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July 2018 Moms
elizabethrn87
member
STM: share your birth stories
elizabethrn87
member
saw this on another month and enjoyed reading the stories. They also included any advice they wish they had know. Or what they had learnt
Re: STM: share your birth stories
I went in at 11am at 41 weeks exactly to be induced. I had my membrane swept twice before and nada sadly. I was already dilated enough they felt I only needed pitocin which they did not start until 1pm due to needing the confirm with the OB on duty who was in a delivery at the time. It took awhile to start to feel painful contractions, I want to say a few hours. I wanted to delay an epidural as long as possible because I had heard it could slow down inductions. When the pain started to get intense I chose to use Nitrous Oxide. It was okay and I liked that I got to control the use of it via the mask but it definitely made me feel weird and out of it while I was on it. The nice thing is it wears off quickly, within a few breaths. I did finally choose to get the epi because the nitrous wasn't really covering the pain for me and just making me feel high from using it more frequently. Even though they told me I wish I had remembered I had to go 45 minutes without the nitrous until I could get the epi and I remember that being super hard as I was having really painful contractions. However once I got the epi I felt awesome. I was able to relax and my husband was able to go get some food. An hour or two after the Epi my water broke and I was steadily dilating. a few times a nurse would come in to adjust my fetal monitor as baby's heart rate would change or decel slightly. I remember this nurse was heading to her break and within 20 minutes had 2 nurses rush pretty quickly in and say baby had decelled they initially did not seem very concerned but had me try to change positions and move the monitor to try and get her heart rate back. when they couldn't one left and I didn't know that but the OB came in with a rod and they used it to try and shock her heart. I was getting nervous but then everything went crazy. It did not work and they suddenly had me switch to being on all fours in a last ditch effort which is really hard with an epi so we had a lot of nurses in there assisting. It did not work so the Dr "okay we have to go now" and said I had to have a c section. I was suddenly wheeled out of the room my husband behind. I assumed he would be following I was wrong. In the OR I had hands all over my body once they moved me to the operating table. I was scared to death about my daughter and hated being grabbed and prepped but I realize now they had to with it being an emergency. They told me my husband couldn't come in and that they did not have time to do a full spinal block. I remember the OB telling me they had gotten her heart stabilized but could not risk it decelling and still needed to go. I remember her telling me to take deep breaths because a calm me was safer for the baby. that was hard but very compelling and I did. The whole process from going to OR to my daughter being born was 5 minutes which is still crazy to me. Next thing I know I awoke in recovery by myself and I remember trying to force myself to wake up. When a nurse came over I had to ask if my baby was okay and where she and my husband were. They said I was down in recovery and they were up in my room but I needed to atay down there a little while longer. I was able for her to get me my phone and the first time I saw my daughter was a picture my husband had sent. thankfully they immediately did skin to skin with him and they were able to have a while together which I thought was nice. finally I was brought up to my room in L&D and got to meet my daughter. It was a pretty traumatic experience that still creates some anxiety and fear for me since I missed her birth. Which is why I have opted to do a repeat c section this time because it is more relaxed and controlled and I will be able to be awake. I am definitely still anxious about it though. I hope this doesn't scare anyone and I am beyond grateful for our dr's and nurses we had they were very calm and comforting and skilled to know when to try and continue and when we needed to go. I am eternally grateful for them in protecting my daughter
I woke up at about 630am and noticed my PJ bottoms were wet. Had a good long pregnancy moment of “did I pee myself or did my water break?” Which was answered pretty quickly on the walk to the bathroom as my water kept leaking and no amount of kegels could stop it.
Cleaned up, woke up my husband and hopped in the shower to get ready (as I was preterm at 33 weeks, we were heading to the hospital ASAP). I showered, got dressed and was drying my hair as contractions started around 715, super mild at first but very regular from the get go, no more than 2-3 minutes apart. DH walked the dog, had his shower and I finished packing the hospital bag before we left.
At the hospital I scared a security guard when I told him I was in labour and he made me talk to the triage nurse even though I knew I was going straight upstairs (DH dropped me off at the ER because he didn’t want to take the parking garage elevator in case we got stuck lol). I think he offered me a wheelchair like five times in the five minutes I was waiting there.
By the time we got to admitting, contractions were strong enough that I was needing to breathe through them but I still walked from the ER to the floor so they weren’t that bad yet, (now every 1-2 minutes apart, lasting 30s-1min). Did all the admitt-y stuff and headed to my room to change.
Got changed and checked, only at 2cm but contracting strongly and regularly on monitors, labour was definitely alllll back labour. By 9 I asked for some pain meds and got a shot of morphine & gravol which may as well have been saline for all the good it did. Around the same time I started a course of antibiotic for my unknown GBS status, as well as some oral meds to try and stop labour and got a shot of steroids for lung development.
By 11 I was having stacking contractions and begging for an epidural (4cm) but they didn’t want to give me one yet because they were still hopeful they could delay labour for at least a day or two. A neonatologist came in to try and talk to me about prematurity and NICU (thank god I’m a paces nurse because I could not focus on a damn thing but pain). By 1130 the contractions started to taper off and stopped by 12. DH got me food (a bagel and tea since it seemed safe) at the urging of my nurse but I wasn’t able to keep it down (I puked more in labour than I did my whole pregnancy). By 130pm contractions were ramping back up and within 10 minutes were close to stacking again so they agreed to the epidural (10/10, would highly recommend). Got the epidural (during 4 contractions, that was fun) and finally got some sleep.
By 730 pm (13h since water breaking) I was complete and ready to push only to find out Twin A had flipped transverse. So off we went to the OR for a stat CS. They topped the hell out of my epidural which made me sick again, and got me all prepped in what felt like five minutes. DH was brought in after they made the first cut. Baby A was easy, I felt some tugging and pressure but no pain, he was born at 803pm. Baby B was a breech delivery and was stuck in my ribs. It hurt. A lot. I told DH it felt like they were ripping my spine out through my abdomen. Baby B was born at 806pm.
Both boys were born pink and breathing, though it took B a few moments to start crying and A needed CPAP for a little bit because he was tachypneic and working. They showed me both boys before wheeling them off to NICU and DH went with them while they closed me up. The anaesthesiologist gave me a shot of morphine which made me puke again (puking while strapped to a table is real fun). DH met me in recovery with picture of the boys. I was up to see them first thing the next morning.
Baby A (5lb 9oz) on the right, Baby B (4lb 11oz) on the left
Birth #1:
Started early painless labor late Saturday night with just regular BH contractions. I was 40 weeks 2 days. By mid-Sunday morning we went to triage because I knew it was labor. I had been 3cm dilated since week 36 and was only 3.5cm dilated that day so they sent me home to labor more. My contractions just started out close together in timing, and grew more intense. By time my in-laws arrived 7 hours later I was very ready to go back to triage and while I was still only 4cm dilated they admitted me (this is like 9pm Sunday night). They broke my water which really got things going but I still labored for several more hours and was just in a lot of pain. I never got pitocin, btw. After not getting relief from the minor pain meds, I asked for an epidural. By time I got it, it was 3am Monday morning. The anesthesiologist didn't like that the epi made my heart rate jump (but I felt great) so he gave me a spinal instead and that sucked balls. It only worked on half my body--my left side waist-down was 100% numb and super heavy, and I had excrutiating hip pain on my right side. I was so exhausted by this point that I slept between contractions and pushes, despite the pain. I pushed for a solid 3.5 hours and tore a few cm. Everyone kept telling me the entire 3.5 hours that I was so close, and eventually I was like "she is never coming out" but she did at 9:30a Monday morning and she was perfect. She had some jaundice and needed to get phototherapy in the nursery for a few days but that was it. As a result of my spinal I got a spinal headache which was horrible and I feel like someone should have told me i had one, not ask me if I thought I had one. What do I know? If u feel nauseated and have a horrible headache when sitting up or standing, but feel better laying flat, get a blood patch asap to fix the leak. Better than being miserable for over a week straight.
