My contractions started out feeling like REALLY bad cramps then progressed to horrible BH and then after an epidural they just felt like normal BH only lower than they had been for the months previous.
Lurker from Jan16 here. I love reading other people's birth stories! Here's mine for anyone who want to read another one.
I was 37+1 and was in full time medical school as well as working two to three nights a week as a server. I got home from classes around 5pm and went to the bathroom to pee. But the pee didn't stop. It didn't seem like what I expected as far as my water breaking goes but I didn't know what was going on. DH works evenings and was gone at work. I walked to the grocery store and got a few things. I already had dinner plans with a friend across town so I went. In the back of my mind I was thinking that I should probably call my midwife and tell her that my water *might* have broken. But I still hadn't felt ANYTHING, so I kept up with my normal night.
When I got home I went to the bathroom again and this time there was a little pink tinge in when I wiped. I called my mom who told me that my water had most likely broken and that I should call my midwife. I already knew this but just needed someone to encourage me. :-) It was about 8:30pm. I called my midwife and she told me to keep her posted and come in at 8am the next morning to be checked if nothing had changed. She also told me to go to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I spent the next few hours cleaning and finishing up the nursery. Still no contractions, just a slow leak of fluids that had tiny amounts of pink/red/yellow in them. I called my boss and told him that I wouldn't be in for work the next day (or the next three months!).
I had my first feeling of anything around 12:30, just a few minutes after my husband got home from work. It was sort of just uncomfortable and annoying. I went in the spare room to try and sleep so that my nervous energy wouldn't keep my husband awake. Contractions felt like strong menstrual cramps. Around 3am I felt nauseous and threw up. I felt so much better after. I took a shower and spent a while just hanging out in the warm water. I decided to wake up DH to time contractions as I felt like they were coming pretty often but was having trouble keep track. He timed a bit but kept falling asleep and I felt like the pain was getting intense. I had him call the midwife and tell her that I wanted to come in sooner because I thought things were progressing. It was almost 6am. She said she would be there at 7am.
I'm thankful we only live a few minutes from the birth center because contractions in the car were the worst! (Luckily I only had two!). As soon as we got there my midwife asked if I wanted to labor in the water. I'm pretty sure I stripped my clothes off before she could get the water started. I was still able to talk and feel normal between contractions but was glad to be at the birth center. Contractions were crazy painful at this point and I kept thinking, I don't know if I can do this. Because I had decided to have baby at a birth center an epidural was not an option. In retrospect, I am glad because I might have caved at this point and gotten one. I didn't have the option so I just had to bear down and keep going. A bit after 9am my midwife asked if I wanted to be checked. She said she didn't want me to get discouraged if I wasn't very far along yet but she was happy to check if I wanted to know. I told her that I DID want to be checked. Getting out of the birth tub was awful.
When she checked me she started laughing. Turns out baby was crowning and it was time to push. She had me reach down and feel baby's head. Then she helped me back into the birth tub so I could push. The next couple of contractions I wasn't ready to push as moving from the bed to the birth tub took all my energy. But as soon as I regained my breath it took three contractions and baby came out. I planned on a water birth but at some point during pushing I stood up and baby was born just above the water instead of into it. DH reached down and caught baby, and I immediately asked, "Is it a boy?" (In the back of my head I knew it was even though we were team green). boy! 6lbs 7oz, born 37+2. perfectly healthy.
I did have to get three stitches. The midwife told me that my is common with fast labors because the body doesn't have as much time to adjust and open up.
I'm hoping for another fast labor. I'd even be happy with a few weeks early again (just not too early). Of course, I know we don't have much control over these things so I will be happy with healthy.
Hello i wondering what to do on Monday i got checked out and i was 3cm Thursday the 17 was my due date and on Wednesday night me and my bf got intimate but after that i went to the bathroom and saw light pink blood when i wiped and after like two hours it went away and again today a little earlier it happened as well is it normal or should i call my doctor
Ok so i had baby #2 Birth story I had contractions that were 10 min apart they didnt change no matter what i did. I went to the hospital and was only 2 cm. Now i will say they didnt hurt but i was curious if it was really happening or not. I get to labor and delivery the lady had a horrible attitude first of all, and she said i wasnt in labor... And boy was she wrong! And i knew it! But i went home anyways because i wasnt aloud to stay..... -_- stupid lady.... That was 2 pm..... By 12 am midnight im in pain to where i cant sleep but i felt like it wasnt enough pain to go... But my husband said they were 3 min apart and i should call an ambulance becuz o didnt wanna have the baby in the house!! So sure enough i got to the e.r and i was 10 cm people!!!! 10 cm!!! Alll becuz of that lady i almost had my baby at home! Crazy... Well i pushed 2 times and out she came! Easy labor and delivery... But my husband missed it becuz my mom was in texas for thanksgiving and wasnt gonna be home till the next day and he had to leave my daughter with his sister... She was sleeping and didnt hear her phone... I mean it was super late so he had to go to her house thank God she lives 4 min away from me.. And left my daughter there. Sooo he made it 5 min after i had her .... But God was with me and everything went smooth.
