@Xath I cried reading your story. Your positivity surrounding the situation is truely inspiring.
DD1 - I was induced at 40+3 due to babies HR during our monitoring appt. I went in at 5am and they started pitocin. I did not progress at all after 5 hours so they inserted the foley bulb (still convinced this is a torture device). After 6 hours of horrid contractions and foley bulb torture I was only 4cm. Completely frustrated I asked for the epidural at hour 12 and got some rest. 14 hours later it was time to push. My epidural had run out but my (now 3rd) nurse told me that she got off in an hour and I better push this baby out so she wasn't stuck working late because of paperwork. 31 mins later DD1 was born. I sadly did not even want to hold her long bc they were still pushing pitocin and I was in so much pain.
DS1 - Totally fearing another rough induction I tried every method of inducing labor. "Pregnancy pizza", pineapple, walking, squatting, spicy food, and awkward sex. The night of my due date awkward sex was the trick. ***TMI Unfortunately bc of my terrible eating from the day before my contractions led to awful diarrhea. I went from contractions every 10 mins to every 2 mins in an hour. Seriously thought I was going to shit myself the entire drive to the hospital. I had to stop at every bathroom on the way up to L&D. I was 7 cm when I could finally stop shitting to be checked. I was progressing too fast and still needed antibiotics bc of testing bstrep positive. They gave me something to slow my labor so that I could get a couple bags of antibiotics. I also got an epidural for some rest. I checked in around midnight and by 7am I was clear to push. 30 mins later DS made his debut. I cried happy tears and held him until they had to take him.
@huskermom14 that's awesome that you pulled your baby out!! I was so in the zone I couldn't even open my eyes to look at first. I've been thinking about asking if I can pull the next one out if I'm up to it.
Baby #1: I was scheduled to be induced at 39 weeks because baby was measuring large. I was supposed to go in at 1pm. When I woke up to use the bathroom that morning, my water broke as I was getting out of bed. Lots of water, like in the movies, like they assure you doesn't usually happen in real life. I called my doctor and she said I didn't have to rush, I could take a shower and head to the hospital. I showered and went in pretty quickly, I was a FTM and both scared and excited. We got to the hospital a little before 6am, and other then having to sit on a pad for leaking water, I did paperwork and talked to people with no issues. I went right to the room that they already had reserved for me for later that day. Nothing was happening. They wanted to start pitocen at 7, which is when the on call doctor is switching, but I asked if we could wait. Walked laps until the doctor was done with a C-section, and still nothing was happening. Started pitocen around 9. Epidural around 11. Resident anesthesiologist tried for a while, then the attending had to take over, so that was fun. Relaxed for a bit, my mom visited briefly and then I was ready to push at about 2:30... He arrived at almost 6:30pm. Ugh. My whole family was waiting in the waiting room and my mom was freaking out that something was wrong. At one point the doctor said that we might need to think about a C-section, and I said OK, and as soon as he walked out of the room a I started sobbing and the nurse had to talk me down. I think it just took me a while to figure out pushing, and once I figured out it to a while longer because he was big and I was a FTM. Developed a fever at some point during pushing, and was given antibiotics. I was also given an episiotomy at the end. He was 9lbs 5oz but somehow still looked scrawny to me.
Baby #2: I had another scheduled induction at 39 weeks due to baby huge-ness, but at 38 weeks I left work early one day to go to the doctor because I felt a little funny. Uncomfortable sitting and standing and like maybe my water was leaking. I sat down in my car and my water broke. And wouldn't stop. I remember saying "no, no, no just stop!" When it finally slowed, I called my doctor to say I wasn't unsure about what was going on, and they said I could either come into the office still or go to the hospital. Since I was soaking wet, and my husband was still at least an hour away from getting there, and I worked 2 blocks from the hospital, I decided to just drive to the hospital. As soon as I put the car in drive, I started having intense contractions. I do not recommend driving while in labor. I thought I would be fine driving 2 blocks, and I made it, but it was rough. I pulled up to the valet, explained the situation and asked for them to find me a spot. They also got me a wheelchair, and since my husband wasn't there, the 20 year old valet wheeled me and my soaking wet skirt up to labor and delivery. They tried asking me some questions, and I bypassed triage this time because I was soaking wet. I don't remember filling out any paperwork this time, except maybe they handed me something to sign. I could barely tell them my name through contractions. And yet I was only 4cm. I showered, walked, my mom arrived, and then my husband arrived (after getting caught in a gas station when there was a fight between the cashier and a customer. He ended up just leaving money on the counter and walking out.) I got the epidural at some point in the evening, and watched one episode of "Justified". Then I tried to take a nap. It was about 11pm at this point and my mom decided to go home for the night. Almost right after that I was in a TON of pain, and they called for anesthesiology to adjust my epidural. Then instead, the resident checked me and said, your ready to push, and to the nurse- cancel anesthesiology! I started pushing and the resident said, oh, it's going great, he'll arrive before midnight! (Almost 11:30 at this point). He did not arrive until 2 hours later though, because he was facing the wrong way, and was 10lbs 5oz. I remember yelling at my doctor that she said it was supposed to be easier this time. I had worked most of that day and been awake since 5am and I was so tired. I was crying and screaming while he was crowing because they didn't fix my epidural and I could feel a lot. A nurse told me to stop crying. My husband told me later that he wanted to punch her. When he was born he just looked HUGE. They gave him to me for a few minutes, and then he had to be evaluated by the NICU because of his size and they were working on getting the placenta delivered or getting my uterus to contract, I'm not exactly sure which took so long, but there was a nurse basically using her body weight to press on my stomach. It was uncomfortable. Then there were stitches, I tore, but it wasn't as bad a recovery as the episiotomy. I didn't go to sleep until 5am because I was wired.