Birth #2:
I was again about 3cm dilated by my 36 week appt, but not concerned. At my 39 week appt my OB offered to do a membrane sweep and I said go for it. By that evening I knew my regularly timed BH contractions were leading to real labor and predicted I would have DS within 24 hours. DD1 was also developing the beginnings of Roseola at the same time so we spent all evening cuddled in bed, but it also meant she wouldn't be able to visit me in the hospital. (I didn't see her for 4 days straight once I was admitted). I could barely sleep that night with the contractions steadily increasing intensity, and by 4am we called my in-laws to start driving up and called DD's nanny to come over and watch DD. I got sent home from triage again despite being 4cm dilated (being sent home sucks). I labored all day with DH as my doula and when my in-laws arrived I was ready to go back to triage. I thought by then I was leaking fluids...which turned out to just be pee haha! By now I was 7cm dilated and they did an ultrasound and saw DS was sunnyside up. I told them even before we got to my delivery room that I wanted an epidural so i got it pretty quick. They broke waters for me again in my room which again accelerated labor and I did not get pitocin once again. As the anesthesiologist was working on me I explained to him what happened the first time and he understood. The epi worked perfectly and I very comfortably and happily progressed through labor for a couple hours. When it was time to push I was still too numb to feel anything so I was just guessing until the doctor was like, let's just take a break. They left for an hour, came back, and I could start to feel pressure but still wasn't in much pain. Then the pushing urges really started and I pushed for about 30 min and then DS was out. No tearing, no headaches, no excessive pain. I pushed so fast though that the OB in charge barely made it in time and the one with me was like, I only have one glove one stop pushing! (I ignored that request). I was walking around maybe an hour or so after delivery. My only complication was developing a fever during my resting period and they thought my amniotic fluid was infected so I was supposed to get antibiotics but there wasn't enough time. Then DS had to spend a few hours in NICU in case he was sick, but both of our cultures came back negative for anything so I'm not sure what the fever was about except DH thinks it was human error on the part of the student nurse. ETA-- DS turned in the birth canal so he came out face down which was good.
Oh, and DH was clutch at the last minute with DS. The nurses were in such a rush to get him to NICU that they forgot to get his ankle bracelet on before wheeling him out until DH noticed and stopped them. Thank god!
My daughter was born at 38+4. I went to my routine OB appt and things were looking good and normal. The OB did an internal exam and said I was barely 1 cm and not at all effaced. We chatted about things being uneventful and scheduling the next appt, he left the room, and I stood up to get dressed and all of a sudden I started leaking. My husband ran in to the hall to get the doctor back in the room, and he confirmed that my water broke and that there was meconium in it. He sent us off to L&D.
I was in triage for a while because there weren’t any open beds in L&D, and also being a FTM not in active labor whose water just broke, nobody seemed too worried that I was going to give birth any time soon. I had been thinking that I wanted to try for an unmedicated birth and my hospital had birthing suites with hot tubs and other comfort measures for unmedicated births, so I asked if there was a suite available. They told me that because of the meconium I would have to be on monitors for the entire labor and that they wanted to start me on pitocin, which made me ineligible for a birthing suite. I was not happy because it was becoming clear that I was not going to be able to labor the way I wanted. I tried to argue but did not feel like they were listening to me. We saw a few different midwives, maybe shifts were changing, but my husband made a last ditch effort to argue against pitocin and the midwife agreed that I could try nipple stimulation for a few hours to see if I progressed without pitocin.
I got into my room in L&D around 12:30pm about 3 hrs after my water broke and started nipple stim with a breastpump. My husband left to go home and get our bags. I started to feel contractions, painful but not unbearable. Keeping me on the monitor was annoying because when I moved the monitors fell off my baby, so I really had to stay lying down on the bed, which is a sucky way to labor. They finally did another internal around 3 and I was at 4.5cm and 60%. The contractions started to feel more intense and seemed to come quickly with little break between them. I decided to get an epidural and had it placed around 4:30 because laboring in bed on my back was really crappy. It was much less crappy once I was on drugs! The next few hours were pretty chill. Between 7 and 8 I started to shiver and feel an intense urge to poop and pee. They checked me again and I was complete.
The midwife came in and I started pushing around 8:50, and pretty soon after the midwife said she was going to take a call and I could keep practice pushing with the nurse. So I kept at it and after two contractions the nurse looked down and yelled at me to stop pushing. She paged the midwife, but not pushing once you’ve started is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever experienced, and it felt like an eternity before she got back. The only thing that got me through it was remembering a birth story of one of my friend’s, and she told me that she had had to stop pushing and that her doula had told her to blow out as though she were keeping a feather floating in the air. So helpful!
Anyway, the midwife was back and I started pushing again and in 2 or 3 contractions my baby was crowning. The ring of fire is no joke man, ouch! 19 total minutes of pushing start to finish and then she was out. The midwife saw her take her first breath, so she hadn’t inhaled any meconium thankfully, and didn’t have to go to the NICU. They wiped her and put her on my chest and the moment was so unbelievably surreal it took my breath away. I held her while they worked on me, delivering the placenta, stomach “massage”, a few 2nd degree tears that needed stitches.
Then they had trouble stopping my bleeding and things got a little tense. I think she was reaching into my uterus and like scraping out handfuls of blood and clots, although I didn’t have much of a view of what was happening. She looked over at my husband who had a better view and told him to sit down, he looked green. They put some suppositories into my butt to stop the bleeding, and then realized that the problem was that my bladder was so full that it was putting pressure on my uterus. They re-cathed me and drained like literally at least a gallon of pee in to a basin. The nurse had to walk across the room to the bathroom with this giant container filled to the top with pee. It was crazy!
We got to stay there for an hour or so of skin-to-skin before we moved to our room. My mom, aunt and brother came in. He brought us pizza! The journey to meet my little girl is the most amazing adventure I have ever been on. I can’t wait to do it again!
I was a couple days past my due date, not dilated, non contractions in sight. My OB did my third membrane sweep, nothing. I scheduled an induction for 41 weeks.
We checked in at 8pm and started pitocin by 9pm, increasing it gradually overnight. When I woke up the next morning I wasn't feeling anything but apparently made some minimal progress. I showered then the OB broke my water in the morning and cranked up the pitocin. After that things got moving quickly. I was feeling fine but uncomfortable and tired, by this time I've been getting pumped full of pitocin and hooked up to a million things for over 12 hours. I got the epidural. My blood pressure crashed immediately and they had to put meds in the IV to bring it back up. Apparently this is common. I got super light headed for a minute but they quickly fixed it.
Woke up a couple hours later, feeling totally fine, I think I was 8cm. I sat there and just hung out with DH for a while. I wasn't in pain but could move my legs. Evening time came and I started feeling pressure and like the baby was coming. The nurse checked me and I was at a 10. She told me to relax and give small practice pushes when I felt the urge to. Hubby and I watched Thursday night football and I sort of pushed a little whenever it felt like my body wanted me to.
Urge to push got stronger and the nurse said it was go time, my doc came in and set up. I think there were 4-5 additional people in there. I was getting tired and told my doc "hurry up and get this over with!!!" He chuckled and said he'd try.
I pushed as hard as I could when I had a contraction, I could feel things but I wasn't in pain till DD's head was coming out. Doc said one more push and baby was out. They placed DD on my chest and she latched immediately. Doc laughed and asked if that was quick enough. Everything was good. Doc was delivering placenta and stitching me up.
