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for those who have experienced labor - longish and rambly

MrsJordanalmondMrsJordanalmond member
in Pregnant after 35

TIA for reading ... my first son was breech and would not budge no matter what we did, so he was a schedule c/s at 39weeks.  i never experienced a contraction or labor.  this time i am hoping for a vbac.  i am not committed to a drug free birth, but i would like to see how long i can go.  i've hired a doula and plan to labor at home for a while before heading to the hospital (everything i've heard and read says that the longer you labor at home the less likely you are to have 'interventions'.)  

the rub, my almost 4 year old is very sensitive to my discomfort.  if i even make a little noise when getting up he asks me what's wrong, can he help, and not to worry.  so i'm a little nervous about laboring at home with him around.  but, my options for getting him out of the house are pretty limited and do not make me totally comfortable.  

ideally, labor starts at night, when my son is sleeping, it seems easy enough to keep my discomfort from him ... then the sitter and/or my mother can come over in the AM and stay with my son while dh and i can head out to the hospital.

but, what if labor starts at, like 8am ... is it possible for me to labor around my son without upsetting him too much???

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Re: for those who have experienced labor - longish and rambly

  • Haribo1Haribo1
    For me, I would have been able to"hide" my discomfort during early labor, especially since the contractions were not too close together in the beginning.  I may have had to stop what I was doing for a bit, and I was certainly aware that there was a contraction, but I could smile and continue conversations.  When it was time to go to the hospital (4 minutes apart, lasting a minute), the contractions were definitely much more uncomfortable but still manageable.  However, when they broke my waters in the hospital, I did not last long before asking for an epidural.  Absolutely no way I would have been able to hide the pain with those.  HTH!
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  • MrsJordanalmondMrsJordanalmond member

    that totally helps ... thanks.

    how are you and baby doing??? 

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  • greengirl0909greengirl0909 member

    The worst part for me about labor was that it did start at night.  By 6 am, I had been up 24 hours and I was exhausted, I just wanted to rest. That made me pretty miserable, because I'd barely get relaxed, then another one would hit.  I wasn't screaming or moaning or anything, I would squinch my face up when a contraction hit.

    Maybe prepare your kiddo ahead of time to be your "helper." Talk about the things you do for him when he is sick. Maybe he could "read" you a story or get you a drink or get you a fresh wash cloth or something? Fetch momma warmer socks or be sure x, y, and z are in the baby's room? I'd brainstorm a bunch of little "jobs" you could keep him busy with. In between contractions, you'll definitely be able to praise him up for the help he's providing.  Let him know that you hurting is going to be a normal part of the baby coming so he's not surprised. 

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  • SaintCitySaintCity

    My daughter is just like your son!  If I cough, she runs over..."Mama..are you ok???"  That being said, I would honestly have to prepare her for labor, much the way PP suggested.  She would need to be on board that mommy is ok, this is normal and that she will have to be my helper.  I think she would be ok with that as long as she knew this was normal and that i was ok.

    As for as laboring at home for as long as possible and trying for a med-free birth, have you seen Ricki Lake's "Business of Being Born"?  That may inspire you if you havent already seen it. 

    Also was it hard to find a place to VBAC?  One of my girlfriends had a c/s with her first and wanted desperately to do a VBAC, but she couldnt find anyone willing to do it.  She's in NJ and was willing to deliver in NYC.

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  • nmeirosenmeirose

    Are you using any sort of program for labor?  I used hypnobirthing and it was really really great- you can go to classes or just buy the book and CD.  It worked very well for me so I really would have had no problem hiding the pain when I was at home.  You are not in a trance or anything- you can respond to questions etc.  I began labor at around supper time, we watched a movie and then I went to sleep until about 3 am, then it was time to go to the hosp.  All this time I never had to moan or anything.  I was about 8 cm dilated when I got to the hosp.

    At the hosp was a different story- they gave me pitocin for pushing (!! never again !!) and at that point the pain was incredible and nothing would have helped.  But before that it was def managable, and I attribute that to the hypnobirthing. 

    Hope this helps!

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  • emberlee3emberlee3 member
    My labor started at 2 am.  The contractions were too strong to sleep through, but I didn't really feel that uncomfortable.  I watched TV, took a walk when the sun came up, ate breakfast.  At about 8 a.m., my contractions got much stronger, where I couldn't stand or talk during one.  That's when I went to the hospital.  Before that, it was totally manageable.  But there's no way to know how things will go.  Every woman and every labor is different.  My mom threw a birthday party for my sister and me when she was in labor.
    DS born 8/8/09 and DD born 6/12/12.
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