@mrt Now I'm wondering if having my water break in an epic fashion makes me more likely for it to happen again this time. Add yet another question to my list for my ob as June nears....
@Stankonia2014 haha. Yup. And no GD. Just genetics (from my dad. DH and I are both average sized adults, though I was a large baby). I'm hoping because (we think) this one is a girl, she will come out a bit smaller. My younger son is 2.5 now and still literally off the charts in all his measurements. The calculators always say he is in the 100th percentile.
@swanbrooner I'm not shy, and if I had been in a less intense, more "with it" stage of labor I definitely would have said something to her or had somebody kick her out.
@mrt I had a nurse during my first would wouldn't quit yelling at me to breathe (I get it that's their job, but she was not nice about it) I ended up yelling "I effing know how to breathe thank you, you need to leave!" I normally am not a mean person, but baby trying exit my body and all... oh plus she smelt like cigarettes!
I also love reading birth stories. I really enjoyed reading all of your stories.
DS was born on his due date. My water broke at around 7pm the night before and my mom, DH and I got to the hospital around 8. I remember the first thing out of my mouth to the nurse was "don't let these tattoos fool you, I have a very low pain threshhold so give me the epidural ASAP". My nurses were amazing, I got the epidural 30 minutes later. I was only like 1 1/2 c dialated, I'm sure I could've waited, but it was my first pregnancy and I was terrified. They also gave me pitocen to get the ball rolling. I honestly never felt a single contraction.
The nurses told my mom it would be a while, so she went home to sleep. DH slept beside the bed and I watched tv all night and played the waiting game. I just felt really peaceful and ready to meet DS. My nurse came in around 4 am to check on my progress and I was 10 cm. My husband sleeps like a log and she couldn't get him to wake up. I finally just yelled at her to punch him and she did. It was pretty hilarious.
My my mom and my doctor got there at the same time. I had already been pushing for a couple minutes and DS was out within minutes after they arrived. I think I pushed for a total of 10 minutes. DS never cried when he came out, he just looked around. They kept calling for the NICU nurse to come check on him because the hour we were in recovery, he still never cried. It was nerve wracking thinking that something was wrong. I don't think he cried the entire first day of his life. He's 14 months now and he still rarely cries, so we now know thats just how he is.
He ended up being fine on that end, but still ended up in the NICU for 4 days due to breathing issues. It was the longest 4 days of my life. I'm glad today he's a happy an healthy boy. I feel really lucky that I had such a great birthing experience. I had a really hard pregnancy and was really sick for the entire 9 months, so I kind of felt like it was Gods/the universes way of making it up to me.
DD was born a few days earlier than her due date. H was hoping she'd hold out until he finished this big presentation that he had to give to NASA. As luck would have it, I went into labor the day of the presentation. My contractions started at about 6am. I woke up and H put his hand on my belly. It hurt like hell. A few minutes later the contractions started. I sent H to work because of his presentation, and I thought it'd be hours before my contractions would be close enough together to go to the hospital. About 5 minutes after he left, my water broke. I didn't get a big gush, so I thought it was my plug. But then my contractions started coming really fast. I paged H to come home just as he was about to begin his presentation. His coworker covered for him. We went to the hospital. I was already at 3cm when we got there. By the time we got to the room, I was at 5. I got my epidural right away. 2 hours later, and after pushing for 15 minutes, DD arrived. She managed to get her little hand wrapped around the scissors as the doctor was handing them to H to cut the cord. My SIL and H's best friend were literally banging on the door to be let in. Although I hated that part, I was glad that labor and delivery went smoothly without complications.
I had a bloody show around 1130pm, went to bed, and contractions woke me up at 130am. They started off with a bang. They were about 4 min apart, and lasted longer than a min. I foolishly thought I would have a short labor. I'd had terrible heartburn throughout my pregnancy, and it was worse in labor. I couldn't keep anything down, to the point where I began to vomit bile. Baby was sunny side up, and I had terrible back labor. I labored at home for about 30 hours, but because I couldn't eat or drink, my fatigued body stalled my labor. When we got to the hospital, I was only at 6cm. They have me an IV w pain meds and I was able to sleep for several hours. The urge to push is what woke me, but I think I was still only at an 8. I wish the hospital had a birthing stool, because I think baby would have come a little more easily, if we'd had gravity working with us. I felt the need to constantly change my position, but I was so exhausted I couldn't hold up my own body weight. She eventually did come out after two hours of pushing. She was slippery and gurgling when they plopped her on my tummy and it totally grossed me out. The gurgling was scary to me. They later took her to the nicu to be checked for breathing issues, which confused me. Shouldn't they have suctioned her before they gave her to me? Or suctioned her while she was on me? It seemed like her breathing would have been better if they had done that. I was in labor for 42 horrible hours.
Because of the vomiting, I had acid burns in my throat. Eating and drinking were hard for a few weeks, and labor was so long my body took a really long time to recover. Just holding DD to nurse left me fatigued and shaking. I am so, so thankful my mom flew out and spent two weeks postpartum with me.
I have laughed, cried, and WTFd your stories. There are some great ones here! I want to thank you all for sharing them
@Xath Such a beautiful, touching story. I was smiling through my tears about the amazing ways your daughter saved and touched lives in here brief time with you.