Suddenly I felt super dizzy and nauseous. The doctor's face changed and he looked super focused. They took the baby and gave her to my husband. I felt really weak, someone rushed it and the doctor started instructing people to put stuff in my IV bag. They gave he a shot in my top thigh and shoved a pill up my butt.
I was bleeding out after the placenta detached. My doctor was great and kept everything calm. They got the bleeding under control and I started feeling normal again. After about an hour I felt well enough to want to get up. I felt like the epidural wore off and I wanted to be unhooked from everything (epi, catheter, monitoring stuff). I just wanted all the medical stuff off of me. The nurse wanted me to wait a little longer but I insisted. Finally I was free!
My daughter was born almost exactly 24 hours after we checked in to the hospital. It was NOT the labor I wanted or imagined but despite everything I consider it a good experience. I lost a lot of blood and was close to needing a transfusion but somehow felt ok, just a little weak just a couple hours after delivery.
Birth #1:
Around 8 ish I started to feel the contractions, and by 8:15-8:30 I was texting DH "These kind of hurt, get back here" he was already in the parking lot and came rushing in. Contractions started a few minutes apart and maybe 30 seconds each but after awhile it seemed like I got 30 seconds with one 30 seconds off. It seemed like I didn't get a break. Things get pretty hazy at this point but I know the nurses had to keep suggesting things to me. I wasn't moving around a lot, I didn't really remember what I was supposed to be doing, and by the time the pain got really bad they checked me and I was only a 3 or 4. I was super sad and told DH to tell them I wanted drugs so he left to tell the midwife and she was like, she has to tell us, but we gotta wait til she's a 5 anyway. We got in the shower to see if that helped the pain, and it totally did. Labored there til transition when my water broke and I started throwing up. I got out of the shower because standing was hard with the pain and moved to leaning on the bed. In both labors I had a mantra or a routine once I hit transition, with DS it was a specific moaning pattern I defaulted to through every contraction, in my head it was like life or death if I didn't do the pattern. I told DH to shut the eff up every time he asked me a question. They checked me again I was a 7 or so and at that point I was like, well, no meds I can do this. They checked DS on the heart monitor and got me to a tub where all of a sudden all the pain was so much worse and I started to need to push, so they let me. I hated that I was floating and had nothing to anchor me so we got out. At this point they couldn't get DS on the monitor because of how I was laboring so they busted out the monitor that attaches to his head through my vagina. Luckily they showed us one in birth class so i didn't flip out. When they put the monitor on they realized he was head into the side of my pelvis and if I didn't do squats and lunges with every contraction to rotate him to the birth canal I might need a CS, so we did squats and lunges during contractions for like 30 minutes until he turned, then I went back to pushing on the bed. I probably pushed for two hours. He was born at 2:30pm-ish and I had second degree tears. He came out screaming and DH watched even though he said he wouldn't, cut the cord even though he said he wouldn't, and we did skin to skin while they stitched me up and I gave him up to the docs while they massaged the ute. I bit DH during this time and everyone thought it was hilarious but holy hell the ute massage hurt and I didn't expect it! DS was 9lbs 5oz, 21.5 inches long.
Birth #2:
7am ish the next day I woke DH to say hey I don't feel great, but nothing is happening, lame. He said, " You said the same last time wait and see." We ordered breakfast they hooked me up to check contractions. By 8:00 when they came back I was having to stop when the contractions came on but could still talk, by 8:30 I was breathing a little through them and they were like, no need for Misoprostol, you're good!
DH was the best doula this time. We walked the halls, changed positions, squatted during contractions, got in the shower, used the ball, we did everything we could remember to get that baby down they checked me the first time I was at a 3 but I expected that, so walked around some more, got back in the shower. By the time things got really intense I told DH to get the barf bag ready and once transition hit I started throwing up. I got out of the shower because the pain was too bad to stand in there and they checked me again I was a 6. I swear the next contraction the pain was suddenly unbearable and there was blood so they called midwife back in and she was like, yep, there's the baby, push if you feel the need, so I started pushing. I probably pushed for two hours again, maybe only 1.5 hours. Every contraction I had a personal mantra again, which was a visual of a cartoon Corgi I follow where he was floating in the water with his manatee friend with a lettuce between them and the manatee was wearing a santa hat, and the caption said, "Lettuce be merry." Every time there was a contraction I pictured this and repeated, "Lettuce be merry" in my head. The water sac was bulging and they offered to break it but I was like, no friggin' way this hurts so bad already and that will make it worse! Eventually we moved into the bed so I could finish pushing and at 1:30 DD was born in caul, 8lbs 4 oz.
With birth one, I felt like I had no idea what was going on. At one point I needed oxygen, they gave me fluids in an IV, I was totally out of control of the experience. With birth #2 I felt completely in control! I was there for every minute of the experience, it was so calm even though it hurt, I stayed in the moment the whole time instead of looking forward and mentally being like, "Oh man, how much longer?!?! I'm only a ___cm!" I tried to focus on what I was doing at the moment and I think that really helped the birth experience. With both birth experiences, I feel like I tightened up when I had contractions, and I consciously tried to stop doing that and let the pain happen with #2, although I wasn't entirely successful. This is my goal with #3...make sure that I relax and breathe through the pain, and some of the yoga videos I've been doing focus on breathing through the muscle burning instead of quitting so I'm hoping to remember that. I'm also hoping to go into labor on my own this time.
At 39 weeks, I went to my regularly scheduled OB appointment, where they said I was 2 CM and they did an ultrasound where they said my placenta was "cooked" so it was a good thing I was being induced that night. We went and had lunch, then headed over the the hospital to check in. Right away the on call OB came in to insert a foley catheter/balloon...I had read up on it, and a lot of women said it didn't hurt, but DAM, it hurt. I was squeezing my husband's hand so hard I think I almost broke it. Once it was inserted it felt better, but then contractions started - not real ones, they said it was just from "irritation of the uterus" or something. They did this in the labor and delivery room, then moved us to a postpartum room where we would be spending the night. Once in our room, we ordered dinner and watched Parenthood on my iPad. Side note, the hospital has room service style food, so you order on demand and if the mom orders like 5 meals, they charge you the same, so I just ordered a ton of food for both of us the whole time we were there and it didn't cost any extra. The nurse gave me something to make me sleep (some sort of sleeping pill) and told me she would be back at 6am to remove the balloon. When she removed it, there was a gush of water - I guess the balloon is filled with fluid and she popped it to get it out. Then she had me shower and get ready to move back to the labor and delivery room.