I basically posted my birth story with my announcement, but I just want to reiterate that when you're having a labor contraction, you will know.
I had a ton of back labor and it was incredibly painful. In transition and pushing it felt really good to have a heating pad on my lower back and constant pressure applied (DH and doula FTW). By painful, I mean when they were coming 15 seconds apart I was whimpering and on the verge of losing control.
Other contractions felt like super duper painful menstrual cramps.
I just want to add that my labor started at being awoken at 4 am to some cramping. I had had similar cramping, but by 4:30 the gushing liquid signaled something different was happening. Again, you'll know when it's real!!
@Court11152325 I'm feeling inspired as I have a posterior baby as well and want to labour without medications! Way to go! Hoping the doula/husband/mom/husband will help me cope.
I honestly didn't know I was having actual labor contractions. Me and my nurse thought I was getting early contractions pushing on a gas bubble. Turns out we were wrong!
It was painful, but doable. @laurabwalker just be strong and practice a breathing routine. I'm not going to lie, though, when they numbed for the c-section not feeling those contractions was really nice. But after pushing for 3 hours with no change in her station, I was feeling really defeated.
It was painful, but doable. @laurabwalker just be strong and practice a breathing routine. I'm not going to lie, though, when they numbed for the c-section not feeling those contractions was really nice. But after pushing for 3 hours with no change in her station, I was feeling really defeated.
Thanks for the tips! Sounds like you did so great, 3 hours of pushing sounds exhausting after that labor. Congrats on your beautiful baby
39+5 I'm only 1 cm dilated and absolutely zero sign of this baby coming anytime soon. This might not seem like much but I had my daughter on her due date so I was really looking forward to having my son early or at least on time...definitely not happening.
I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread. I haven't been having real contractions, and I go see the doctor tomorrow. At my last appointment he alluded to bring induced because of baby's size, I'm 39+3 tomorrow. I'm not sure what the plan is as of yet, but I'm starting to get really nervous. I want baby here, but I don't know if I can do it!!! I mean, I know I can and have to, but this is such a scary thought and it now feels like 9 months wasn't enough time to actually process. I've been so worried about making sure he's safe and healthy I haven't been thinking about what's to come.
Sorry for the book, but I didn't want to freak my hubby out, as I've been so calm about it all!!!
I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread. I haven't been having real contractions, and I go see the doctor tomorrow. At my last appointment he alluded to bring induced because of baby's size, I'm 39+3 tomorrow. I'm not sure what the plan is as of yet, but I'm starting to get really nervous. I want baby here, but I don't know if I can do it!!! I mean, I know I can and have to, but this is such a scary thought and it now feels like 9 months wasn't enough time to actually process. I've been so worried about making sure he's safe and healthy I haven't been thinking about what's to come.
Sorry for the book, but I didn't want to freak my hubby out, as I've been so calm about it all!!!
No real advice ... But This is my third and have had the idea that labour is going to come full force in the next 24 hrs and am a lot freaked out too. Even though I know what to expect during and after labour, I feel super unprepared and totally nervous about it all. You are not alone. I'm sure many many many women can totally relate.
I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread. I haven't been having real contractions, and I go see the doctor tomorrow. At my last appointment he alluded to bring induced because of baby's size, I'm 39+3 tomorrow. I'm not sure what the plan is as of yet, but I'm starting to get really nervous. I want baby here, but I don't know if I can do it!!! I mean, I know I can and have to, but this is such a scary thought and it now feels like 9 months wasn't enough time to actually process. I've been so worried about making sure he's safe and healthy I haven't been thinking about what's to come.
Sorry for the book, but I didn't want to freak my hubby out, as I've been so calm about it all!!!
I was 8cm along and didn't think I could do it and was nervous and worried about the process to come. Luckily you don't really have a choice -- you'll do it when the time comes and then you'll have your adorable little baby!
@angbrienza and @jennknitspretty thank you. I keep trying to remind myself that I want this baby to snuggle, so he has to come out, and I'm the one who has to do it. I know in the end it will be OK, and I'm sure it will do it again to have more babies, but I might not be able to sleep tonight.
@stephaniearthurs I feel u. This is my second and feels like my first with all these laboring thoughts. I'm 39+3 tomorrow and my induction is next week. I'm already sleepless. Best to u and like they say we have no choice, go with the flow. One thing I did think of tonight is that I like the element of surprise and in a way wish I would just randomly go into labor rather than have it scheduled. Probably because it gives me less time to freak out?
He came Christmas Eve at 6:35 am, I didn't leave for the hospital till 2:57 a.m.
I thought it was slight back pain and a bit of pressure to pee, but no worse than any other night. I couldn't sleep though; so I got up to go to the washroom about 2:30. My water broke then! All over the floor. I still didn't feel things were urgent, but I began to time contractions - realized I was having back contractions 6 minutes apart lasting about 30 seconds.