Here's my story: As I said in the Doula thread, I'm a HypnoBaby Mom. Some of my verbiage may be a little different.
I'd been huge and super uncomfortable for weeks so during my weekly NST check at 41+5 I didn't protest much when the doc said "induction". He sent me home for the weekend and scheduled our induction for Monday. On Saturday at about 6am I started feeling pressure waves. These continued every 5-12 minutes apart for the next 2 days straight. I spent a lot of time in hypnosis, rocking on my balance ball. It was very relaxed but I just wanted the baby OUT already!!
Monday morning (42weeks and our anniversary) we stopped at McDonald's for a celebratory breakfast on our way to meet the doc. Either he would just admit us for induction or for consistently timed waves. I was good either way.
I was dilated to 3cm upon arrival. They started the Pitocin drip at about 11am. My Doula arrived right about then and we staged the room to make me most comfortable. The overhead lights were dimmed, Blinds were drawn, I started playing my HypnoBabies music tracks, and we used tea lights and citrus aromatherapy (my fave!!) to set the mood. Everyone who came in commented that our room felt like it had a different vibe. It was so peaceful and calming. Nurses would stand around chatting and I just did my thing. This went on with my Pitocin dosage gradually getting increased all day.
The nurses were amazed I was handling my pressure waves as "easily" as I was when they realized I was in transformation. I couldn't talk, just hummed as I passed that stage. They asked me to get on the bed so they could check my dilation and I refused. Everything changed at that moment. The nurses demanded that I get on the bed. I said I couldn't move. The waves began coming one on top of another and I felt like I was drowning in them instead of just riding along and letting my body do what it needed to do. There was a lot of yelling and I finally tried to get on the bed. This caused intense pressure, broke my concentration/hypnosis, and I began to cry/scream at them. The Mr says he thought I was going to fly off the table at the peak of each wave and he was about to punch someone for causing this drastic, awful change. There was no point to them checking me... I was doing just fine before that.
When they checked me I was at 8cm and they broke my water. This was 7pm. The anesthesiologist also came in and gave me an epidural. I finally got to sleep around 10pm. I was exhausted.
I woke up around 2am and told my nurse that I had regained feeling in my legs (my epidural had worn off) and I was ready to push. They were skeptical but they got everything ready and decided to do a "practice push". I almost pushed DD out in that first push so they freaked, told me to wait for the doc, and held DDs head in for the next 15 minutes.
Doc finally arrived, DD slid out in two pushes, and I needed 4 stitches for some minor tearing. She has a huge head thanks to the Mr! Hahaha
DD made the sweetest, softest sound I've ever heard from a newborn. It sounded like a kitten's cry. We called her "mew-mew" after that. That was the last day in her life that she was quiet. HA!
Moral of the story: I just need to be LEFT ALONE during birth. Every time I was left alone, things progressed smoothly and I was pain-free. I felt pressure but nothing hurt. Each time the nurses told me to change position so they could adjust my monitor or that time they made me get on the bed, shit got out of hand. Here's hoping this LO decides to come earlier than 42 weeks so everyone can leave me the hell alone!!
Thanks for sharing your stories, ladies. They are inspiring and you are all strong mamas. Here's mine...
Starting at 38 weeks I was in early labor (dilated between 2-3, irregular contractions, etc). My doctor performed 2 membrane sweeps (ouch!) over the week and kept assuring me the baby was coming any minute. By 39 weeks the baby had not arrived and I was so anxiety ridden that we decided to induce. I went to the hospital at our scheduled time and they sent me home because there were too many deliveries, so we came back the next day.
I was admitted around 11am, and got the pitocin. A little while later they broke my water. By 1pm I was unable to handle the pain combined with my nervous anxiety so I got the epidural. (BTW, for me, contractions never felt like those stabbing pains they seem to have in the movies, they felt like horribly strong menstrual cramps, which was not at all what I was expecting) It took about 5 minutes and worked wonders. (One note, at my hospital, your husband has to leave the room for the epidural so it's sterile, which really upset me because I wasn't expecting it). At 4pm, the nurse checked me and it was time. She had me do a couple of practice pushes and them promptly stop because the baby was about to come without the doctor in the room. The doctor arrived a minute later, and after a few pushes (which I did not feel at all), baby girl was born. She was exactly 7lbs and was born exactly 5 hours after they started the pitocin.
I'm actually a little worried about this next one coming too fast, since this time I have GBS and need the antibiotics, so I'm hoping I can have a similar induction.
@huskermom14 that's awesome that you pulled your baby out!! I was so in the zone I couldn't even open my eyes to look at first. I've been thinking about asking if I can pull the next one out if I'm up to it.
You should definitely ask!! It's such an amazing feeling! I hope I get to do it again this time around so DH and I can be the first to find out if we have a new little boy or girl.
Here are mine. With DD I had immense back pain and a rock hard tummy all day at 32 weeks so my doctor wanted me to come in for observation. I cried all the way to the hospital. Got there to find out I was having contractions. They have me something to stop them but it didn't so they kept me over night and gave me another dose which did the trick. It was at this time we found out that DD was breech. I was released on modified rest. I also started having high blood pressure. I did everything I could to try and get her to turn but my doctor would not try an external version with my BP. We scheduled a section at 39 weeks. I was really upset that she wouldn't turn and I was going to have to do a section vs vaginal birth. I did not handle the spinal well and heaved, gagged and cried most of the section. I had the worst time trying to nurse and was totally out of it for the first 24 hours. Recovery was really hard on me as well and I had to be on high blood pressure meds for 6 weeks . For the most part it was a smooth delivery and good experience and we were both healthy.