We went back to labor and delivery, where I was given a lovely breakfast that complied with my liquid diet - jello, ginger ale, broth - I was STARVING. Then they did the IV and started pumping me full of fluids. OB came in and said I was now 3CM, and they started the pitocin. I sent my husband to get himself breakfast, as there was no food allowed in my room because I was starving lol. When he came back, contractions had started but honestly they weren't painful at all. My mom showed up and we kind of just hung out until the afternoon when the OB came in and decided to brake my water - I think I was around 4-5cm. As soon as my water was broken, things got painful fast. I think I made it through 2-3 contractions before asking for the epidural. The anesthesiologist came quickly and they made my mom leave the room and my husband had to sit across the room from me, apparently after a lot of dads passed out, they didn't allow the dad to stand during it anymore. I was super swollen, I had been monitored for weeks for high fluid levels and my hands and feet were insanely swollen. The anesthesiologist told me my because of all the swelling, he couldn't feel my spine and would have to go in blind. That was not very comforting...so on the first attempt, he missed, and I guess he hit a nerve or something. That hurt more than the contractions, but thankfully did not last too long. I think he got it right on the second attempt. If I hadn't been so swollen and he could feel for my spine, it probably would have gone a lot smoother, but honestly for about a year I had residual pain in that spot from where he hit the nerve. Not constant but when I moved a certain way it would come back. I was layed back down and they put a catheter in. I wasn't completely numb yet so that burned, but went away eventually. Then they put these massage things on my legs to prevent blood clots since I couldn't get up with the epidural. Suddenly I started getting really itchy, like unbearably itchy all over my body. They didn't understand why, but I think there must have been some sort of painkiller mixed in with the epidural - I've always gotten an itching reaction to Vicodin so it must have been something along those lines. I was miserable so they gave me benadryl in my IV. That took the itching away, but knocked me out. I needed to sleep and the rest was good, but I was so anxious that I wouldn't be able to wake up for the birth that I kept trying to fight the sleep. I didn't handle it well and was pretty miserable, despite not being in pain. I was also just very uncomfortable in the hospital bed but couldn't reposition myself since I was numb and also because every time I moved the monitor would lose the baby's heartbeat and they'd come rushing in and make me move again. They had to top off my epidural a few times and each time they had to give me more benadryl for the itching and then the cycle of me trying to fight the sleep would repeat.
Around 9-10ish I was finally fully dilated, but they wanted me to sit up in let gravity move the baby further down before pushing. I sat up in bed for about 2 hours, which felt like an eternity. I just wanted the baby out! Looking back, it was a good decision, why exhaust yourself pushing when you can let gravity do the work. Around 11 we started pushing, and they got the OB in pretty quickly since my pushing was pretty effective. My mom and husband each held a leg, and the nurse had to tell me when I was having a contraction so I would know when to push - I honestly couldn't feel them at all. At one point, around 11:45, my husband asked the nurse how much longer, because he had that day as the birthday in his mind all week and wanted him to be born before midnight. The nurse told him he better watch himself and I think I cursed at him. After an hour and 15 mins of pushing, my son was born at 12:14am, 7 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long. The OB immediately put him on my chest, but within seconds I realized something was wrong, he was not moving, crying, or breathing. They were going to delay the cord clamping, but the OB realized something was wrong and quickly had my husband cut the cord. Then they quickly brought my son over to the warmer across the room and I started in horror for...what felt like an eternity, but I think was only a minute...while they tried to get him to breathe. Meanwhile the OB was delivering the placenta and stitching me up while I just watched helplessly. Finally my son cried and his APGAR score went from a 3 to a 9. They quickly brought him back over to me and he did skin to skin for an hour or so before letting family in. We tried to breastfeed but he had zero interest. We later came to learn that the pediatric team had stuck a tube down his throat when he wasn't breathing, which I think created an oral aversion and interfered with his suck reflex. He basically had no suck reflex at all for a few days, and I pumped and fed him with a syringe. Eventually he latched with a nipple shield and we got his tongue and lip tie fixed a few weeks later. He had some jaundice in the hospital, because of his lack of sucking, and almost had to keep him an extra night, but his numbers went down just enough to be able to go home without any treatment.
I am hoping to avoid induction, epidural, and the hospital in general this time, though I am very nervous about this baby being born not breathing like his brother. Labor lasted a total of 16 hours from start of pitocin to delivery.
DS was born at 38+6. I had a check at 38+5 and I was about 2cm, and told that I would go until at least my due date. Around 2am that night I woke up to pee and my water broke all over my bedroom floor. I KNEW it was my water- there was so much, and it smelled like hay. I woke DH up, cleaning up the water and called my doctor. The nurses told me that because it was my first birth, they thought I had plenty of time. They actually told me to take a Tylenol PM, go back to sleep, and come to the office at 8am to get checked.
I took some Benadryl but of course I couldn’t sleep.. DH on the other hand passed right out- although he’d tell you he didn’t sleep all night. The contractions weren’t bad but they were constant and getting worse. A couple hours later, the contractions were strong but bearable, but I felt the need to poop... Which I did. Diarrhea.. And then I puked up all of the fried pickles DH brought me home from work that night. Called the nurses again and they told me that from the sound of my voice, I didn’t sound too far along (I’m very soft spoken) and that I should wait until morning to avoid getting sent back home. Jokes on them?
I took a shower, which helped with the pain a lot and started cleaning the house. I hung curtains that I washed that day and started vacuuming?? At around 6 am I knew we had to go to the hospital, every contraction I felt that pressured need to poop (at first I thought I DID have to poop like earlier but I was clearly wrong). I called the nurses again and told them we were coming in. I didn’t even give them the option of pushing me away again.. That was the longest 20 minutes of my life making it to the hospital. Laboring is SO much harder seated/laying down. All the way to the hospital I was telling DH I wanted all the drugs. I walked to L&D and got checked- surprise, I was 9cm.. No drugs. My BP was also very high and the nurses kept asking me if I felt okay. I felt normal aside from the child trying to make its way out of my body. Contractions were back to back and horrible, so much worse at the hospital because I couldn’t move like I needed to. They set my up with the nitrous but that was a joke and just made me a little out of it. They tried a couple times to set up an IV but there wasn’t time and I was a little dehydrated.
I was in the birthing room by 6:30 and after almost 2.5 hours of pushing DS was born at 9:47. That ring of fire is. No. Joke. DS tried to come out with his hand on his face, and apparently the MW thought it was be a good idea to try and push it back in. With her hands. While DS was crowning!? I was not nice to her. I don’t remember her name, but I remember her face and I don’t think I could look her in the eyes again. In the end I had a 2nd degree tear that they stitched up while I was holding DS. They “numbed it” but I still felt every stitch. But it was nothing compared to back to back contractions. My BP went down on its own, they were worried about pre-e but it must have spiked from the stress.
I had skin to skin in the delivery room waiting for my pp room to be ready, my mom and sister came in and took some pictures which I was so grateful for-DH is terrible with a camera. We had munchkins and iced coffee in the pp room and my grandfather brought champagne but I didn’t have much of an appetite and it was a struggle enough for me to drink enough water. I didn’t get my appetite for another 3 days but when it came back it did with a vengeance.
This time around I’m hoping for a similar experience, but I’ll be getting to the hospital sooner- I don’t want to birth a baby on my bathroom floor. One of the MW said they may even have me come in after I first start having contractions because this is #2. I don’t want an epi because my recovery was so quick without interventions but I think I would at least like the option!
Birth #1: At my 37 week appointment, I was already dilated 2-3 cm. The doctor told me that I would have the baby within a week. (We were not ready. We had just moved into our house thinking we had about 4 weeks!) At 38+1, we were going to bed (around 10 or 11pm) when I felt a pain. I got up to get some water and move around in case they were BH. By the time I got to the corner of bed, my water broke. It wasn't a gush, and it wasn't a slow leak, so I wasn't actually sure if my water had broken. Contractions definitely started though. I ended up taking a shower to help me through the contractions which was so calming to me. Finally contractions were around 5 minutes apart, woke up DH, drove to the hospital around 3 am. Got admitted and was 5 cm. I have really low pain tolerance, so I got an epidural. Best decision ever. I had to have oxygen, but I don't remember why. DS had to be monitored because every time I had a contraction his heart rate would drop, nothing too drastic but enough to be monitored. I remember towards the time of having to push, my right leg went numb. I couldn't lift it for a check. The nurse had me turn to my side to have the epidural move, but it made DS's heart rate drop. She rushed back in and told me to turn back over. Finally it was time to push, and I ended up pushing for two hours. DS kept getting stuck under my pelvic bone, so it was like a 1 step forward 2 steps back with every push. He was born at 12:59 pm. 5lbs 13 oz. 21 inches. I had one either superficial or second degree tear. He had jaundice and had to do the phototherapy lights. Really hard to do as a FTM. They have to be under the light as long as possible. But he was a champ and I nursed him through the process (some drs recommend formula during the therapy). Went home after two days.
