Epi w/ 1st, natural w/ 2nd?

firewiferut · February 2012

Anyone get an epidural with their first baby and opt to go natural with their second? I have been thinking about this a lot lately as we will be getting ready to try for number 2 this summer. I freaking loooved the epidural (which completely surprised me) but still always wonder what it would be like to have a natural birth.

LynsiBHM · February 2012

That's my plan.

I wanted to go natural for #1 but things didn't go as planned. I was induced (10days late) and had a really long, hard labor. After a billion hrs the Dr pretty much made me get an epi because he didn't think I could push the baby out (he said he'd humor me and let me "try") and he said I'd need a CS. Well... I pushed the kid out. I was pretty upset but I think it went as well as it could have. I think I actually needed the epi to rest for a little while and get some energy to push.

Next time, i'll plan to go natural again and be a little more vocal about my plan. Hopefully I won't need to be induced and things will go faster!!

If you loved the epi, just leep your options open and see how it goes.

ETA: I just noticed your ticker. My little guy was the same height and weight!!

Pookie's_Girl · February 2012

I went natural with DS, and I'm planning on keeping that up with the rest.

I won't lie, once hard labor hit, I was in agonizing hell. I took Lamaze classes, but it just didn't do it for me, so I'll have to try and find a different coping mechanism for the next time. There are a lot of women who do great with the Lamaze techniques though. What really helped me was getting into a whirlpool tub. That dulled the pain and helped me relax enough to doze for a bit.

It really only gets bad when it's almost over, but by then you're ready to push, so that's a plus. Pushing was a huge relief from the contractions, and there was no more pain until DS started to crown.

Even though most of it was extremely painful, it was wonderful getting to actually feel my baby come out of my body. For me, it ended up being a great experience, and I'm actually pretty excited to go through it all again. I felt it was definitely worth the pain for that moment. Remember though, that it's different for every woman. And, there are some women out there who swear that giving birth was a breeze. (I'm envious of these women).

If you want more information on going natural, check out the natural birth board here. The women there are really informative and helpful.

janbrady · February 2012

I wanted to go natural with my first, but never really took any of the classes or anything. I ended up with an induction due to low fluids, so the pitocin in combination with back labor (she was sunny side up) made it impossible. I'm sure there are some women who could have done it, but I'm not one of them!

With number two I really wanted to avoid an induction so I could possibly go natural. I was willing to have an epi, but wanted nature to take her course for the most part. I ended up going 9 days past my due date, but the labor was really fast and 'easy'. I ended going from a 6 to a 10 in minutes and there was no time for an epidural. So I ended up with my natural birth anyway! I'm glad it worked out that way. Labor wasn't so bad, but pushing and crowning really hurt. I kind of think my recovery time was worse with number two for some reason.

McAllie5 · February 2012

I had DS with no pain meds, and I could go on and on about how amazing it was. I'm on my Phone, so I'll spare you. Yes, it hurt. It was difficult but tolerable for most of it, and the last 10 minutes before starting to push were agony. BUT once I started pushing, it was like I became this powerful amazon warrior woman. Seriously, it was the best feeling of my life. I highly recommend "Natural Childbirth: The Bradley Method". It is hands down what got me through. That and some classical music that I brought on a whim (SO glad I did!). All that being said, do your research and go with what feels right for you. You may have it all figured out and then get there and feel strongly that you need to go in another direction. Oh, and Lamaze did jack for me. One of the nurses was trying to get me to do the breathing technique and all it did was succeed in pissing me off. :P

MJCF · February 2012

Do what I did...I got an epi...it wore off and I pushed the kid out. Lol. That was totally not the plan but it was nice knowing when to push. I honestly don't think I could go natural. I was dying at 4 cm at 1am and DS was born at 9:31am. It was all back labor and there was no break. I'd love to go natural but don't think I'm that strong.

toadstool · February 2012

I was induced, and started out pain-med free. I read in a Bradley book that a short labor is a very hard working labor. My labor was 5 hours from start to finish. I went 3 hours without the epi. It was intense. We didn't even do any coping exercises because I didn't want to move, didn't want to be touched, hardly even spoke for the first half of labor. The pain was just overwhelming for me. I don't think I could have finished out on my own, but plenty of women do. I will try med free again, hopefully also avoiding an induction. That induction kicked my butt.

memali26 · February 2012

I had no plans either way with my first, but was induced and ended up with the epi after 31 hours of labor stalling at 4 cm, plus horrible back labor. They did turn it off when I hit about 9 cm, so I felt enough to push, but the pain was dulled. I only pushed 20 minutes.