For DS I really really wanted a pain med free VBAC. My doctor Initially said I had to go Into labor on my own by my due date. I was starting to dilate at my check around 35 weeks. At 39 weeks I was 3cm and 50% effaced so she did a membrane sweep. She really thought I was going to go any day. I ended up having 2 more membrane sweeps and they did dilate me more every time . My doctor agreed to induce me at 40+3 since I was so favorable and she didn't want me going to 41 weeks. I was uncomfortable with contractions all night before my induction but I never times them. When I got to the hospital and they checked me I was 6cm and 100% effaced having contractions. I could still Barely feel them so they broke my water and I bounced on a birth ball. 2 hours later I showed no progress and my contractions hadn't picked up so they gave me the smallest amount of pitocin. I kind of wish I would have waited it out a bit more but it went fine so I don't really have regrets. My contractions finally got a little painful an hour or so after the pitocin and I hit transition. I decided to change from the ball to the bed and felt so much pain I screamed that moving was a bad idea and the nurse decided to check me. Turns out I was complete and it was push time. It was only then that I said are you sure it's too late for that epidural?? But it was push time so I went without and only pushed for 27 min and he was here! So much exhilaration. I seriously felt on top of the world after birth. I later found out the doctor gave me an episiotomy without asking for really no apparent reason since I pushed a short time. If he would have asked I probably would rather have torn I think but oh well. The stiches and after birth sucked more than birth and I was just ready to put my legs down! Recovery was such a breeze and I really felt awesome.
I was 38 weeks and a day. Christmas Eve morning at 5 am I woke up and thought I peed the bed. I ran to the bathroom and freaked out because there was fluid just draining out of me. I ran downstairs to get my husband who had fallen asleep on the couch from staying up all night playing video games. Told him my water broke! He said call the dr and see what they want you to do. So I did, and I explained what was happening and she told me to take a shower eat a little brackfast and then head to the hospital. I was so nervous and excited. It was all happening so fast! We got to the hospital and got checked in. They swabbed to make sure it was my water that broke, checked my cervix and I was not dilated one bit! After about an hour we finally got into our birthing room and sat around and got some meds to get stuff started. Because my water broke I only had 24 hours to progress before things would need to be done. I got pitocen and contractions started pretty soon after that. I didn't dilate for 24 hours, even with the pitocen. My contractions had been 1 min apart for a few hours. I was not planning on getting a epederal, but at that point I was so tired I just couldn't do it anymore. So around 3 or 5 in the morning Christmas Day I got my epedural and my body was able to settle down and rest. I finally started to dilate and progress. Around 11:30 or 12:30 I can't remember, the nurse came in and checked me and said that I was at a 8, and then about a half hour later I was pushing. By 1:47pm my son was finally here! After 32 long hours I finally held my baby for the first time. It was such an amazing experience! And I can't wait to do it all over again.
My DD was born at 40w3 days. I woke up in the middle of the night after an 8" snow storm having consistent contraction that were 4 minutes Apart. My water broke leaving for the hospital. Sadly the contractions stopped by the time we got to the hospital. They kept me and started pitocin at 3am, shortly after I got an epidural. They raised the pitocin at least once. Laboring with the epidural meant I was bored and trapped in bed. Finally by late afternoon I was told to start pushing. I couldn't feel the contractions so I had to be told when. After over an hour of pushing they wanted to use the vacuum assist thing. My DD was born on the last attempt. I had a 3rd degree tear.
Amazing reading all of your birth stories... @Xath, it must be hard to share Ellie's birth story, so thank you for your courage and strength.
Here's my story with DS, who was born at 39+2:
Had just finished working my last ER shift (an overnight) at 39+1, had breakfast with my husband and was home and asleep by 8:30am. Woke up to pee at 9:30am and realized that my water broke in my sleep. Took a quick shower, shaved my legs (ha! What was I thinking in my fatigued haze?) and headed to the hospital b/c I was GBS+ and knew that I would need antibiotics. When I checked into L&D, the whole place was full! It had rained overnight, which broke a ton of ladies' water.
I was only 2cm dilated at first, so I just walked around the hallways while waiting for a room to be readied. Once they put an IV in and gave me my first dose of antibiotics, they allowed me to go on intermittent fetal monitoring, since I told them that I was going to try and go med-free for as long as possible. I kept circling the hallway and positioning myself in whatever way worked to make it through the contractions. At one point, an awesome L&D nurse sat me on a birthing/yoga ball and helped me rock back and forth...I credit this with helping me to finally "open up" because when my doctor finally came to check on me that evening, I was 7cm. It was 7pm by then and I was exhausted from only sleeping for 1hr in the past day and a half, so I asked and received an epidural and went to sleep!
As I had expected, the epidural slowed my labor, so even though I woke up after a 3hr nap refreshed and ready to push mentally, my body still hadn't dilated all the way. Finally made it to 10cm at around 3am, pushed for 20-25 min and my son was here! ~18hrs after the start of things. Had a 2nd degree tear, but was able to do skin to skin and nurse while my OB delivered the placenta and sutured me up. All in all, my OB, the L&D nurses and my post-partum team gave me amazing care and I'm really happy to re-live the experience as I type this out.
I hope this time around to have a similar experience, even though I had to switch OBs and am delivering at a different hospital because of new insurance at my job. Will see this June!
