Elise was due April 6th, but decided to come a little early! On the 27th my water broke. It had brown/green in it so we headed to the hospital. On the way there, my contractions started. By the time we got to the hospital and got checked in they were about 4 minutes apart and pretty bad. I was 2cm dialated.
They got me in a room and after monitoring me for awhile, let me to dilate. By the time I was a little more than 3cm I was in excruciating pain. I tried walking and the exercise ball, but I was still crying with every contraction. Luckily, the doctor said I could get an epidural right away. The doc came and put it in. It was really uncomfortable but I forgot about that as soon as I felt the relief.
It took me FOREVER to dilate. For awhile we thoughtI was going to have to have a c-section because baby's heart rate was dropping after each contraction. We tried every position imaginable, but it wasn't helping. Finally, she straightened herself out and all was good, just slow.
Toward the end, like when I got to 8 cm I had to stop pushing the epi button to let it wear off a little bit. The pressure got excruciating to where I was screaming and just... crazy with pain! They kept telling me when I was ready I would feel like I had to take a giant poop. That never happened-- it always just felt like a huge amount of pressure in my vagina. Finally, I was at 10 and could push. I could only push every other contraction because I was getting mini contraction between the bigger ones. I seriously felt like I was going to die of pain trying to breath through those contractions. My pushing didn't feel like it was doing much, but the doctors said it was and I was doing a good job. Finally, the room became a flurry of activity with doctors, nurses, etc and they turned the spotlights on and dropped the edge of the bed. Out she came! It was so amazing. All in all, I was in labor for 26 long hours and pushed for 2.
I love my baby so much, but I still don't know how anyone does that twice. I know I will have a lot of anxiety surrounding my next labor.
Anyway, we've had some (ok, a lot) of problems with breast feeding, but other than that, she is just delightful and I love just holding her. I could do it all day and night!
Re: Elise is here!
BFP #1: 5/10/12; 5/22/12: pregnancy deemed not viable (probably CP)
BFP #2: 8/2/12; Due date: 4/14/13, DD born 4/5/2013
BFP #3: 11/2/14, Due date: 7/7/15
We can't wait to meet our Blake Katherine!!
Congrats on your new bundle! Don't give up on breast feeding, make sure you seek help from lactation consultants. I didn't have an easy road either with a pre-term but now my little one (13 days old) nurses like a champ! Good luck mama
You fill me!!! Z! My BFP Chart
BFP #1: 08/17/2012 DD1 born 05/01/2013
BFP #2: 07/31/2015 M/C 09/23/2015 (11.5 weeks)