Scheduled Induction turned natural med free birth (long)

Bblund · October 2011

First off, with my first dd I was in labor for 27 hours and pushed for 3 hours. My water broke and I had no contractions so I was given pitocin, then the epi, then med for nausea, then med for blood pressure. Then because I pushed for so long I bleed so much, I was operated on and was pumped full of more drugs. My recovery was horrible. My milk took a week to come in and I was swollen for 4 weeks.

So I was really hoping for a natural, med free labor. I prayed that God would give me the courage and strenght to do it naturally. Well, on wed 10/12, I went for my dr. appt and he said i was 3 cen and 1/2 effaced. I was worried she wouldnt come in time because a week later I had my brother's wedding to attend. So my dr. suggested I get induced, I was a good candidate for it. Well, after I made the decision to do it, I called my mom to come up and stay with my daughter. I would be induced the next day.

Well that same night I lost my mucus plug and had a lot of bloody show, I also started having contractions. I had read online that when women relax about labor and not worry or stress out, their bodies relax so much that it brings on labor. That night I went to bed and the contractions stoped. I woke up the next mornging at 3 am by heavy conx. They started coming every 3 mins. Since I had to be at the hospital for my induction at 5:30am, we decided to head to the hospital early. The conx kept coming for quickly. We got to the hospital by 4:15 and I was in Pain! As I was being wheeled into L&D my water broke! As soon as I got to L&D, I asked for an epidural... there was no way I was going to handle so much pain. I was in my room by 4:30am.

The contractions kept coming, one after another. The nurse checked me and i was 5 cent. The worse thing , is that she wanted me to pee in a cup! Ladies, there was no way pee was comign out of me... I couldnt pee! Yet the nurse wanted me to pee to make sure something something.. i dont know why. I finally told her I couldnt do it. The anesthegiolist was called and was told that as soon as I got my blood results she would be called, she was only 1/2 hr away. the other hard part was having my blood drawn (necessary for an epi) while NOT moving during conx.

I kept breathing through my nose through every conx and counting. I told myself that I had to keep calm that if I started to freak out, then I would make things worse. By 5:50 I started to get a different conx. It literally shook my body (just like an orgasm). The pain was so intense and unique that I started grunting. I told my hubby that I couldnt handle the pain. The next one, was worse and that's when I got the urge to push so I did and the pain lessened. That's when the nurse asked If I was feeling pressure. She checked me and I was fully effaced, 10 centimeters.

She told me, you're ready to push, let me call your doctor. I told her, give me an epidural first. She told me there was no time and I was ready to push. I was so scared, I told her to help me and she said there was nothing she could do, that I could do this. So in my head, I told myself: This is the situation, it is what it is, I could either freak out or be calm. I choose to be calm. There was nothing I could do about it, I was going to deliver without any pain medication.

The nurse suggested doing some practice pushing, that it would relieve some of the pain. I had to wait for my husband to get back from the bathroom and although he was only gone for like 4 minutes it felt like hours. That's when I started cursing at him (hey it was my only non calm moment) Once he came back, I pushed once and the nurse told me to stop that the baby was right there. I was told NOT to push that my doctor was on his way. I was like,' are you crazy? I'm pushing" But again, I took control of myself and was told to 'blow out the candles' isntead of pushing. Well, I don't know hold long I did that for before I heard my doctor's voice and he rushed in, put on scrubs and he told me to push.

It hurt to push, ladies I'm not going to lie. But your body is an incredible thing because although it hurt it felt great at the same time. The pushing relieved some of the pain. It's amazing what your body can do. Two pushes and my baby Ava Gabrielle was born at 6:13 am. She was 8.8lb, 21.5" long. She came so quickly that I got a pretty bad 2nd degree tear. But I was so pumped full of happiness and the incredibleness that I did it on my own that I felt nothing.

I'm the biggest wimp when it comes to pain. This had been my biggest physical accomplishment. I'm still amazed at what women can do, and giving birth is the greatest accomplishment of all. My recovery was amazing. I'm 2 weeks post pardum and doing great. Its amazing what having a natural, non medicated birth will do to your body, mind and spirit.

I wish you all a healthy and safe delivery.