@Xath Your story inspires me to tell mine. I hesitated because I didn't want to scare any of the FTMs. Mine is a very rare case too so feel free to skip if it is going to worry anyone.
I have a very easy pregnancy even though I was high risk due to a blood disorder. I was 40 weeks and 4 days when I went in on a Monday morning at 7 for an induction since they were nervous to let me go any further with my disorder. Labor went very slowly with little progress. They broke my water at noon and they really upped the pitocin. After 10 hours of one contraction after another, I opted for an epi at 10 PM and I got to "sleep" (I had what is called the window of pain where one strip of my belly never got numb so I still felt every contraction so did not really sleep). I was still not making much progress the next morning even though I was dilated to 9. The midwife kept calling DD a stubborn one because she kept spinning. At noon, they could feel her in the birth canal, but she would not come down and kept spinning. They started me regularly pushing and I pushed in increments for 2.5 hours with her moving no further. They called in the doctor for a c-section which he could not do since DD was stuck in the birth canal and pushing her back would rupture my uterus. He tried forceps and a vacuum which got her a little further down. He could feel a knotted cord around her neck (not like the usual cord around the neck, more like a slip knot noose that she was hanging herself on). He apologized to me, but said he would need to cut me internally to be able to cut the cord off her neck before she came out since she was now in distress. He did and got her out, but she was a zero apgar (blue, limp, no heartbeat, no breathing). A team was waiting to work on her in the room and another team was there working on me since I lost a lot of blood and had a large open wound plus I already had a low blood count due to my blood disorder. I was in and out of consciousness. DD was not doing well and her second apgar was only a 1. DH was stuck between us looking back and forth thinking he lost us both. DD went to the NICU where she thrived miraculously and was discharged after only one week. I got 74 stitches and spent two extra days, but did surprisingly well after some blood transfusions. Yet again, this is not a usual birth story and I do not want to scare anyone. We did hesitate to try again though because DH was afraid we would not be lucky twice that I and the baby would make it if we tried again. It took him almost 3 years to be ready and this time we would not hesitate to ask for a c-section if I was not progressing or we had another "spinning" baby. I also cannot look at that midwife in the face because she should have known she was over her head before it was too late. I am very grateful to my doctor though for saving us both. My health is 100% and other than some minor therapies as an infant/toddler, DD has very few complications.
@Teacher Mom Glad you decided to share, your story is very special in that you both lived! And maybe I'm just odd, but I enjoy reading the stories the stories of rough deliveries too. Birth is so miraculous. And I'm impressed that you are strong minded enough to try again!
Re: Share with me your birth stories!
DD1 - I was induced at 40+3 due to babies HR during our monitoring appt. I went in at 5am and they started pitocin. I did not progress at all after 5 hours so they inserted the foley bulb (still convinced this is a torture device). After 6 hours of horrid contractions and foley bulb torture I was only 4cm. Completely frustrated I asked for the epidural at hour 12 and got some rest. 14 hours later it was time to push. My epidural had run out but my (now 3rd) nurse told me that she got off in an hour and I better push this baby out so she wasn't stuck working late because of paperwork. 31 mins later DD1 was born. I sadly did not even want to hold her long bc they were still pushing pitocin and I was in so much pain.
DS1 - Totally fearing another rough induction I tried every method of inducing labor. "Pregnancy pizza", pineapple, walking, squatting, spicy food, and awkward sex. The night of my due date awkward sex was the trick. ***TMI Unfortunately bc of my terrible eating from the day before my contractions led to awful diarrhea. I went from contractions every 10 mins to every 2 mins in an hour. Seriously thought I was going to shit myself the entire drive to the hospital. I had to stop at every bathroom on the way up to L&D. I was 7 cm when I could finally stop shitting to be checked. I was progressing too fast and still needed antibiotics bc of testing bstrep positive. They gave me something to slow my labor so that I could get a couple bags of antibiotics. I also got an epidural for some rest. I checked in around midnight and by 7am I was clear to push. 30 mins later DS made his debut. I cried happy tears and held him until they had to take him.
Baby #1: I was scheduled to be induced at 39 weeks because baby was measuring large. I was supposed to go in at 1pm. When I woke up to use the bathroom that morning, my water broke as I was getting out of bed. Lots of water, like in the movies, like they assure you doesn't usually happen in real life. I called my doctor and she said I didn't have to rush, I could take a shower and head to the hospital. I showered and went in pretty quickly, I was a FTM and both scared and excited. We got to the hospital a little before 6am, and other then having to sit on a pad for leaking water, I did paperwork and talked to people with no issues. I went right to the room that they already had reserved for me for later that day. Nothing was happening. They wanted to start pitocen at 7, which is when the on call doctor is switching, but I asked if we could wait. Walked laps until the doctor was done with a C-section, and still nothing was happening. Started pitocen around 9. Epidural around 11. Resident anesthesiologist tried for a while, then the attending had to take over, so that was fun. Relaxed for a bit, my mom visited briefly and then I was ready to push at about 2:30... He arrived at almost 6:30pm. Ugh. My whole family was waiting in the waiting room and my mom was freaking out that something was wrong. At one point the doctor said that we might need to think about a C-section, and I said OK, and as soon as he walked out of the room a I started sobbing and the nurse had to talk me down. I think it just took me a while to figure out pushing, and once I figured out it to a while longer because he was big and I was a FTM. Developed a fever at some point during pushing, and was given antibiotics. I was also given an episiotomy at the end. He was 9lbs 5oz but somehow still looked scrawny to me.