Birth #2: Every appointment from 37-40 weeks was no dilation no effacing and she wasn't dropping. At 40 weeks, I had my membranes swept...nothing. Scheduled inducement for 40+4. Went to the hospital at 6 am. Got checked in, hooked up. Dr. broke my water around 8 am. This was painful for me because no water came out so he kept going back up there. I swear he was in there for like 10 minutes. Incredibly uncomfortable. Got pitocin. I wanted so bad to not have an epidural. 2 hours later, I told my DH to go get the anesthesiologist now. Apparently at my hospital, it takes no less than 30 minutes for the anesthesiologist to come. Got the epidural. Amazing. Around my 12/12:30 pm cervix check. 8 cm. Told DH to go get lunch because I think we still have some time. He said he would wait a little longer just in case. Same thing that happened with DS happened with DD. I couldn't lift my right leg for the check, so the nurse made me roll. DD's heart rate dropped. About 20 minutes later, the nurse came back and said I was 10 cm. Good thing he didn't go! Pushed for about 30 minutes. DD was born around 1:30 pm, 6 lbs 0 oz. 20 inches. I had no tearing with her. She also had to do phototherapy. I wasn't able to nurse her the entire way (attempted nursing first day, numbers still high, so ended up giving formula on the second day), so we had to stay an extra day. Went home after 3 days.
An hour later, around 11:45, there was all this beeping and a nurse came running in. She was like I need to check you. Low and behold, I was fully dilated. My doctor was not there yet, so they had me "labor down" for a while. This wait was terrible, because even with the epidural I felt so much pressure. She arrived around 1 and I started pushing. I remember being really tentative with the pushes at first because, as I told my husband, I was "afraid to blow out my butthole" lol. Seriously afraid of a massive tear. Also I was super thirsty. My husband tried to feed me ice chips and he was so nervous he spilled them all over my chest, lol. After a couple wimpy pushes, I could tell the epidural was already wearing off and the pressure was not making me happy. At some point the doc was like one good push and he is out. I pushed as hard as I could and out he came with the cord wrapped around his neck. I watched as the doctor quickly unwound it and then he was on my chest, at 1:26 pm. He was kind of blue and sputtery so they did some suction and pounded his back and then I heard that first cry. Unforgettable. It makes me teary just thinking about it.
Somewhere in there I got a small episiotomy, which I didn't even realize until I looked down and saw the doctor stitching. I was like uhhh what you doing down there??? She said I was starting to tear so she just cut a little to help him come out easier. I also don't even remember delivering the placenta, I think I was too busy snuggling my sweet baby. Overall, my first birth went fairly well but I am soooo scared for my second. I want to skip the epidural because of what I described, but not sure I can handle it. Also afraid of a fast labor and rushing to the hospital because of how quickly the induction went. I guess we will see what happens!
My Dr suspected I may go into labor early when my son dropped at 32 weeks and was head down in the birth canal ready to go. I am very petite so he also wanted to monitor size to assure he would be able to pass through the birth canal and reduce risk of c section. So my dr began checking for dilation at the 36 weeks as normal and from 36-40 weeks I was literally making no progress. I was not dilated at all at 40 weeks and I told my Dr I would cry if I went to my 40 week visit and still nothing, so he agreed to induce me the next day. Went in for my induction and they started me on a 12 hour cervadil hoping to at least get me into labor. 12 hours later still no dilation or labor, so he started pitocen. I went on a pitocen drip for 12 hours and was having contractions but nothing consistent. Still no dilation and no labor so my Dr stopped the pitocen overnight to let me get some rest and said the last thing they could do would be break my water the next morning. So 10 am they broke my water and labor finally started, I progressed really fast and my sweet boy was born 5.5 hours later at 321 pm weighing in at 7lb 11 oz.
Really hoping my sweet girl will have a fast labor like my son, but also hoping for another induction so her daddy can make it since he will be away working for 6 months beginning in June. If not then I hope labor is smooth, fast and easy like my son's!
I had read a LOT about the bleeding and the soreness and had it built way up in my head but I was pleasantly surprised at my post partum recovery and how easily my pain and soreness were managed, the bleeding wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. There’s hope ladies!
For my second I would love to go into labor naturally but am open to another induction. Again I’d like to try and go as long as I can without the epi just to see how long I make it but if back labor happens again I’m not playing around!
I went in to the hospital at 6 am- and they "broke" my water. They gave some medicine that basically had me sleep all day. THE BEST SLEEP I HAD ALL PREGNANCY!!!! I woke up around 7pm with my entire family in my room (like 14 people) I was trying really hard not to push the baby out. At this point I kicked everyone out of the room and told my husband to get the Doctor. Less than 30 minutes later my son was born. The worst part honestly was that they had to "cut" down there 3 solid cuts for fear it would rip up!?! My son was born 7lbs 2.1 ounces (considering I am not even 4'10" I was like woah I had a big baby!
Funniest part: They took my son to clean him/weigh him and my husband was looking at him and I could see the awe and wonder in his eyes- at that moment he turns to look at me- right as all the afterbirth comes pouring out from me and the look on his face went from pure love to pure horror! HAHAHA I will never forget that moment it was priceless!!!!
With my second I went into my “oh, you’re still pregnant” appointment and had to have a NST to make sure she was doing good. It came back fine but there was something a little off so they wanted to do fluid check. Before I went over to ultrasound I met with the doctor and asked her if they would induce me the next day (I was 40+6 and dilated so it wasn’t like I was just asking for no reason). They agreed to that but then I went over to ultrasound and they found out that I didn’t have anymore fluid. I had to wait (by myself) while a doctor looked over the scan and a nurse scares the poop out of me by asking where I lived (about 15 minutes from the office/hospital) and she said “oh no” and then walked back into the office. They then put me in a little room so the doctor could come talk to me and I started bawling right away. She told me they wanted me to go right over to L&D- don’t go home first. And she said “are you okay?!?! I thought you’d be happy!” I was just nervous because I wasn’t prepared to not be prepared. So I went to the car and called my H and cried some more. I had to wait for a bed in L&D so I had time to calm down. They started me on pitocin right away and that started contractions but nothing really consistent. They broke my water (which didn’t do anything other than ramp up contractions) and then I got an epidural. My contractions never got regular but I started to feel a lot of pressure so my nurse checked me and since she was newish got another nurse to double check I was fully dilated. I did a practice push and they told me to stop because the doctor wasn’t there yet. Once he got there I did like half a push and she was here!
It it was funny because my mom was on the plane to come visit for her birth while I was in labor and she didn’t know till she got off the plane that baby was already here!
I was induced at 41 weeks because my doctor wouldn't let me wait any longer - I had been struggling with borderline high BP for over a month by then and had insane fluid retention. In fact, I overheard DH tell someone recently that my foot looked like someone had blown up a balloon. LOL I planned for an un-medicated birth, but was keeping the epidural in my back pocket. I was very anti-pitocin though. We checked into the hospital at 6:45 PM on Thursday. I hadn't progressed at all since my doc appt the week before (1-2 cm, 50%). Once they got everything going the first round of cytotec wasn't until 7:45. The monitors showed I was having contractions 8 minutes apart but I didn't feel them at all. We walked between doses, my amazing nurse, checked me and I was at 1-2 cm and 70%. After a short debate, I took the 2nd round of cytotec. This was at almost 11 PM. Our dog sitter was a failure so DH left the hospital to run home and let the dogs out. I slept for about 45 minutes while he was gone.