By the time I got to the hospital I couldn't even walk.
I was hoping for an epidural but by the time I got to the hospital I was at 9.5 cm dilated!
Because I was so sure I'd have an epidural, the pain was worse and it was much harder work than I thought. I ended up needing some pitocin at the end. And did use nitrous oxide, which helped give me some relief.
After there was no "high" or endorphin rush. but a lot of relief- along with 2nd degree tears. I'm glad it's over but it's not the process I expected. Thankfully I'm also a lot less exhausted after a short labour than I thought I'd be.
Now that he's here I'm very calm so far. But no huge gush of emotions just yet. Things just feel right. My husband has been absolutely amazing and I'm so thankful he is healthy. 7 lb 7 oz and 20.5 inches
Didn't know I was in labour for 16 hrs because it started so small I thought they were Braxton Hicks. It was only after they didn't go away and started getting quite painful that I thought they were real. Even when we went to hospital at 7cm (found out later, thought I'd be like 1cm) they were irregular and up to 4 mins apart. Anyone in doubt, listen to your body and nothing else. I never lost the plug or waters.
Any moms experience extreme fatigue before going into labor? Like bone-deep can't-keep-eyes-open, first trimester style fatigue? I had a decent night sleep last night and just passed out cold on the couch for 2 solid hours (and could easily sleep some more). It's very unusual. Wondering if maybe it's a sign of labor...OR just that I'm getting sick.
Yes to being really tired @Alyssaerin996 but I thought it was just my body responding to being 40+ weeks pregnant....that's a really long time to share my body with another human
@laurabwalker Was afraid of that! I know a lot of people actually get a big burst of energy right before but was kind of hoping someone would chime in and confirm the opposite. Wishful thinking! Due tomorrow. No sign of baby.
I had an extreme burst of energy then was extremely tired the next day. I just wanted to sleep all day! That afternoon I went into labor. Could be a coincidence though.
@laurabwalker@Alyssaerin996 I'm due tomorrow too and no sign of baby yet. No extreme fatigue either, just so tired of being pregnant. Have an appt for induction tomorrow morning.
My mom keeps telling me that the baby will stop moving (as much) before I go into labour. If this is true, I don't think I ever will, this kid moves so much!!!!
My mom keeps telling me that the baby will stop moving (as much) before I go into labour. If this is true, I don't think I ever will, this kid moves so much!!!!
The ladies in my life told me this as well. I stopped feeling her when contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and it was terrifying!
Hey all! This is my story.. My water broke at midnight. I was asleep and woke up feeling like I had peed my pants. As I got up and ran to the bathroom I could feel water gushing out of me. My pants were soaked and I was sitting on the toilet in disbelief. I woke up my husband to let him know my water had broken, we called the hospital and were told to make our way over as soon as we could. We hopped into the car and headed over, by this time I wasn't feeling anything. Just anxious and ready to meet my little girl! We got to the labour and delivery room where a nurse checked to see if my water did in fact break by using a swab test. They confirmed it. They did a quick check and let me know that I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. I was told they were going to administer oxycodine to kick start labour and get my contractions going. (This is because after your water breaks you have an increased chance of infection the longer your labour lasts) I asked if I could get an epidural first and they said okay. The epidural was quite painful.. Tons of pressure and pinching, not fun! It took effect within 5 min and I was in heaven! A couple hours later I started to feel a lot of pressure in my lower abdomine. I told the nurse who then checked me and I was 10cm and ready to push. Two hours later, my baby girl made her entrance! I had an episiotomy so they needed to stich me up.. Also not fun. Now I am home and trying to recover. Recovering after labour- especially after an episiotomy- is absolute hell! In my experience, this is worse than labour itself. (Not to mention my boobs are bigger than Pam Anderson's, and my nipples feel like they could fall off at any second) Totally worth it X1000 though!
The birth announcement is in that thread, but here are some details: I went in for my doctor appointment at 4pm, after a full day of running errands. Good thing too! All day, I had been having a "tight cramp" type feeling every 20 min or so lasting about 40 seconds at a time. I thought it might possibly be the start of something, but they were so light, I wasn't sure. The only thing that made me think they were real, was that my mom had said "when they make you stop what you're doing and think about it, they're real." Some were hard enough that I had to stop for a bit, but they were still pretty mild. My hips felt super tight though, and getting in our Explorer was a challenge to lift my leg enough to get in.