Baby #2: I had another scheduled induction at 39 weeks due to baby huge-ness, but at 38 weeks I left work early one day to go to the doctor because I felt a little funny. Uncomfortable sitting and standing and like maybe my water was leaking. I sat down in my car and my water broke. And wouldn't stop. I remember saying "no, no, no just stop!" When it finally slowed, I called my doctor to say I wasn't unsure about what was going on, and they said I could either come into the office still or go to the hospital. Since I was soaking wet, and my husband was still at least an hour away from getting there, and I worked 2 blocks from the hospital, I decided to just drive to the hospital. As soon as I put the car in drive, I started having intense contractions. I do not recommend driving while in labor. I thought I would be fine driving 2 blocks, and I made it, but it was rough. I pulled up to the valet, explained the situation and asked for them to find me a spot. They also got me a wheelchair, and since my husband wasn't there, the 20 year old valet wheeled me and my soaking wet skirt up to labor and delivery. They tried asking me some questions, and I bypassed triage this time because I was soaking wet. I don't remember filling out any paperwork this time, except maybe they handed me something to sign. I could barely tell them my name through contractions. And yet I was only 4cm. I showered, walked, my mom arrived, and then my husband arrived (after getting caught in a gas station when there was a fight between the cashier and a customer. He ended up just leaving money on the counter and walking out.) I got the epidural at some point in the evening, and watched one episode of "Justified". Then I tried to take a nap. It was about 11pm at this point and my mom decided to go home for the night. Almost right after that I was in a TON of pain, and they called for anesthesiology to adjust my epidural. Then instead, the resident checked me and said, your ready to push, and to the nurse- cancel anesthesiology! I started pushing and the resident said, oh, it's going great, he'll arrive before midnight! (Almost 11:30 at this point). He did not arrive until 2 hours later though, because he was facing the wrong way, and was 10lbs 5oz. I remember yelling at my doctor that she said it was supposed to be easier this time. I had worked most of that day and been awake since 5am and I was so tired. I was crying and screaming while he was crowing because they didn't fix my epidural and I could feel a lot. A nurse told me to stop crying. My husband told me later that he wanted to punch her. When he was born he just looked HUGE. They gave him to me for a few minutes, and then he had to be evaluated by the NICU because of his size and they were working on getting the placenta delivered or getting my uterus to contract, I'm not exactly sure which took so long, but there was a nurse basically using her body weight to press on my stomach. It was uncomfortable. Then there were stitches, I tore, but it wasn't as bad a recovery as the episiotomy. I didn't go to sleep until 5am because I was wired.
BFP #1 6/13 DD 3/14
Mirena 10/14-5/16
BFP #2 9/2/16, CP confirmed 9/8/16
BFP #3 10/10/16 EDD 6/22/17
@swanbrooner I'm not shy, and if I had been in a less intense, more "with it" stage of labor I definitely would have said something to her or had somebody kick her out.
DS was born on his due date. My water broke at around 7pm the night before and my mom, DH and I got to the hospital around 8. I remember the first thing out of my mouth to the nurse was "don't let these tattoos fool you, I have a very low pain threshhold so give me the epidural ASAP". My nurses were amazing, I got the epidural 30 minutes later. I was only like 1 1/2 c dialated, I'm sure I could've waited, but it was my first pregnancy and I was terrified. They also gave me pitocen to get the ball rolling. I honestly never felt a single contraction.
The nurses told my mom it would be a while, so she went home to sleep. DH slept beside the bed and I watched tv all night and played the waiting game. I just felt really peaceful and ready to meet DS. My nurse came in around 4 am to check on my progress and I was 10 cm. My husband sleeps like a log and she couldn't get him to wake up. I finally just yelled at her to punch him and she did. It was pretty hilarious.
My my mom and my doctor got there at the same time. I had already been pushing for a couple minutes and DS was out within minutes after they arrived. I think I pushed for a total of 10 minutes. DS never cried when he came out, he just looked around. They kept calling for the NICU nurse to come check on him because the hour we were in recovery, he still never cried. It was nerve wracking thinking that something was wrong. I don't think he cried the entire first day of his life. He's 14 months now and he still rarely cries, so we now know thats just how he is.
He ended up being fine on that end, but still ended up in the NICU for 4 days due to breathing issues. It was the longest 4 days of my life. I'm glad today he's a happy an healthy boy. I feel really lucky that I had such a great birthing experience. I had a really hard pregnancy and was really sick for the entire 9 months, so I kind of felt like it was Gods/the universes way of making it up to me.
Because of the vomiting, I had acid burns in my throat. Eating and drinking were hard for a few weeks, and labor was so long my body took a really long time to recover. Just holding DD to nurse left me fatigued and shaking. I am so, so thankful my mom flew out and spent two weeks postpartum with me.
I want to thank you all for sharing them
@Xath Such a beautiful, touching story. I was smiling through my tears about the amazing ways your daughter saved and touched lives in here brief time with you.
Here's my story:
As I said in the Doula thread, I'm a HypnoBaby Mom. Some of my verbiage may be a little different.
I'd been huge and super uncomfortable for weeks so during my weekly NST check at 41+5 I didn't protest much when the doc said "induction". He sent me home for the weekend and scheduled our induction for Monday. On Saturday at about 6am I started feeling pressure waves. These continued every 5-12 minutes apart for the next 2 days straight. I spent a lot of time in hypnosis, rocking on my balance ball. It was very relaxed but I just wanted the baby OUT already!!
