Positive induction Birth Story

First off, I was due on July 28th, 2012... That day came and went, and I was incredibly tired and frustrated and heavy and done being pregnant.  I loved the pregnancy until that point, I felt like a rockstar... random people smile at you and go out of their way to be nice and help with groceries.   Well, come August 6th, this little bug was still warm and cozy and snug in my womb.  I went to my OB and she and I decided that for safety's sake (I had GD) that it would be best to come in to the hospital that night, have a nurse place the cervidil, then come back the next morning at 5 am for the pitocin.  My hospital makes you wait 4 hours to make sure that the cervidil is dissolved and that your cervix is ripening.   Well, that first pill fell out when I got up to use the restroom, and they had to place another.  At that point, the on call Dr. decided that it would be best to just stay the night, and they would be able to admit me so that they could just induce first thing in the morning. Fine, no problem. 

Four hours later, the Dr comes in to check my cervix, says that it is very ripe, and that I am 1cm dilated.  OK, sounds good... She then tells me that she will break my water, and then start me on Pitocin. Being a first time mom, I am all for whatever the Dr. suggests.  So she breaks my water, and I figure that I am going to have a little while before the contractions intensify, since, hey, I had watched "A baby Story" on TLC, and felt like I had a handle on how this worked.  Wrong.   The moment she broke my water, my body and my baby decided it was "Go Time" and I started getting contractions that were so incredibly intense, that I could not speak or walk through them (I wish that they had told me this could happen before I had decided to get up to go pee right after they ruptured my membranes...)

Doctors and other women will not use the word pain when it comes to active labor contractions, they use the word "intense".  Well, sorry, but they are painful. I have actually never been in that much pain in my life. I was in so much pain that my poor husband thought that I was possessed, and they allowed me to get an epidural without even checking my progress.  While I was waiting for the anesthesiologist, however, the nurses kept coming in and telling me that they were going to make me a little more uncomfortable and give me the pitocin.. the bag of synthetic hormones was in my room, on my table... and yet, I couldnt understand what they were saying... more uncomfortable? How is that even possible? I already felt like my uterus was trying to flip itself inside out and take the rest of my organs with it! 

Fast forward 90 minutes... the anesthesiologist finally shows up and places my epi in about 5 minutes... I have never loved a random stranger so much in all my life.  Finally, I get checked to see how my progress was going, and lo and behold, I was at a 4!  I guess all that writhing around on my bed was actually worth something, at least I wasnt still back at 1, I think that I would have cried if that had been the case.  Once the epi kicked in, I was a whole different woman... I was pleasant to be around, I was funny, I was able to relax.  That was the best part.  I could feel the contractions still, but they didnt feel so agonizing that I couldnt relax through them.  Each time the nurse checked me, I was progressing... things were getting exciting!  Finally, around 5:40 pm on August 7th, I was fully dilated, and I could push.  I had actually expected the pushing stage to last a while, since this was my first baby. 

Apparently, I am a good pusher, because at 6:19pm, Lily Rose was born... all 8 lbs of her! No pitocin needed, and with minimal tearing.   I am truly blessed to have had such a positive experience.