When we got to the doctor, my bp was higher than its been (140/100) which isn't too high, but my normal is basically the textbook 120/80, so I suppose for me, that's high enough to notice. Anyway, since it had been creeping higher each week, and I was 3cm, 75% effaced and station -1, he decided to send me to the hospital. We got there, not sure if we were being admitted or if it was just for a few tests. Turns out it was to admit us. So, I called my mom and she came right over so she'd be there when the doc came back, cos we weren't sure if they wanted me to labor that night or wait til morning. We waited til morning. During the night, the crampy feeling got worse, and my legs basically decided that they were done and it was hubby's job to help me get out of bed to the bathroom, not theirs. Little man definitely had dropped a little more too. I could feel him! So odd. After a long night of cramps and woken to check BP and vitals every hour, it was finally time to see the doctor. He arrived at 6:30am, broke my water and started pitocin and magnesium (to prevent seizures) after discovering that I'd gone to 6cm, 100% effaced overnight. Now, I'd heard all the horror stories about induction and the need for epidural, etc... But I did NOT want an epidural at all!! I declined when the anesthesiologist came in to ask. They warned that this would mean general anesthesia if I needed a c section. I wasn't planning on getting one, so that was fine with me. The magnesium was the worst part of the whole thing. It made me hot and sweaty and very groggy and out of it.
Contractions (why everyone is reading this in the first place) started getting stronger and closer together about an hour into the pitocin drip and continued steadily harder through labor, which is expected. I found that they weren't as bad as I was imagining. They hurt, don't get me wrong, but you can feel the purpose of them. I started breathing hard, and mom and DH reminded me to slow my breathing. That helped. Apparently I had a vice grip on DH's hand through the contractions... (Sorry dear). Mom rubbed my lower back/tailbone area when I was having them, and that was amazing relief! I highly recommend it. It is so possible to labor naturally. Just focus on the muscles rippling down to push baby into the right position. That helped me. It was like a cramp/Charlie horse/muscle spasm type feeling that you can't stop it on your own, you just have to work through it.
Anyway, about 10:30, they noticed baby's heart rate was dropping a bit, so they hooked him up to a monitor in his scalp and had me switch positions to see if that'd help. Nothing helped. They made the call to do a c-section, just in case it was an emergency. I think I was a 7, but I was in transition and active labor throughout that... Mom thinks it I had another hour, he would have been fine and I would have delivered since everything else was progressing so quickly. Anyway, they put an oxygen mask on and wheeled me away to surgery, knocked me out, and did the section. Q was born at 11:04am.
The general consensus was that there were no reasons to do the c-section, other than the precautionary "what if we hadn't". So, better safe than sorry, I suppose. I'd rather have a c-section and a healthy baby than risk something happening to him because of my birth plan. They said I can probably vbac next time so that's good. We think, looking back at it, that the magnesium affected both of us, and is probably the cause of the heart rate issues. I naturally have a lower resting heart rate, too, so that is also probably part of it. But, we are happy and healthy and learning how to breastfeed since we were delayed quite a bit in starting that process.
My contractions came fast and furious. They started out feeling like a vice gripping and squeezing my hips and radiating down my legs. They became unbearable when they were in my back pounding away, every two minutes for two minutes, and my front was just cramping. Oh back labor
So glad I get to add to this!! My due date was the 30th, but I wasn't really watching for labor signs because everyone in my family has gone post dates (not that it's a huge indicator, but still,) I'm a FTM, and I hadn't really dropped yet or had any dialation yet. I got home from work on the 29th and decided to take a shower. When I got out my belly was noticeably lower. At around 7 pm I started to have some back pain. I have pretty bad scoliosis and chronic back pain so I figured that I was just overdoing it. It started to get progressively worse, but I had no abdominal cramps so I just kept writing it off. I started timing what I thought were contractions at about 9. Once I realized they were anywhere between 7 and 3 minutes apart we decided to head to the hospital. Still had almost no abdominal pain. We got admitted at 11 because it was most definitely labor. I was dead set on a natural labor, but after 9 hours of nothing but back labor I caved and got an epidural around 6 am. I was vomitting and the only thing that helped was standing and swaying, but that unfortunately that made them come closer/harder and was decelerating LO's heart. The epidural was a god send, although my husband almost passed out because he decided to watch. It helped so much! I was finally able to get about an hour of sleep. I was starting to feel the contractions through the epidural so we got to pushing and after about an hour my little one was born at 3:23pm on December 30th. :-)
Was induced on Christmas Day at 12pm because I was 9 days past my due date. Was sent home after 3 hours of being monitored at the hospital and was told to come back the next day if nothing had progressed. At 5:30pm on Christmas Day I started to feel period like cramping in my lower back. It wasn't anything bad, just slight discomfort. We had my husbands family come over for a visit around 8:30pm and I was feeling more discomfort in both lower back and in lower stomach. I sat on the couch with a hot pack. Once the family left around 11 pm, I decided to sit in the tub to try and ease the cramping. The cramping grew with more discomfort. They would switch from lower back to lower stomach. My husband said that I was having contractions but I was in denial because everyone says that your whole stomach will tighten when having a contraction. I did not feel any tightening. I called the hospital and told the nurse I had really uncomfortable cramping and she asked a bunch of questions that I had answered no to and she told me to have a good night. My