DH got back at 12 and laid down to sleep but I was getting uncomfortable. By 12:20 I pulled out my phone to time my contractions which were between 2-3 minutes apart. By 12:45 when the nurse came back in I thought I was dying and she had me on the birth ball. I was convinced I was going to be barely dilated but had DH call our doula, to come (I should have called her sooner). The contractions were 1.5 minutes apart and very intense by now and I started telling DH that I changed my mind and needed the epidural, but decided to wait for my doula thinking she might change my mind.
The nurse checked me again just before my doula got there and I had jumped to 7 cm and 100%. Luckily the doula got there quickly around 2 am! She got onto me several times because I kept trying to just lay in bed and curl up, so I went to the bathroom several times and got all the poop out. I tried to breathe through more contractions with them but just couldn't get ahead of the pain so I asked for the epidural. Getting one at 8 cm with near constant contractions is cruel punishment from my standpoint. I'm not entirely sure what time this was because I was in too much pain to pay attention. He did hit a nerve the first time he inserted it and my right leg started twitching and was painful, but once he got it right it was awesome. After we were able to use the peanut ball for 20 minutes on each side while my doctor was arriving. She got there a little before 5. I immediately started pushing when she got there for about an hour and 20 minutes, then DD arrived at 6:14 am! She was 8 lb 4 oz and 22 inches long, which is something like 99% for girls (and I'm petite). The first thing I remember my doc saying is "She's a big girl!" I immediately cried when they put her on my chest, but then almost immediately after that felt like "of course I love her" as opposed to "this is so overwhelming that I'm crying".
We did delayed cord clamping, then DH cut the cord and I lifted her to my chest while they were waiting on the placenta to be delivered (I asked for no cord tugging). She army crawled her way down and latched to start nursing, which was amazing to see. I was in active labor (with contractions I felt) for about 6 hours total and we were released from the hospital about 30 hours after we had her. I do remember having an overwhelming urge to shower to get all the "gunk" off me, so I did that as soon as they would let me. I didn't have any tears and was walking and moving around really quickly at home, but did have a set back in my recovery and started bleeding again about 2 weeks after I had her from doing too much. More rest and putting my feet up more and it was fine!
Part of me wants to go into labor on my own this time, but part of me wants to be induced again. I had such a great experience and it would be convenient to have childcare for DD all lined up and to have my preferred OB there for the delivery. I'm going to wait and see how my BP behaves in the 3rd trimester before really bringing it up though.
Baby #1
Woke up Friday morning around 3am slightly crampy and lost my mucus plug so figured we were going to have baby girl that day. I was 39+3, only dilated to 1cm. Took a shower and a walk with DH and contractions started lightly. Since it was our first we made our way to the hospital, got checked in and discharged by 8am because nada was happening lol.
I went to work that day and contracted all morning, but finally went home in the afternoon. Continued to contract all day and we made our way back to the L&D around 830pm. They let me stay this time and I contracted all night and at 7am the next morning they broke my water to speed things up.
By 12pm, my Dr checked me and I was at a 9.5 but feeling the urge to push so I tried a few practice pushes and nothing happened, and then contractions just stopped. The nurse hooked me up to some fluids and anti-nausea meds and I fell asleep for a few hours. By 5pm, I was contracting again, one of top of another and feeling the urge again but still at 9.5cm so Dr. reached in and held my cervix to the side on each push until DD head passed the area. That was a blast, especially un-medicated.
I pushed for 2ish hours and she came out around 730pm Saturday. DH was going to cut the cord but DD had it wrapped around her neck so the Dr. did it quickly and I got her on my chest right away and just got to hold her while Dr. delivered placenta and stitched me up (I had a 2nd degree tear.) I was able to carry DD via wheelchair to the nursery to get her first bath and all checked out and loved every minute of it!
Baby #2.
Oh boy was his fun! Spoiler - it was much shorter once it started happening.
I started getting checks at 36w and was dilated to a 4-5cm from 36-38weeks. At my 37w6d appointment I was 6cm dilated but was not in active labor. Since it was January, (and we live in ND) my Dr. told me to get to L&D at the first sign of contractions because it will go fast. On Sunday at 38w2d I was having contractions and went to L&D but the contractions weren't doing anything after 4 hours except moving DS in the engaged position so they sent me home to take some Tylenol and the contractions disappeared. (My Dr. wasn't on call but she said later that the on call Dr should have called her and she would have induced me that day.)
4 days later at my 38w6d appt, I was still at 6cm dilated, hadn't had any contractions the whole week but Dr. finally said enough was enough and she sent me to L&D to induce me. (We were scheduled for a snow storm that weekend too).
I got checked in by 1pm and hooked up with fluids and anti nausea meds (feeling nauseous distracts me in labor so its the only thing that I request) and they broke my water at 4pm. No contractions. By 830pm they started pitocin and hello contractions!! I finished dilating by 12am, pushed for 40 minutes and he was out! The pitocin
Made for much more intense and brutal labor than I remember with DD but it was so much faster that I didn't mind too much. DS was a big boy though - 9lbs 2oz - so I tore again and wasn't able to take him to the nursery or hold him on my chest as long as I did DD because Dr. had to work on me for a bit.
With baby #3 I'm hoping she decides to come on her own and that I don't have to do the induction route again as I am planning another un-medicated birth and don't want that intense pain from DS's labor.
Love reading these! Mine wasn't too eventful... at least I don't think so
With my sons birth I had high blood pressure so we were scheduled to be induced on Thursday 9/25/14. His Due Date was the 26th. We went in at 5 am and got everything started, filled out the paper work signed all the consent forms and then I got strapped with the baby monitors and they started the IV for the Vitamin P (Pitocin) and the antibiotic since I was Group B Strep Positive. I went in at a 2/3 and was 70% effaced. At 8AM the midwife from my practice broke my water and things were progressing along as they should be. Around 12 PM I got the Epidural, I don't know how far I was at that point, but I remember that it was time for pain relief. I continued to labor along until 3PM, at that point they said we are going to start pushing. Incidentally my mom walked in from Tampa Airport at that point she made it down to FL just in time for the birth. I had my mom and fiancé (now husband) there with me as I started to push. They had me in so many different positions trying to push with an Epidural it was borderline amazing what they had me doing. But around 7pm I told them "he's not coming out. he's gonna stay in there forever." We were calling him baby big head. They gave me oxygen because I was pushing so hard with little progress. Finally they brought in one of the OB'S from my office and he tried to turn the baby. He was sunny side up and stuck. They said the pushing was starting to cause his little big noggin to swell. The OB then told me that he was too big for my birth canal and we were going to have to have a c section because of the swelling starting. That was at 8pm and that was also when my Epidural ran out.
I was in full on active labor for an hour and 20 minutes waiting to go back for my c section with no pain medication I remember little of this time. Anyone who does it with no pain medication form the start is the TRUE MVP and my hero! They did end up giving me something for pain but I don't remember what it was I know it was through the IV things get extremely fuzzy around this point, They took me back I thought around 920, I had a spinal block at that point, and I remember telling the anesthesiologist that I couldn't breathe, it flet like someone was sitting on my chest it was so heavy. He told me if that because I ws arguing with him he knew I was ok and that if I really couldn't breathe then they would have to put me under and my fiancé wouldn't have been allowed in I replied with " Im Fine" next thing I remember is I hear them say is get ready for baby. And his little cry, I asked my fiancé how he got there because I didn't remember him coming in the room. And Then I woke up in Recovery. My Magoo was born at 10:15pm on 9/25/14.