With my second, I again went in with no plans, but leaning towards an epi since it was another induction. After 13 hours of hard and fast back labor, I got the epi and took a nap. After I woke up from my nap the epi failed (only my right leg, from mid-thigh down, was numb) and I labored without meds for the last 4 hours. I honestly don't remember much of those 4 hours - DH said I just kind of checked out on everyone. He kept making sure I was breathing, but I wasn't really present mentally. I do remember about 10 minutes before I was ready to push this weird calm feeling came over me and I was actually holding a conversation with the doctor and nurse. I felt more aware and in control of pushing than I did with my first delivery, and only had to push for 5 minutes.

naturelle25 · February 2012

yes, I did. It wasnt intended but my labor was so incredibly quick with #2 that it didnt have time to kick in. I regret I didnt get it earlier bc my first labor was a much happier experience, lol:)

zoe_cat · February 2012

I had an epi with my first and went natural with my second. The good thing about going natural with your second is the labor tends to go more quickly than the first time! I labored at home until my contractions were 4 minutes apart, went to the hospital, was 9 cm, and delivered DD about 40 minutes after we arrived. It was crazy painful but I'm so glad I did it. If we were to have another child (which we won't, we're done with two) I would definitely do it natural again.

Sharon21 · February 2012

I went pain med-free with both of my children but wanted to let you know that there are a lot of women on the natural birth board that had epis with their first and are planning (or had) a med-free birth with their second.

I think it is great that you are looking into all your options. While I am all for having the birth experience you want (meaning if you want the epi get the epi) I believe every women is capable of having a med-free birth and should be knowledgeable of all their options.

I didn't use any specific technique but I would recommend looking into one. I hear great things about the Bradley Method and Hypnobirthing. Also a very important aspect of having a med-free delivery is surrounding yourself with supportive people. If you want to go med-free and your doctor isn't supportive it will be much harder. I found the hot tub to be the best thing for pain management. Also, there is a link in my siggy to the FAQ for the Natural Birth Board.

firewiferut · February 2012

You ladies are always so helpful! I went into labor keeping my options open the first time and was very surprised at how quickly I wanted the epi and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I have a few more questions...

Some of you said you wanted to feel your baby come out. I totally felt P come out! I also felt the strong urges to push. I actually told my nurse I thought my azz was going to explode. But I didn't feel much pain down there. Do most women with epi's not feel all that?

ETA: I also had a third degree tear, woopee! I did feel the placenta deliver as well as the doc stitching everything up down there.

Sharon21 · February 2012

firewiferut:
You ladies are always so helpful! I went into labor keeping my options open the first time and was very surprised at how quickly I wanted the epi and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I have a few more questions...

Some of you said you wanted to feel your baby come out. I totally felt P come out! I also felt the strong urges to push. I actually told my nurse I thought my azz was going to explode. But I didn't feel much pain down there. Do most women with epi's not feel all that?

ETA: I also had a third degree tear, woopee! I did feel the placenta deliver as well as the doc stitching everything up down there.

It really depends on your epi. Some work great (like it sounds like yours did), some work too well, and some barely work at all or wear off. I think it really depends on the anesthesiologist administering it and the amount of medicine you receive. They do have "walking epis" that are suppose to be like you described but a lot of women still end up either completely numb or not numb at all. That was part of why I choose to go med-free, I didn't want to have a failed epi AND be stuck in bed. At least by choosing to go med-free I was able to move around, get in the hot tub, and do other things to help ease the pain. For me lying in bed made it much more painful and even if an epi fails you are stuck in bed for monitoring if you got one.

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