husband saw how much discomfort I was in and told me to call her back and tell her that we were coming in to get checked. As I got out of the bath, I could feel my cramping coming in slow and then it would intensify then slowly let up. I was no longer in denial, this was my bodies way of contracting! I started focusing on deep breathing. It was hard getting all of our stuff packed as the contractions were coming on every 40 seconds. We got in the car and headed for the hospital. Once at the hospital they put us in a room to wait for a nurse to check me. I was laying on the bed on my side holding the mattress with a tight grip breathing deeply through each contraction. By now they are coming on every 30 seconds. My husband went out in the hallway and flagged down a doctor and told her to come check me. When the doctor pulled the cervidil out I had my "bloody show" and also found that I was 5 cm dilated. I was in so much discomfort and with contractions coming every 30 seconds I knew I would be too exhausted when it came time for pushing so I asked for the epidural. They took me to the birthing unit and I waited for the anesthesiologist. The epi did not hurt, and I was smiling and talking 10 minutes after it was inserted. They checked me again and I was close to 10 cm. They called my doctor to come to the hospital as I was going to deliver this baby soon. As soon as my doctor arrived I was ready to push. She broke my water then had me doing a couple of sets of pushing when my doctor said baby has a big head and that she will have to use a vacuum to help get him out. I pushed some more but it was tough going on getting him out. His heart rate was dropping a bit and they figured he might be in distress so they called in for a couple extra doctors and a nicu team. My doctor stepped aside and let a different doctor in helping me try to push the baby out. Within 20 minutes of pushing and with the help of the vacuum, my baby boy came out (within an hour and a half of being at the hospital I went from 5 cm to 10 cm! quick labour and delivery). My husband was not able to cut the cord as the nicu team took my baby to be assessed. While they were checking him over I was being stitched up as I had a 2nd degree tear. Thank god for the epi as the only thing I felt having my baby was pressure as if I had to poop. Couldn't feel them stitching me up. Once the nicu team was done they put my baby boy on my chest and I was able to start breastfeeding. It was quite the experience and couldn't be more happy. Since then my recovery is going really well! Just trying to get sleep whenever I can.
Sorry it took me almost a month to post this but that's how long it's taken me to start dealing with giving birth. It was not a good experience for me.
I was induced. For 24 hours, nothing happened. And then I got my first cramp and labor went very fast from that point onward. So fast, i was the talk of the ward. I was a ftm. And gave birth within a few short hours after my 1cm dilation. It was traumatizing because it happened almost too fast. And it was traumatizing because I don't like being touched. I don't like being vulnerable.
Contractions started out feeling like moderate to severe cramps. Kind of like those sicky menstrual cramps that ache across your stomach and around your back. The ones I always got on days 1-2 of my period, just slightly worse. it wasn't that bad at the beginning. I laughed at how easy it was starting out. My induction began the night of the 8th. These cramps began on the night of the 9th. So it was a full 24 hours after my foley bulb was put in before i felt anything at all.
From here, they became progressively worse. It is best described as a squeezing inside my entire body that originated in my lower pelvis. I know a lot of women on tv and in movies scream when the pain got really bad. I wasn't able to do that. I knew the pain had become unbearable when i was no longer able to make any sounds or vocalize. The epidural, as i will talk about, didn't work that well for me but one thing it did do was give me the ability to swear like a sailor. Before i got the epi, i wasn't able to make any sounds, speak, scream or anything. The pain was too intense. It felt as if my body was collapsing in on itself like a dying star. I can safely say that i know how a supernova feels. After the epi fully kicked in, i cussed my way through 4 straight hours of pushing.
The epidural didn't hurt at all. I mean maybe it did.. but compared to the contractions (I was dilated 6 cm when i demanded my epi) i felt absolutely nothing bad. It was weird. That was all. It took about 20 minutes to kick in. And by "kick in", i no longer felt as if I would vomit and die from pain. I merely felt terrible pain.
So here's what happened to me. My legs went numb. So i knew the epi was working. But was it pain free? Absolutely not by any description of painless. The epidural took away the sharp, searing, stinging and tearing pain of giving birth but the pressure and all the discomfort that pressure brings was still there. I still felt as if i was going to split in half. I felt like i was having the worst shit of my entire life. For hours on end. The pain was sickening. But the worst was being touched. The foley catheter was horrifying. The bladder catheter was awful. The massages my MALE doctor (No females available) gave me will haunt me until i'm dead. I hate being touched and it was just days of being molested by strangers.
The best relief i got was from nitrous oxide. I did a lot of nitrous.. My goal was to do this as high as possible. The nitrous made that happen.
Poor little Olive got stuck in my birth canal for several hours. To this day, i have no idea how the little soldier survived that. But they do. Her head came out shaped like an almond but she was just fine. I felt her crown and I felt my body stretching. It didn't hurt terribly - again the worst pain was from the pressure inside me. When the last pushes came (and i pushed in grousp of 3) i knew it before it happened. I knew my last 3 pushes would be my last 3. And i felt it. I felt my clitorus stretching. I felt myself tearing. The pain associated with those things, the burning, searing pain, the "ring of fire" was not a huge issue but I could feel my body sustaining damage. It was very unpleasant. But I did it. I could feel every part of her as she came out and I knew exactly what was happening without looking. She began to scream before her feet were totally out. She was amazing. She was a star.