I just remember thinking everything went so fast and It took hours from what im told.
I was induced 2/22 at night with cervidil and spent the night at the hospital. I got about 2 hours of sleep. When I got to the hospital I was actually having regular contractions that were 5 minutes apart. After some fluids they spaced out a little. Around 10:30am 2/23 they started my pitocin. Immediately my already painful and regular contractions (that were back at 3-5 mins) got more intense. I tried the medicine ball, but after just a couple minutes I was asking for an epidural. I had dilated from 3 cm (what I was when I was admitted) to a 4 and I was having 2-3 contractions per 5 minutes, so about every 1-2 minutes. At about 2pm I got my epidural. Let me tell you, if you're on the fence, do it. I wanted to wait as long as I could, I was screaming through contractions! That epidural was heaven! I could still feel myself contract but they didn't hurt. Right after, they broke my water. My nurse persuaded me to use the peanut ball, it was kind of uncomfortable. Maybe an hour later my epidural wasn't covering the whole contraction anymore and I was feeling more pain and pressure. My nurse checked me (like 2 hours after the last time I was checked) and I was 8cm and totally thinned out. They gave me another dose of the epi, and I got a bad case of the shakes. This was about 3pm. By 4 pm, I was 10 and feeling so much pressure! I held off pushing until about 7pm to give baby some time to drop as he was still a little high. [He never dropped] I pushed for an hour and a half, and at 8:31, out came baby Wyatt! It was the best worst day of my life. Everything sucked leading up to his arrival. The hand iv was TERRIBLE. I apparently have tough skin and the nurses poked me 8-10 times before finally just putting it in the inside of my elbow- where they got it in the first prick and I had no occlusion issues. I told my husband this sweet boy will be an only child! Overall, it was a quick induction process, thankfully! Much quicker than I had expected!
Lol. And here we are two years later giving him a brother. It’s true that you do forget. Maybe not “when you hold the baby” but eventually!
Super easy induction story full of rare events, but things they didn't cover in my birthing class:
Crazy night of a bunch of emergent deliveries and c-sections so we just watched Frozen on the ipad and didn't get seen until midnight. Decide to do the 12 hour cervadil suppository and an ambient and expect to start petocin drip some time in the late morning. Wake up around 3 in active labor with a little bit of progress but mostly just rocking on my feet and on the ball and too uncomfortable to sleep. Dr says i'm going to have no energy to push if I don't sleep since I still have hours and hours to go, so suggests a general narc (sopraset?) to get some sleep. I get 2ish blessed hours of sleep, dreaming of dancing purple elephants and waves crashing on the beach. Well the waves were really my contractions getting harder/closer and I really had to pee and had a vague memory of either my water breaking or peeing myself (but apparently sleep was more important). Page the nurses since I'm stoned and not allowed up alone, they help me pee and confirm yes my water broke and now i'm at like a 4-5 cm but fully effaced/thin. Contractions go on for another half hour or so and pain's getting worse and clearing drug-fog but I'm still managing - I remember the nurse giving me crap that I'd needed to learn more numbers because I had no idea how bad this was going to get in the hours I still had to go. Get checked again I'm at a 6, I'm still doing Okay but they tell me I have hours and don't think i have hours of this left in me, so I ask for the epidural. They call OB for approval and put in the order, come back 15 min later to administer and I'm yelling at the nurse I feel like I need to push. She tells me I'm crazy, I'm only at a 6 and if I push now I'm going to rip myself in half. I tell her again, I feel like I need to push, just check again....sure as shit, I'm 10 cm and baby's already crowning. In a blur of movement and medical team yelling, which I don't quite remember but my husband describes as amazing, they turn the room over and get a dr in asap for delivery as I'm fighting every instinct and crying trying not to push. Well guess what - no one had ever removed the cervidil because I supposedly had hours to go and it's now stuck behind DD head, so they push her back up to dig it out (which was worse than any other part of labor, I remember my eyes rolling back in pain). Three pushes and less than 10 min later, just roughly 1 hour after my water broke, Ashlynn James was born 8 lb 1 oz and 21 inches long - and my OB didn't make it in from the parking lot for the delivery, but she checked me up post placenta delivery for minimal tears that were referred to as "skid marks". She also was born with a perfect knot in her cord which the attending was in awe of (and I believe she kept it to show in the back...) which I guess only happens in 1:100 births. This is called precipitous labor (labor < 3 hours) and only happens to 7% of FTM and roughly 20% of ST+M. It's not common at all and is a gift of my connective tissue disorder - my mom also delivered 1 hour after water being broken in hospital after slow leak.
This time, it will be a planned induction because OB doesn't want me going into spontaneous labor - I'm high risk for hemorrhage and this one will most likely also be fast and they want to control/monitor end to end. Unless something different happens or labor stalls, I plan to skip epi again. I have a feeling I may be heading to a CS this time due to baby position, size, and existing hip/back issues. As I've become more active in groups for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), it seems CS are preferred to vaginal birth due to possible dislocations of tailbone and spine during delivery.
Again - take with a grain of salt...i'm a unicorn...or technically a zebra since that's the EDS mascot. My #1 advice is trust your body! Be your own advocate. Birth plans are great, but be willing to be flexible.
Cliff's Notes of stories below:
DD born in 2013, 4 days late. Got the epidural after waiting for my water to break on its own and it was VERY heavy and made me anxious. Was scheduled for induction the next day. Was running errands, lifted DS in to the car and felt a gush of wet. Got home, called doc, went to hospital to get checked; not my water, but just fluids in general, however I was having contractions 2 minutes apart. Again, wandered the hospital for a good 2-3 hours while DH went home to put DS to bed. Got the IV pain meds, which again made me feel sick. Water broke while my dad was sound asleep on cot in my room LOL! Got some rest, stalled at 7, gave me pitocin and went from 7-10cm in about 30 minutes. Pushed for 9 minutes, born at 754am. 9lbs12oz 21.5" Very jaundice, came home on the glow worm blanket.
Married: 6/27/2008
DS: 3/14/2010 Planned, PG first try
M/C 6/2012
DD: 4/22/2013 Planned, UnDx Infertility, PG on our own
BFP: 10/28/2016 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE!
M/C 12/12/2016
BFP: 10/27/2017 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE
EDD: 7/2/2018
life! I asked for the epidural because I didn’t even want to try pitocin without pain relief. The nurse didn’t even ask the doctor (I was a 3 at that time ) because if you do t progress to a 4 they send you home. Cue me freaking out because we were inducing so my baby didn’t die. We got the pitocin started. Resident came in and said if I didn’t want the epidural then I could try IV medications. I explained what the nurse said and she told me oh no your having this baby one way or another. They got the anesthesiologist who was pissed to be placing one on someone who wasn’t even at a 4. Honestly the epidural was the worst! Only times I yelled. I felt like a metal rod was being crammed down my
spine. Got settled and waited and waited. I ended up being in labor for 36 hours. They finally broke my water- when they did my epidural stopped working as I felt everything and I went from 4 to 10 within an hour or two. Pushed for a while - not exactly sure how long. Once she came out she did not cry for about the first hour of her life. This made everyone nervous- I didn’t get to hold her right away since they were checking her out. I just have torn but I didn’t ask how bad- but I felt every stitch. They moved us rooms and husband with with baby while they did her bath. I had her with me the entire time and didn’t use the nursery. Only issue was she had some low blood sugars so we had to test. We went home I believe the next evening. We were home for 30 hours and I couldn’t get her to eat or stop crying- I called the doctors office thinking maybe she had gas? They sent us to the ER- her Temperature was 94. Which low temperatures can be a sign of infection. They admitted us- she had a spinal tap and three different antibiotics- we had to stay for 72 hours until all the cultures came back. Rough start for sure!
i wasn’t able to breast feed so I pumped- pumped constantly I only made 1-2 once as of milk a day. So I pumped for about 2-3 weeks and then stopped.