Monday morning (42weeks and our anniversary) we stopped at McDonald's for a celebratory breakfast on our way to meet the doc. Either he would just admit us for induction or for consistently timed waves. I was good either way.
I was dilated to 3cm upon arrival. They started the Pitocin drip at about 11am. My Doula arrived right about then and we staged the room to make me most comfortable. The overhead lights were dimmed, Blinds were drawn, I started playing my HypnoBabies music tracks, and we used tea lights and citrus aromatherapy (my fave!!) to set the mood.
Everyone who came in commented that our room felt like it had a different vibe. It was so peaceful and calming. Nurses would stand around chatting and I just did my thing. This went on with my Pitocin dosage gradually getting increased all day.
The nurses were amazed I was handling my pressure waves as "easily" as I was when they realized I was in transformation. I couldn't talk, just hummed as I passed that stage. They asked me to get on the bed so they could check my dilation and I refused. Everything changed at that moment. The nurses demanded that I get on the bed. I said I couldn't move. The waves began coming one on top of another and I felt like I was drowning in them instead of just riding along and letting my body do what it needed to do. There was a lot of yelling and I finally tried to get on the bed. This caused intense pressure, broke my concentration/hypnosis, and I began to cry/scream at them. The Mr says he thought I was going to fly off the table at the peak of each wave and he was about to punch someone for causing this drastic, awful change. There was no point to them checking me... I was doing just fine before that.
When they checked me I was at 8cm and they broke my water. This was 7pm. The anesthesiologist also came in and gave me an epidural. I finally got to sleep around 10pm. I was exhausted.
I woke up around 2am and told my nurse that I had regained feeling in my legs (my epidural had worn off) and I was ready to push. They were skeptical but they got everything ready and decided to do a "practice push". I almost pushed DD out in that first push so they freaked, told me to wait for the doc, and held DDs head in for the next 15 minutes.
Doc finally arrived, DD slid out in two pushes, and I needed 4 stitches for some minor tearing. She has a huge head thanks to the Mr! Hahaha
DD made the sweetest, softest sound I've ever heard from a newborn. It sounded like a kitten's cry. We called her "mew-mew" after that. That was the last day in her life that she was quiet. HA!
Moral of the story: I just need to be LEFT ALONE during birth. Every time I was left alone, things progressed smoothly and I was pain-free. I felt pressure but nothing hurt. Each time the nurses told me to change position so they could adjust my monitor or that time they made me get on the bed, shit got out of hand. Here's hoping this LO decides to come earlier than 42 weeks so everyone can leave me the hell alone!!
Starting at 38 weeks I was in early labor (dilated between 2-3, irregular contractions, etc). My doctor performed 2 membrane sweeps (ouch!) over the week and kept assuring me the baby was coming any minute. By 39 weeks the baby had not arrived and I was so anxiety ridden that we decided to induce. I went to the hospital at our scheduled time and they sent me home because there were too many deliveries, so we came back the next day.
I was admitted around 11am, and got the pitocin. A little while later they broke my water. By 1pm I was unable to handle the pain combined with my nervous anxiety so I got the epidural. (BTW, for me, contractions never felt like those stabbing pains they seem to have in the movies, they felt like horribly strong menstrual cramps, which was not at all what I was expecting) It took about 5 minutes and worked wonders. (One note, at my hospital, your husband has to leave the room for the epidural so it's sterile, which really upset me because I wasn't expecting it). At 4pm, the nurse checked me and it was time. She had me do a couple of practice pushes and them promptly stop because the baby was about to come without the doctor in the room. The doctor arrived a minute later, and after a few pushes (which I did not feel at all), baby girl was born. She was exactly 7lbs and was born exactly 5 hours after they started the pitocin.
I'm actually a little worried about this next one coming too fast, since this time I have GBS and need the antibiotics, so I'm hoping I can have a similar induction.
Here are mine. With DD I had immense back pain and a rock hard tummy all day at 32 weeks so my doctor wanted me to come in for observation. I cried all the way to the hospital. Got there to find out I was having contractions. They have me something to stop them but it didn't so they kept me over night and gave me another dose which did the trick. It was at this time we found out that DD was breech. I was released on modified rest. I also started having high blood pressure. I did everything I could to try and get her to turn but my doctor would not try an external version with my BP. We scheduled a section at 39 weeks. I was really upset that she wouldn't turn and I was going to have to do a section vs vaginal birth. I did not handle the spinal well and heaved, gagged and cried most of the section. I had the worst time trying to nurse and was totally out of it for the first 24 hours. Recovery was really hard on me as well and I had to be on high blood pressure meds for 6 weeks . For the most part it was a smooth delivery and good experience and we were both healthy.
For DS I really really wanted a pain med free VBAC. My doctor Initially said I had to go Into labor on my own by my due date. I was starting to dilate at my check around 35 weeks. At 39 weeks I was 3cm and 50% effaced so she did a membrane sweep. She really thought I was going to go any day. I ended up having 2 more membrane sweeps and they did dilate me more every time . My doctor agreed to induce me at 40+3 since I was so favorable and she didn't want me going to 41 weeks. I was uncomfortable with contractions all night before my induction but I never times them. When I got to the hospital and they checked me I was 6cm and 100% effaced having contractions. I could still Barely feel them so they broke my water and I bounced on a birth ball. 2 hours later I showed no progress and my contractions hadn't picked up so they gave me the smallest amount of pitocin. I kind of wish I would have waited it out a bit more but it went fine so I don't really have regrets. My contractions finally got a little painful an hour or so after the pitocin and I hit transition. I decided to change from the ball to the bed and felt so much pain I screamed that moving was a bad idea and the nurse decided to check me. Turns out I was complete and it was push time. It was only then that I said are you sure it's too late for that epidural?? But it was push time so I went without and only pushed for 27 min and he was here! So much exhilaration. I seriously felt on top of the world after birth. I later found out the doctor gave me an episiotomy without asking for really no apparent reason since I pushed a short time. If he would have asked I probably would rather have torn I think but oh well. The stiches and after birth sucked more than birth and I was just ready to put my legs down! Recovery was such a breeze and I really felt awesome.