When they laid her on my chest, I would like to say that i forgot everything from the past 6 hours. I certainly was happy and in love. But the past 6 hours were still horribly present. I started to shake and couldnt' stop. I wasn't able to get warm or talk or do much at all. I vaguely remember my midwife telling me to try to nurse Olive. I did and she latched right away. We did skin to skin and kept each other warm. I cried for days.
I still have ngihtmares about giving birth. I believe my experience was more traumatizing than the typical experience because of my absolute terror of being touched by strangers so please don't assume that you will go through what i did. Even if you're induced.
It was worth it. But it was bad. It's not a fun activity. I'm sorry this isn't more articulate but I'm crying writing this. It was the worst night of my life followed by the best morning of my life.
Contractions hurt, ok? Don't delude yourself into thinking an epidural is guaranteed to level the playing field. It might if you're lucky. But that wasn't my experience.
Oh btw i don't know if anybody has talked about delivering the placenta.
It seriously didn't hurt at all. It felt almost like a cross between a relief and absolutely nothing. After what i had just gone through, it felt like passing a small clot that you sometimes pass on your period. The placenta is nothing. Don't worry about the placenta.
One thing they don't tell you until after though.. if you're breastfeeding, your contractions will continue for several days. They are not strong contractions but you'll cramp right up when you bf. Don't worry. Supposed to happen.
If you tear (I got 2nd degree tears from my tiny 5 pounder) they'll stitch you and if you have an epidural, you won't feel much. I can't remember if they gave me additional pain management for stitches. But I didn't feel pain from stitches at all. I felt the stitching happening but no pain associated with it.
I had a 2nd degree (with a 5 pounder!) and I just remember twitching when they started to stitch me up so they reached over and pressed my "happy button" ( epidural button to administer more) but other than that I just felt the weird tugging of the stitches.
@groovylocks I completely admire your strength at handling birth when you have such anxiety from being touched by strangers.
Re: What My Contractions Felt Like/Our Birth Stories (LOOK HERE BEFORE ASKING ABOUT CONTRACTIONS)
I was 37+1 and was in full time medical school as well as working two to three nights a week as a server. I got home from classes around 5pm and went to the bathroom to pee. But the pee didn't stop. It didn't seem like what I expected as far as my water breaking goes but I didn't know what was going on. DH works evenings and was gone at work. I walked to the grocery store and got a few things. I already had dinner plans with a friend across town so I went. In the back of my mind I was thinking that I should probably call my midwife and tell her that my water *might* have broken. But I still hadn't felt ANYTHING, so I kept up with my normal night.
When I got home I went to the bathroom again and this time there was a little pink tinge in when I wiped. I called my mom who told me that my water had most likely broken and that I should call my midwife. I already knew this but just needed someone to encourage me. :-) It was about 8:30pm. I called my midwife and she told me to keep her posted and come in at 8am the next morning to be checked if nothing had changed. She also told me to go to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I spent the next few hours cleaning and finishing up the nursery. Still no contractions, just a slow leak of fluids that had tiny amounts of pink/red/yellow in them. I called my boss and told him that I wouldn't be in for work the next day (or the next three months!).
I had my first feeling of anything around 12:30, just a few minutes after my husband got home from work. It was sort of just uncomfortable and annoying. I went in the spare room to try and sleep so that my nervous energy wouldn't keep my husband awake. Contractions felt like strong menstrual cramps. Around 3am I felt nauseous and threw up. I felt so much better after. I took a shower and spent a while just hanging out in the warm water. I decided to wake up DH to time contractions as I felt like they were coming pretty often but was having trouble keep track. He timed a bit but kept falling asleep and I felt like the pain was getting intense. I had him call the midwife and tell her that I wanted to come in sooner because I thought things were progressing. It was almost 6am. She said she would be there at 7am.
I'm thankful we only live a few minutes from the birth center because contractions in the car were the worst! (Luckily I only had two!). As soon as we got there my midwife asked if I wanted to labor in the water. I'm pretty sure I stripped my clothes off before she could get the water started. I was still able to talk and feel normal between contractions but was glad to be at the birth center. Contractions were crazy painful at this point and I kept thinking, I don't know if I can do this. Because I had decided to have baby at a birth center an epidural was not an option. In retrospect, I am glad because I might have caved at this point and gotten one. I didn't have the option so I just had to bear down and keep going. A bit after 9am my midwife asked if I wanted to be checked. She said she didn't want me to get discouraged if I wasn't very far along yet but she was happy to check if I wanted to know. I told her that I DID want to be checked. Getting out of the birth tub was awful.
