Update to Sunday AM induction, birth story

Long story short, I didn't make it pain med-free, but induction was successful/ didn't have to section. My 8lb 13oz baby Reyna was born vaginally Monday morning.. Birth story below, thought it might be helpful for others.

As I  mentioned in other posts at times on 3rd trimester and other boards, my doctor strongly preferred not to go beyond 41 weeks with my pregnancy. My EDD came and went (6/18) with no signs of even early labor. NST and ultrasound on 6/21 were both uneventful, little or no contractions during NST. I knew induction was going to make it more difficult to avoid pain meds, so was walking like crazy and doing everything I could to naturally induce labor. No luck. 

I agreed to go in for induction Sunday. Checked in and pitocin started by 9am, was only 1.5cm and 80% effaced when they started. Made it to 5:30pm approx when water broke. Contractions got much worse at that point (pit had been slowly upped during day, at this point I was having contractions every 4-5 mins). 

 During all this time I'd been getting up, pacing my room, bouncing on exercise ball, and rocking. Didn't get to walk the hallway or do squats/lunges/etc like I'd wanted since the pit meant they needed constant bp and fetal monitoring and IV was a pain to drag around, even just to pace the room.  It wasn't fun, but I thought I could keep going without pain meds. Another 2.5 hrs and I was not doing well. Weaker contractions than before per the monitor, but with water broken they really were hurting. I also started throwing up and shivering uncontrollably with each contraction. The stomach cramping with each heave was the worst, making contractions more painful.

 I was pretty incoherent from it all, and told DH I needed the epi. He checked to make sure I really wanted it, since he knew what I'd hoped for. Nurses also were supportive, asking if I was really sure. So nobody pressured me, but I needed a break, since I was only 4.5cm and 90% effaced.

Funny, I  stopped shivering and throwing up once the epi took effect. I was out like a light. Dozed till 11:30, when they checked and found me to be 9cm and 100%. Started pushing at 1, and they turned off epi drip to help my pushing. It had completely worn off by 2:30, pushed another 30 mins or so before it was over. Looks like nausea and shivering for me were tied to the pain, because they both came back as epi wore off, making the end more challenging. At least each time I threw up it was like a free push according to the doctor, helping delivery to progress. 

It wasn't the delivery plan I'd visualized, but in the end I have my baby and she's doing great. I'll try posting pics at some point, but right now I'm just trying to survive the no sleep post partum period...