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Birth Stories
8+ hrs of pushing (long story)
This is my birth story for my son, I'm due with our second and slightly terrified of having the same experience again.
I went for a scheduled appointment 3 days overdue on a Tuesday morning at 9 am. The doctor said I was 1cm and 75%effaced, he did a membrane sweep, (awful-painful) but it worked, I started cramping immediately and headed home. I walked on and off all day tuesday. My husband was on nights, so I spent tuesday night at my parents home, where I got very little sleep. Hubby came off nights on Wed. morning, and with no sleep, he helped me walk, and took me for a bumpy car ride. After which I lost my mucus plug.
My mother came home on her lunch hour to check on me. We started timing my contractions (which I could talk, laugh thru) and were still irregular, now over 24 hrs with them. We waited until 3pm then thought, we may as well go see how far dialated I am, or if I've progressed at all, the contractions had been going on for 30 hours but didn't seem to be consistent or painful enough. We knew my regular OB was on call that night, so we figured why not, maybe he'd break my water or induce me or whatever at that point I'd had enough being pregnant- haha.
Got to labour and delivery, where a nurse put the gadgets on to monitor my contractions, she said that the doctor would probably send us out for a dinner and to come back, that they weren't close enough together. (I was disappointed but at least she hadn't said go home).
My doctor arrived very quickly, checked and I was 6 cm... (woo hoo).
They put me in a room, we got situated, and the doctor came back around 5:30pm and broke my waters.
Went to 8cm by 9oclock, contractions were much more painful, but I was getting thru them (as long as no one spoke to me) haha
I had a nurse I didn't love, but she was insisting I at least get an IV put in and some morphine, because it wouldn't be long till I had to push... and she didn't want me screaming for drugs then! (so much for my do it without meds plan)
I finally agreed, and was violently sick, and contractions stopped. They then started the picotin (sp?) and this is where things get blurry.... I hit 10 cm and felt a need to push around 2am... I pushed until 8am. With little to no progress, my doctor delivered 2 other babies that night, one vaginally, and one via c-section (the baby & mother along with one of the hospital nurses were then rushed to the local- an hour away- childrens hospital because of complications)
Needless to say the OB/nurse/entire L&D floor were busy that night... my husband and mother were going crazy that it was taking so long, I barely remember it, I was in so much pain, no epidural and just the laughing gas... but my blood pressure, babies hr, and mine were steady the whole time...so they just wanted to wait and me to keep pushing... I thought I was failing, I didn't know how to push harder, and nothing was happening, I always thought the doctor would be there while I pushed, but he almost never was, it was like I was pushing for nothing...
when my doctor went off shift and a different doctor (older) came on, he walked in, measured my belly from the outside, and said you're going to have a big baby, get her an epi, then take an hour break once it starts working, I'll be back to discuss at 9:30...
(this is when I panicked, I didn't want to discuss, I wanted my baby, I wanted to do it without an epi- although I was considering it by this point, and I absolutely didn't want a c-section, I love this doctor now, but at the time felt like I was being given no options, didn't realize he was giving me the best chance I had of not having a section)
The doctor's and nurse explained that I may not be able to push him out, I'd tried for quite awhile already... The fabulous doctor said he's seen epidurals "relax" the muscles enough that if they can get the baby down to a point where they can get forceps on him, we could give it one more shot...
Well to make an already long story shorter, this is basically what happened, he came back at 9:30am after I had my epidural (which was amazing I felt nothing from here out)- and told me to push hard for an hour and he'd check on me again
I thought he was just trying to appease me, again baby and I were in no distress... but I had another burst of energy, and I pushed as hard as I could for that hour, (one of the nurses went to get the doctor at this point.)
I had a brutal episiotomy, (20+ stiches)....but the doctor got the forcep's on him, and an hour later, with alot of assistance, our son was born... 9lbs 6oz... 22 3/4 inc long (not the biggest baby in the world... but it sure felt like it at the time!)
All in and all I'm thrilled I didn't need a c-section, I had an awful recovery because of the episiotomy. I guess the delivery part wasn't so bad, because I'm doing it again, I'm just terrified the old saying of your second is bigger, is going to be true, because with 50+ hours of labour and 8+hours of pushing, Id rather it was a little quicker this time around, I know its wrong, and we won't do it, but I keep thinking if they induced me a week early, maybe baby #2 would be a bit smaller and it wouldn't be quite so difficult. 
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Re: 8+ hrs of pushing (long story)
I'm curious as to what position was your baby in when he came out? Was he sunny side up? It can be harder to push out a baby who is positioned that way... if that was the case, maybe your second won't be near as much work to get out if he's anterior, even if he is as big.
GL!
Until my epidural, I pushed in every position there was (or at least it felt like that) side, squatting, on all fours, my back. Once I had the epi I stayed on my back.
Nope my little guy was in the anterior position... I'm just praying my body is more prepared for labour this time, I'm by no means a super tiny female, or overly large, I'm about as average as you can get... haha.