When she checked me she started laughing. Turns out baby was crowning and it was time to push. She had me reach down and feel baby's head. Then she helped me back into the birth tub so I could push. The next couple of contractions I wasn't ready to push as moving from the bed to the birth tub took all my energy. But as soon as I regained my breath it took three contractions and baby came out. I planned on a water birth but at some point during pushing I stood up and baby was born just above the water instead of into it. DH reached down and caught baby, and I immediately asked, "Is it a boy?" (In the back of my head I knew it was even though we were team green). boy! 6lbs 7oz, born 37+2. perfectly healthy.
I did have to get three stitches. The midwife told me that my is common with fast labors because the body doesn't have as much time to adjust and open up.
I'm hoping for another fast labor. I'd even be happy with a few weeks early again (just not too early). Of course, I know we don't have much control over these things so I will be happy with healthy.
Birth story
I had contractions that were 10 min apart they didnt change no matter what i did. I went to the hospital and was only 2 cm. Now i will say they didnt hurt but i was curious if it was really happening or not. I get to labor and delivery the lady had a horrible attitude first of all, and she said i wasnt in labor... And boy was she wrong! And i knew it! But i went home anyways because i wasnt aloud to stay..... -_- stupid lady.... That was 2 pm..... By 12 am midnight im in pain to where i cant sleep but i felt like it wasnt enough pain to go... But my husband said they were 3 min apart and i should call an ambulance becuz o didnt wanna have the baby in the house!! So sure enough i got to the e.r and i was 10 cm people!!!! 10 cm!!! Alll becuz of that lady i almost had my baby at home! Crazy... Well i pushed 2 times and out she came! Easy labor and delivery... But my husband missed it becuz my mom was in texas for thanksgiving and wasnt gonna be home till the next day and he had to leave my daughter with his sister... She was sleeping and didnt hear her phone... I mean it was super late so he had to go to her house thank God she lives 4 min away from me.. And left my daughter there. Sooo he made it 5 min after i had her
I had a ton of back labor and it was incredibly painful. In transition and pushing it felt really good to have a heating pad on my lower back and constant pressure applied (DH and doula FTW). By painful, I mean when they were coming 15 seconds apart I was whimpering and on the verge of losing control.
Other contractions felt like super duper painful menstrual cramps.
I just want to add that my labor started at being awoken at 4 am to some cramping. I had had similar cramping, but by 4:30 the gushing liquid signaled something different was happening. Again, you'll know when it's real!!
Sorry for the book, but I didn't want to freak my hubby out, as I've been so calm about it all!!!
I thought it was slight back pain and a bit of pressure to pee, but no worse than any other night. I couldn't sleep though; so I got up to go to the washroom about 2:30. My water broke then! All over the floor. I still didn't feel things were urgent, but I began to time contractions - realized I was having back contractions 6 minutes apart lasting about 30 seconds.
By the time I got to the hospital I couldn't even walk.
I was hoping for an epidural but by the time I got to the hospital I was at 9.5 cm dilated!
Because I was so sure I'd have an epidural, the pain was worse and it was much harder work than I thought. I ended up needing some pitocin at the end. And did use nitrous oxide, which helped give me some relief.
After there was no "high" or endorphin rush. but a lot of relief- along with 2nd degree tears. I'm glad it's over but it's not the process I expected. Thankfully I'm also a lot less exhausted after a short labour than I thought I'd be.
Now that he's here I'm very calm so far. But no huge gush of emotions just yet. Things just feel right. My husband has been absolutely amazing and I'm so thankful he is healthy. 7 lb 7 oz and 20.5 inches
My water broke at midnight. I was asleep and woke up feeling like I had peed my pants. As I got up and ran to the bathroom I could feel water gushing out of me. My pants were soaked and I was sitting on the toilet in disbelief. I woke up my husband to let him know my water had broken, we called the hospital and were told to make our way over as soon as we could. We hopped into the car and headed over, by this time I wasn't feeling anything. Just anxious and ready to meet my little girl! We got to the labour and delivery room where a nurse checked to see if my water did in fact break by using a swab test. They confirmed it. They did a quick check and let me know that I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. I was told they were going to administer oxycodine to kick start labour and get my contractions going. (This is because after your water breaks you have an increased chance of infection the longer your labour lasts) I asked if I could get an epidural first and they said okay. The epidural was quite painful.. Tons of pressure and pinching, not fun! It took effect within 5 min and I was in heaven! A couple hours later I started to feel a lot of pressure in my lower abdomine. I told the nurse who then checked me and I was 10cm and ready to push. Two hours later, my baby girl made her entrance! I had an episiotomy so they needed to stich me up.. Also not fun. Now I am home and trying to recover. Recovering after labour- especially after an episiotomy- is absolute hell! In my experience, this is worse than labour itself. (Not to mention my boobs are bigger than Pam Anderson's, and my nipples feel like they could fall off at any second) Totally worth it X1000 though!