Looking back i will tey try not to get an epidural again because I felt everything anyway and it was a bad experience. We will see though. Hoping to go into labor on my own this time. Watching for itching like a hawk though- because that scares me. Online it says 50-70 percent chance it will reoccur. My OB said it was unlikely though.
I was scheduled for an induction on 7/13 (@ 40+6) due to my doctor not being on call until I would be 41+6 and he wanted be to deliver before 42 weeks.
The day before my induction DH and I spent the whole day trying to start labor - spicy food, long walks, labor cookies, driving on bumpy roads - and nothing seemed to work. We wrapped up our last day as non-parents by dtd - which apparently triggered labor to start - and went to bed around midnight.
I woke up at 430am with rhythmic, timeable contractions about 7 minutes apart. I'm not supposed to check into the hospital until 830am. I called the hospital to determine what I should do - as per my OB's instructions - and was told that I could either come in earlier and they would start it earlier or I could wait and come in at my scheduled time. I chose to wait. By 8 my contractions were 5 minutes apart, but had not become more painful.
By 9 I was checked into the hospital and in a birthing suite. I saw my OB around 9 and he he checked me and I was at 3, he said he wanted to break my water around 10, but got called into an emergency c so it wasn't until 1030.
At 1030 DH was skyping with SIL - that was the first time she and I had ever spoken to one another, while my water was being broken (do not recommend!). I found it really painful to have my water broken - and then the contractions finally started to hurt. Around 11 I asked for the pain shot - loved it - it wore off in the middle of a particularly painful contraction and I asked for an epidural. I got the epidural around 1230, it went in no problem, but I was so uncomfortable - leaning over the table - that the anesthesiologist thought he was hurting me. I proposed to the anesthesiologist as soon as the epidural took effect (he stuck around to make sure he didn't hurt me). 10 minutes later my OB came in and did another check, 4cm, and told me that he was certain that I'd need to push for 2-3 hours and that baby will be born between 3-4 the next morning.
I pretty much slept until the next check - 6cm. Went back to sleep. DD started having decels so I was turned to the left - which made them worse - switched to the right - they resolved. Yay, no c-section. Slept till next check, 8cm. OB still says baby won't be here until 3-4 the next morning. My nurse, waits until he leaves, and says "um ... no, baby is going to be here tonight"
At 950 I started screaming that my epidural failed. I couldn't really make sense of the sensation I was feeling, but all I could do was roll farther on my right side and grab on to the bed rail and hang on for dear life. It took about 5 minutes of talking me down to get me on to my back for another check. The nurse had already put a call in for the doctor and had me to a practice push while I was waiting. Baby began crowning with the practice push and she told me to stop. This continued until the OB returned.
It took him 25 minutes to get back to the room, the nicu team to arrive (meconium in waters), and 5 minutes (4 pushes) for baby to be born. 1030pm.
I didn't tear, but I had "runs" so my OB stitched them up so that I'd be "aesthetically pleasing".
Overall labor was 18 hours - apparently this is unusual for a FTM; my current OB is very optimistic that I'll have a similar experience with LO.
I saw the midwife wife at my 40 week appt and was not dialated but was 50% effaced. At 40W 5D, I woke up around 4am with diarrhea. I sent a message to my doula asking if labor was starting and she said we will know when I start feeling contractions. I called out of work and sure enough contractions started that morning. Hung out all day on my stability ball and watched some movies. At 4pm I texted DH and told him he needed to make his way home because the contractions were getting intense. I labored mostly on all fours and in the shower. Around 10pm I couldn’t figure out when the contractions were coming and going. They were very close together but I also lost control. My doula said that I had to work on coming down and relaxing, which no one told me. I was given plenty of info on how to get through the peak but didn’t realize I had to learn to relax.
At 11pm, I went to the birth center. I was surprised that I was only 4 cm dialated because I felt like I had to push. The midwife said that the sac was bulging and it would help make way in he birth canal. I had to walk the halls for two hours before being admitted. So second thing I learned is to walk walk walk to get yourself dialated. So it was after 1am when I was 6cm. I did gain back control, thanks to my doula (and her amazing back rubs) and could come down off of the contractions. Once admitted, I sat on a stability ball in the shower...the hot water beating down on my back was a relief. Sometime around 4am, I was dialated to 10cm and started pushing in the birth tub. An hour and a half later, I questioned if I was pushing effectively because I was so tired. Surprisingly I fell asleep hanging on the edge of the tub for a few minutes in between contractions. I ended up getting out and staying out of the tub so the midwife could watch me push. Three hours of pushing total and had DS in my arms sometime after 7am.
I only had a slight tear that they stitched, which wasn’t bad considering DS was almost 9 pounds. I did have heavy gushes of blood afterwords. My vision got a little blurry because my blood pressure was either too high or low (still can’t remember), so they had me lay on my right side for a couple of hours. Blood pressure went back to normal after an hour or two. My face looked awful because I had several broken blood vessels from pushing. I ate like an animal when scrambled eggs and bacon arrived after birth and at lunch I wolfed down the cheese burger. I went home 24 hours after DS was born.
I was due 12/8 and at my 36 week appointment, I had a cervix check and was 1 cm dilated. The same thing at 37 week appointment. At that point my OB suggested we make an induction appointment for the week after my due date, "just in case" (although I'm fully convinced he knew I would go overdue somehow, because he'd been delivering babies so long). Induction was scheduled for 12/16. I stayed hopeful at each of my appointments leading up to that date but each week I remained at 1 cm dilated, no further progress. I also had not a single BH contraction or any other sign of labor.
Checked into the hospital on 12/16 and was hooked up to pitocin by 8AM. My doctor met me at the hospital and once I was settled left to see patients at his private practice for the day. Progress was slow. The nurses kept asking if I felt anything and I would respond that I kinda felt like I had to poop/had indigestion but that was it. So they slowly kept upping the pitocin. My doctor came back during his "lunch break" from his office and checked me. I was 4 cm then and he broke my water, approved me for epidural when/if I wanted it, and went back to his office. I'll add the my mom had been in my room with DH and I since the morning, and my dad showed up unexpectedly just after noon (because he was nervous for me). So they were in the room with us and everything was fine until the contractions kicked it up a notch. I knew we were finally getting somewhere because I couldn't focus on anything when I had a contraction except for the pain. It gets a bit fuzzy here for a bit but the nurses figured out I was finally feeling something, my parents, left the room, and I got an epidural.
Once the epidural kicked in, I felt amazing (almost like I was floating). I asked for my parents to come back and they did. Hung out until a little after 5 when my doctor came back and he checked me and I was 10 cm!! Kicked parents out, epidural was turned down a bit, and I started pushing. I pushed for about 2.5 hours and my doctor said the baby's head was stuck most likely on my tailbone so he asked if I wanted to keep pushing or use the vaccuum. I said let's try the vaccuum. As my husband puts it, the "bat signal" went out at that point because the room filled with people (it's a teaching hospital so even more people than you'd normally have) and my son was born at 7:58PM. At the very end my epi had worn off and I felt everything and was screaming in pain and in my "zone" but for some reason I still remember someone calling out "19:58" for the time he was born. That's when I opened my eyes again. I had an episiotomy along with the vaccuum although I had no idea until my husband told me later. Baby J was 8 lbs 12oz & 21.5 inches long.
Overall I'm pleased with how his birth went and am thankful it was only 12 hours start to finish.