2nd Trimester
veggie0420
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question for moms with 1 or more
veggie0420
member
how long after you went into labor did you get your epidural. im totally panicked about how long i will be having painful contractions before getting some relief!
TTC since 9-5-09 BFP #1 7-19-10 missed m/c 9-3-10
BFP #2 1-12-11 stick baby! BFP #3 9-13-14. First u/s 10-10-14 TWINS!!
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Re: question for moms with 1 or more
For my first, I was induced. I was technically in active labor for 10 hours, probably only had my epidural for a few hours.
For my second, I went on my own. My contractions were 5 minutes apart when we went to the hospital (after having them ALL day) and by the time we got to the hospital, they gave me the epidural but it didn't kick in because I had my son too fast.
It all depends on your labor. I have a high pain tolerance though...
every woman is different though.. i can tolerate pain fairly well. but some women can't. and every women progresses differently
keep an open mind and take each contraction at a time. the contractions cause pain, but it's just one step closer to meeting your precious little one!!
GL~
Checked into hospital around 5pm with contractions 10 minutes apart-totally manageable and not painful yet.
Got the epi at 9pm-was offered earlier but wasn't in pain yet.
Don't wait though bc you never know if they will get tied up and can't get back to you right when you need it.
I had to wait about 30 minutes while having very painful contractions! Seemed like forever! LOL!
With my first my water broke around 7pm and when I was barely contracting at 7am they gave me pitocin and maybe two hours later I got an epidural but that was prior to me really feeling anything painful.
Totally different story with my second. I woke up with contractions which weren't painful but about an hour later I threw up and the next contraction was some of the worst pain I've ever felt. I also felt as though the baby was coming right then. We rushed to the hospital and I had my daughter 7 minutes after arriving. There was no time to get an epidural.
For me, the contractions before transition aren't really painful, just like annoying cramps so hopefully it will be like that for you as well.
Kelly, Mom to Christopher Shannon 9.27.06, Catherine Quinn 2.24.09, Trey Barton lost on 12.28.09, Therese Barton lost on 6.10.10, Joseph Sullivan 7.23.11, and our latest, Victoria Maren 11.15.12
Secondary infertility success with IVF, then two losses, one at 14 weeks and one at 10 weeks, then success with IUI and then just pure, crazy luck. Expecting our fifth in May as the result of a FET.
This Cluttered Life
I guess my contractions started about 1 or 2am and I had an epidural about 4pm that day. However, it was not at all like awful, painful contractions that whole time. It started slow and from about 1am to 1pm I was just hanging out at home with what felt like very strong cramping every 10 minutes or so.
Once I started walking around, the contractions got much faster and within an hour or so I had reached the 4-5 minute mark. We headed to the hospital and by that point I was getting pretty uncomfortable. By the time I was checked, I was 5cm and they brought me in for an epidural.
So all in all, I would say I was very uncomfortable for about 2-3 hours. But it was nothing at all like you see on TV. I wasn't screaming or anything, just couldn't talk through contractions by the end.
DD february 2010 | DS october 2011
*please excuse my typos, bumping from my iphone*
With my first dc, I didn't get it until I was dialated to a 10 and the transition pains were horrible! I have a high pain tolernace too, but I was on pitocin and it is awful...things at that hospital were just screwed up and then when they finally said I could have it, 7 other women requested it as well. So they gave it to me at a 10 and let me rest a while before pushing..
The second time I didn't have much pitocin and it was much more manageable. They gave me an epi when I was dialated to about a 4 or so, but then I dialated very quickly and I could feel all the transition contractions again and the pushing pain. They didn't have time to give me a new one-I went from a 4 to a 10 very quickly..pushing was only 10 minutes but very painful.
My suggestion would be to ask for it as soon as possible. If they ask what your pain is on a scale from one to 10 always tell them a little higher than what it is...
4 days for DD
I am the exception LOL
With DS my epidural never worked. I'd STRONGLY recommend taking some classes on what to do if that is the case for you. It turns out the pain is not that bad except right at transition, but at the time I was panicking and that made it worse that it was, if that makes sense. It was over before I knew it, I went from 5 cm to 10 cm and delivered in about 30 minutes...also not the norm
From my first intense, timable contractions until the epi...about 9 hours of strong, I-can't-talk-to-you-right-now contractions.
Contractions started at 9 am, I checked into the hospital at 4 pm, got the epi at 6 pm. Upon checking in at the hospital, I was dilating about a centimeter an hour (4 cm at 4 pm, 6 cm at 6 pm) and the epi didn't effect that.
We're naming our baby Lucas too!
I was induced with DS. I had strong menstrual-like cramps (painful but bearable) at the beginning but basically had the epidural as soon as they would give it to me.
The only thing I would caution is that towards the end of my labor they wouldn't replenish the meds (I've heard because they want you to feel the pushing) and the last hour or so I had pretty extreme contractions.
It depends on you pain tolerance. With my first, I went to 6cm I think and I couldn't take it anymore. Buy that point I was in labor for over 20 hours.
My second, I think I was in labor for about 10 hours or so. But then all my labor, for both, was in my lower back/tailbone and it was INTENSE!
For this one, I'm just gonna see how long I can go before I need it.
I recieved mine about 12 hours in when I was 8.5 cm dialated. It really is individual, this is something you do have some control over.
It all depends on how you feel.
I went with IV drugs first to see if I could hold out but with my induction, but it brought labor on strong and the 2nd round of iv drugs did not do anything. I waited 7 hours before I got the epi and ended up delivering 3 hours later. Mind you I slept 2 1/2 of those 3 hours lol.
A lot of it will be up to you, I was in labor for about 24 hours, but wasnt really progressing much, and I didnt feel that i had needed it at that point, but where I had dialated to a 4 they would have let me have one if I needed it. Unfortunately the baby started to show signs of stress with each contraction, so I had to have an emergency C section, so I got a spinal then, but if they know what your pain med preference is they will try to keep you as comfortable as they can.
Plus I know it sounds crazy cause I am such a baby about pain and my plan was to be fully medicated as early as possible, but when you are there, getting the baby out is really the most important thing, I never thought I would have been the lady that was like, nope I dont need it yet... but I was. (I was also way more afraid of it wearing off at the end when it got bad though too)
Baby #1: Induced labor at 11am. Got the epidural around 8:30pm after I couldn't take it anymore.
Baby #2: Induced labor at 10am. Got the epidural around 12pm when I decided "yeah, I've felt enough".
You'll know when you need it, and your doctor and the nurses will be able to advise you on the best time to get it based on your progress.