I went in for my doctor appointment at 4pm, after a full day of running errands. Good thing too! All day, I had been having a "tight cramp" type feeling every 20 min or so lasting about 40 seconds at a time. I thought it might possibly be the start of something, but they were so light, I wasn't sure. The only thing that made me think they were real, was that my mom had said "when they make you stop what you're doing and think about it, they're real." Some were hard enough that I had to stop for a bit, but they were still pretty mild. My hips felt super tight though, and getting in our Explorer was a challenge to lift my leg enough to get in.
When we got to the doctor, my bp was higher than its been (140/100) which isn't too high, but my normal is basically the textbook 120/80, so I suppose for me, that's high enough to notice. Anyway, since it had been creeping higher each week, and I was 3cm, 75% effaced and station -1, he decided to send me to the hospital. We got there, not sure if we were being admitted or if it was just for a few tests. Turns out it was to admit us. So, I called my mom and she came right over so she'd be there when the doc came back, cos we weren't sure if they wanted me to labor that night or wait til morning. We waited til morning. During the night, the crampy feeling got worse, and my legs basically decided that they were done and it was hubby's job to help me get out of bed to the bathroom, not theirs. Little man definitely had dropped a little more too. I could feel him! So odd.
After a long night of cramps and woken to check BP and vitals every hour, it was finally time to see the doctor. He arrived at 6:30am, broke my water and started pitocin and magnesium (to prevent seizures) after discovering that I'd gone to 6cm, 100% effaced overnight. Now, I'd heard all the horror stories about induction and the need for epidural, etc... But I did NOT want an epidural at all!! I declined when the anesthesiologist came in to ask. They warned that this would mean general anesthesia if I needed a c section. I wasn't planning on getting one, so that was fine with me. The magnesium was the worst part of the whole thing. It made me hot and sweaty and very groggy and out of it.
Contractions (why everyone is reading this in the first place) started getting stronger and closer together about an hour into the pitocin drip and continued steadily harder through labor, which is expected. I found that they weren't as bad as I was imagining. They hurt, don't get me wrong, but you can feel the purpose of them. I started breathing hard, and mom and DH reminded me to slow my breathing. That helped. Apparently I had a vice grip on DH's hand through the contractions... (Sorry dear). Mom rubbed my lower back/tailbone area when I was having them, and that was amazing relief! I highly recommend it. It is so possible to labor naturally. Just focus on the muscles rippling down to push baby into the right position. That helped me. It was like a cramp/Charlie horse/muscle spasm type feeling that you can't stop it on your own, you just have to work through it.
Anyway, about 10:30, they noticed baby's heart rate was dropping a bit, so they hooked him up to a monitor in his scalp and had me switch positions to see if that'd help. Nothing helped. They made the call to do a c-section, just in case it was an emergency. I think I was a 7, but I was in transition and active labor throughout that... Mom thinks it I had another hour, he would have been fine and I would have delivered since everything else was progressing so quickly. Anyway, they put an oxygen mask on and wheeled me away to surgery, knocked me out, and did the section. Q was born at 11:04am.
The general consensus was that there were no reasons to do the c-section, other than the precautionary "what if we hadn't". So, better safe than sorry, I suppose. I'd rather have a c-section and a healthy baby than risk something happening to him because of my birth plan. They said I can probably vbac next time so that's good. We think, looking back at it, that the magnesium affected both of us, and is probably the cause of the heart rate issues. I naturally have a lower resting heart rate, too, so that is also probably part of it. But, we are happy and healthy and learning how to breastfeed since we were delayed quite a bit in starting that process.
So here's what happened to me. My legs went numb. So i knew the epi was working. But was it pain free? Absolutely not by any description of painless. The epidural took away the sharp, searing, stinging and tearing pain of giving birth but the pressure and all the discomfort that pressure brings was still there. I still felt as if i was going to split in half. I felt like i was having the worst shit of my entire life. For hours on end. The pain was sickening. But the worst was being touched. The foley catheter was horrifying. The bladder catheter was awful. The massages my MALE doctor (No females available) gave me will haunt me until i'm dead. I hate being touched and it was just days of being molested by strangers.
Poor little Olive got stuck in my birth canal for several hours. To this day, i have no idea how the little soldier survived that. But they do. Her head came out shaped like an almond but she was just fine. I felt her crown and I felt my body stretching. It didn't hurt terribly - again the worst pain was from the pressure inside me. When the last pushes came (and i pushed in grousp of 3) i knew it before it happened. I knew my last 3 pushes would be my last 3. And i felt it. I felt my clitorus stretching. I felt myself tearing. The pain associated with those things, the burning, searing pain, the "ring of fire" was not a huge issue but I could feel my body sustaining damage. It was very unpleasant. But I did it. I could feel every part of her as she came out and I knew exactly what was happening without looking. She began to scream before her feet were totally out. She was amazing. She was a star.
It was worth it. But it was bad. It's not a fun activity. I'm sorry this isn't more articulate but I'm crying writing this. It was the worst night of my life followed by the best morning of my life.
@groovylocks I completely admire your strength at handling birth when you have such anxiety from being touched by strangers.