I didn't dilate for 24 hours, even with the pitocen. My contractions had been 1 min apart for a few hours. I was not planning on getting a epederal, but at that point I was so tired I just couldn't do it anymore. So around 3 or 5 in the morning Christmas Day I got my epedural and my body was able to settle down and rest. I finally started to dilate and progress. Around 11:30 or 12:30 I can't remember, the nurse came in and checked me and said that I was at a 8, and then about a half hour later I was pushing. By 1:47pm my son was finally here! After 32 long hours I finally held my baby for the first time. It was such an amazing experience! And I can't wait to do it all over again.
Due June 25 2017
Here's my story with DS, who was born at 39+2:
Had just finished working my last ER shift (an overnight) at 39+1, had breakfast with my husband and was home and asleep by 8:30am. Woke up to pee at 9:30am and realized that my water broke in my sleep. Took a quick shower, shaved my legs (ha! What was I thinking in my fatigued haze?) and headed to the hospital b/c I was GBS+ and knew that I would need antibiotics. When I checked into L&D, the whole place was full! It had rained overnight, which broke a ton of ladies' water.
I was only 2cm dilated at first, so I just walked around the hallways while waiting for a room to be readied. Once they put an IV in and gave me my first dose of antibiotics, they allowed me to go on intermittent fetal monitoring, since I told them that I was going to try and go med-free for as long as possible. I kept circling the hallway and positioning myself in whatever way worked to make it through the contractions. At one point, an awesome L&D nurse sat me on a birthing/yoga ball and helped me rock back and forth...I credit this with helping me to finally "open up" because when my doctor finally came to check on me that evening, I was 7cm. It was 7pm by then and I was exhausted from only sleeping for 1hr in the past day and a half, so I asked and received an epidural and went to sleep!
As I had expected, the epidural slowed my labor, so even though I woke up after a 3hr nap refreshed and ready to push mentally, my body still hadn't dilated all the way. Finally made it to 10cm at around 3am, pushed for 20-25 min and my son was here! ~18hrs after the start of things. Had a 2nd degree tear, but was able to do skin to skin and nurse while my OB delivered the placenta and sutured me up. All in all, my OB, the L&D nurses and my post-partum team gave me amazing care and I'm really happy to re-live the experience as I type this out.
I hope this time around to have a similar experience, even though I had to switch OBs and am delivering at a different hospital because of new insurance at my job. Will see this June!
I have a very easy pregnancy even though I was high risk due to a blood disorder. I was 40 weeks and 4 days when I went in on a Monday morning at 7 for an induction since they were nervous to let me go any further with my disorder. Labor went very slowly with little progress. They broke my water at noon and they really upped the pitocin. After 10 hours of one contraction after another, I opted for an epi at 10 PM and I got to "sleep" (I had what is called the window of pain where one strip of my belly never got numb so I still felt every contraction so did not really sleep). I was still not making much progress the next morning even though I was dilated to 9. The midwife kept calling DD a stubborn one because she kept spinning. At noon, they could feel her in the birth canal, but she would not come down and kept spinning. They started me regularly pushing and I pushed in increments for 2.5 hours with her moving no further. They called in the doctor for a c-section which he could not do since DD was stuck in the birth canal and pushing her back would rupture my uterus. He tried forceps and a vacuum which got her a little further down. He could feel a knotted cord around her neck (not like the usual cord around the neck, more like a slip knot noose that she was hanging herself on). He apologized to me, but said he would need to cut me internally to be able to cut the cord off her neck before she came out since she was now in distress. He did and got her out, but she was a zero apgar (blue, limp, no heartbeat, no breathing). A team was waiting to work on her in the room and another team was there working on me since I lost a lot of blood and had a large open wound plus I already had a low blood count due to my blood disorder. I was in and out of consciousness. DD was not doing well and her second apgar was only a 1. DH was stuck between us looking back and forth thinking he lost us both. DD went to the NICU where she thrived miraculously and was discharged after only one week. I got 74 stitches and spent two extra days, but did surprisingly well after some blood transfusions. Yet again, this is not a usual birth story and I do not want to scare anyone. We did hesitate to try again though because DH was afraid we would not be lucky twice that I and the baby would make it if we tried again. It took him almost 3 years to be ready and this time we would not hesitate to ask for a c-section if I was not progressing or we had another "spinning" baby. I also cannot look at that midwife in the face because she should have known she was over her head before it was too late. I am very grateful to my doctor though for saving us both. My health is 100% and other than some minor therapies as an infant/toddler, DD has very few complications.
DS1 - 7/2011, DD 12/2012, DS2 - 4/2014, MMC - 12/2015
Glad you decided to share, your story is very special in that you both lived! And maybe I'm just odd, but I enjoy reading the stories the stories of rough deliveries too. Birth is so miraculous. And I'm impressed that you are strong minded enough to try again!