Fast, natural labor turned epidural turned C-section (very LONG)
Serena52308
member
I absolutely loved reading these when I was pregnant and want to get the story down while it's still fresh in my mind (not that I'll ever forget it).
On Sunday July 10th, I was 6 days overdue. My Dr. had stripped my membranes on Friday and scheduled an induction for the following Wednesday if I didn't go into labor on my own. Even though I was SUPER unconfortable (horrible edema from the hips down, carpel tunnel in both hands, insomnia, etc.) I didn't want to be induced and I had planned for a natual birth, so I spent most of my weekend trying every OWT in the book. By Sunday, I had walked over 5 miles each day, forced DH to have sex with me (which was hilarious), bounced for hours on an exercise ball, drank a bunch of red raspberry leaf tea, and taken castor oil (1 tbs with scrambled eggs for lunch on Sunday).
At 5:30pm on Sunday, I was getting in the shower and bent over to pick up some clothes when I felt a gush and water just kept coming out. I was completely shocked because like all overdue pregnant women I was convinced I'd be pregnant forever 
I quickly told DH that my water had broken and he ran into the room and said we need to leave for the hospital now! I reminded him that our class said we likely had lots of time and reminded him of our plan to labor at home for as long as possible. I had a small snack since it was almost dinner time and started puttering around waiting for contractions to start. I didn't have to wait long--by 5:45pm I had my first contraction, then five minutes later another one. I felt nothing in my front, it was entirely back labor. They were coming pretty consistently and getting stronger, so we decided to leave for the hospital at 6pm.
We got to the hospital around 6:15ish and by that time the contractions were 4 minutes apart. We checked in and were put in a triage room where the burse checked me and pronounced that I was a tight 2 cm dilated. The nurses were incredible and so supportive of my desire to have a natural birth. The put in a hep lock and by this time, the contractions were coming every 3 minutes and still entirely in my back. They couldnt' confirm that the baby was posterior because she hadn't descended yet, but I just knew that she was because of the pain. Time kind of stood still and I went into my own head while DH fed me sips of water and Gatorade. I know I walked the halls for awhile and then went back in the bed and didn't want anyone touching me, including poor DH who stood there like a trooper with the birthing ball and a counter pressure tool telling me that I was beautiful and doing great while I hissed at him to be quiet and not touch. What helped the most was honestly my breathing mantra (breathe in for the baby, and out to relax) I just kept repeating that over and over and over in my head. At one point I looked at the clock and I was shocked to see that it was only 9:30pm. The contractions seemed like they were right on top of each other and were completely unbearable. At that point, I was covered in sweat, shaking uncontrollably, and physically and mentally exhausted. I just kept thinking that I had hours of this left since it was my first baby and that there was no way that I could do it. I asked for the epidural. DH tried to talk me out of it, but I told him that I was done and I hadn't been prepared for back labor. At that point, I wanted to be able to push, and I didn't think I would be able to do it as exhausted as I was.
I got the epidural and then they checked me again. It was about 10:30pm and the nurse told me that I was 10 cm!! No one could believe that a FTM went that quickly. I was finally moved to a labor room and told that I could rest for a bit while we waited for my Dr to get there. I slept for about 20 minutes and then the nubrse woke me up and said the Dr. wasn't there yet, but I could start pushing. DH and I thought this was a bit odd, but we went with it. I pushed on and off for a around an hour and then after midnight, the nurse came in with a phone and said the Dr. wanted to speak with me. She told me that she was on her way but that the baby still hadn't descended. We knew we were dealing with a larger baby (estimate was 9 lb 2 oz) and there was a concern about the shoulders getting stuck. My OB said that at this point she felt that a C-section was our best option to safely deliver our baby. I cried and asked if this had anything to do with the epidural, and she said absolutely not. Once we hung up, I creid some more while DH held me and reminded me that today was our baby's birthday. Also we were Team Green so we were going to find out if we had a boy or a girl.
Before I knew it, there were about 7 people in the room getting me ready for surgery. DH gave me a kiss and said he'd see me in there. He told me later that it was so surreal being in what felt like a remote corner of the hospital, all alone, waiting to me allowed in the room. I remember very little about the prep other than the music playing in the OR was really crappy (it was Salt n Pepa or something) and I could hardly keep my eyes open. When DH finally came in, he kept talking to me to try and keep me awake. Eventually, I felt some pressure and a loud cry and second later, my DH said, "It's a girl! Our daughter is here." Our precious Ryan Andrea was born at 1:40am on 7/11/11 at a healthy 8 lbs 6 oz. DH went with her as she was whisked away and everyone was commenting on how alert she was. Eyes wide open and staring at her doctors. Then they brought her to me and put her on my chest. We just locked eyes and I couldn't believe how beautiful she was. After that, I fell asleep for about 20 minutes and woke up in recovery where I breastfed her and we snuggled as a new family.
Re: Fast, natural labor turned epidural turned C-section (very LONG)
BFP #1 3/13/13, MMC 4/17/13, D&C 4/19/13
BFP #2 8/7/13, Beta at 4w6d = 3,796