birth, since you will need to eat eat eat, and all of your energy will be poured into that little one, and it's really hard to find the time/strength to fix your own food.  (But hey, no hot soup!  You can't eat that while you are holding a baby!)

My mother took care of me and my baby, sharing much of the responsibility of my newborn's care, which saved my life and my sanity, when I came home.  

You will be okay, and so will your baby.  Yeah, having a c section is scary, but you never see any blood, and there's like 10 to 12 doctors/nurses in the room taking care of you.  I was in surgery for an hour, which I think is typical, and it goes by pretty fast.  Then I was in post op with my labor and delivery nurse, who was so kind to me, while my baby was in the NICU, since she had a little problem breathing after she was born.  (She's fine now.)

Oh, I felt funny pressure where I was numb, after the surgery, and it is possible to feel pressure during the surgery, but there was no pain.

Having a c section wasn't my first choice by a long shot, but you do what you have to do.  My OB sang "Happy Birthday" to my baby when she pulled her out of me.  Life is sweet.  Good luck to you!

kerbear135

I was induced at 39 weeks, 5 days due to insulin controlled GD. I was 3-4cm dilated by the time I got to the hospital, so they went straight to pitocin and broke my water. Induction itself wasn't so bad- the most painful part was the IV- it took 4 sticks to get a useable one. My advice is to try to relax as much as possible- your body was meant for this and you CAN do it. The pain in only temporary and it will all be worth it the moment your LO enters the world Good luck!

sschwege

TikiTurtle said:

No babies for me yet, but I just wanted to chime in on the estimated baby size. 1. It's notoriously hard to accurately estimate their size at that point in a pregnancy 2. Your body won't grow a baby larger then it can handle (in like 99% of cases) So if you and the baby are healthy and you want to go natural, you still have time. Waiting a few more days to see you start labor naturally is not going to alter the outcome drastically.

Agreed!

The ACOG does not recommend induction for suspected 'big baby' unless there are other factors to consider (GD for example).  Weight estimates are notoriously inaccurate and can be off by a pound or more.  

Besides 9 1/2 pounds, while big is not ridiculously big, fat squashes.  

I would push back on this doctor and insist on more time. 

RN2011

I was induced at 39 weeks due to the size of the baby. I was totally against having a C-section. I did 24 hours of cervidel (the 1st 12 hours didn't dilate me at all). After that they did the Pitocin and broke my water. After that I was in labor about 10 hours and pushed for 10 mins. I had a beautiful, healthy, baby girl You don't need to pack anything extra since your hospital bag should have all your necessary items. Just try to relax (I know if's easier said than done) and know this is what we were meant to do. Once they give you the cervidel you can't get up for a couple of hours so make sure you go to the bathroom. Make sure you have a good breakfast because you'll be on a liquid diet once you are there. They don't let you really eat anything incase you do have to get a C-Section. The rest will happen as it's suppose to happen. Good luck!