Hi ladies!
This may sound absolutely ridiculous... I am a first time mom and somehow throughout my entire life, I have never been around a pregnant woman, touched a belly, held a newborn, any of it. My siblings and I were all adopted and I am the only woman in the family basically. Sounds crazy, I know. Up until now I thought labor was how it is in the movies. You suddenly get contractions then go to the hospital and push a baby out for 10 minutes and barely break a sweat. Obviously it's not like that. I tried to do some research on the topic but all I found were HORROR stories. So long story short, would you ladies mind sharing some labor and delivery stories to give me an idea of what I should expect? I'm one of those women who is horrified of the delivery, its always scared me even when I was a child. Again weird, I know. Thanks!!
Re: Labor and Delivery Stories
Jamie
I can in Monday 16th at 1130pm to be induced,I ended up not getting in a room till about 1245 Tuesday morning.
They got me hooked up to monitors right away and i was already having contractions every 2-3 minutes apart but couldnt feel them. They started me on pitocin,fluids,and penicillin (group b strep positive) around 1:30 to get things roiling. She checked me and I was only dilated to about a 1 1/2. Around 5 o clock my contractions had picked up only in my back, she checked me I was a 3.
Around 6 o clock Tuesday morning I got woken up to my water breaking! By the time my nurse got to my contractions were less than a minute apart and strong. By then I begged for the epidural that hurt like a SOB but soooooo worth it!
Things picked up fast as about 30 minutes after my epidural I was check and at a 6. Things kind of slowed down as my pitocin was cut back due to babies heart beat so I rested.
Now the fun begins! At 1130my doctor came and checked me I was at a 10 and it was pushing time! I pushed for 2 1/2 long painful hours!
Lane Edward was born at exactly 2:00 Tuesday weighing 9lbs 8oz and 21 inches long! Because I am a petite 5'2 I had a major 4th degree tear and lost about 2 quarts of blood. They let me hold Lane although I was in and out of conscieness (spelling?) to do some skin to skin. After about 15 minutes of holding him and them trying to get the bleeding stopped I started Throwning up, so my husband did skin to skin for the next hour! It took them that I whole hour to stitch me up and getting the bleeding to stop by inserting a balloon in my cervix.
I am now having to stay another night In the l&d room due to the balloon, catheter,and blood transfusion I will be receiving in the morning. This is not at all how I thought the birth of my son would be but it is so worth it!
I have been very emotional today as I have to have assistance to hold Lane and attempt to breast feed him, as I am so weak and still getting sick everytime I sit up.
It's funny because that's what DH was expecting going into it and he was like "this isn't like the movies."
I was fortunate to have a very anti-drama L&D. Looking back, I realize that I started getting labor pains on Sunday night but being a FTM I had no idea and just made my labor cake, ate it and went to bed. When I woke up the next morning, I was getting ready for work and just felt off. I told DH I was probably going to go to the doctor because I didn't feel normal but I also didn't think I was in labor (I was 39 weeks and a few days at this point). So I called my doctor's office and they said I could come in that morning to get checked out. I went to the doctor and they hooked me up to do a NST and said hey, you're in labor! You can either go to the hospital now or go do whatever and check in later - whatever you want. So I called DH, told him to get the dogs so we could drop him off at his parents house and meet me at his parents house (we live an hour from where I work/where the hospital is that I delivered at). I went back to work, told them I was in labor and I would see them in 3 months (lol)...went and got my eyebrows waxed (priorities) and grabbed something for lunch. Met DH at his parents and then we ate and decided to go to the hospital to get checked in (130pm). Once they checked me in, they told me to do some laps to get things moving. Around 4ish I asked for the EPI because it was getting really painful and I was about 4cm. Around 8pm they broke my water and things went pretty quickly from there. Having the epi, I basically just hung out, watched tv and tried to rest/sleep. Around 2am they said we could start pushing and DS was born at 3:13 am. No complications with me or DS, it was a dream delivery - I know I was very fortunate! Hoping the next goes just as smoothly.
With my son I was 40w2d and naturally went into labor. They gave me pitocin to help things out because I was progressing really slowly. I was in labor for about 12 hours total, including pushing. I pushed for an hour, then had to stop because I couldn't feel my contractions to push so they had to turn down my epi. Then about 5 pushes later and a threatened episiotomy he was born at 8lb11oz.
With my daughter I went into labor at exactly 37 weeks. I was in labor for maybe 4.5 hours total. The only drama I had there was I didn't have enough time for my epidural to kick in before I felt the urge to push, so she was born without medication, since the dang thing didn't kick in until after she was born. It was a crazy experience, I still laugh about it almost 3 years later.
My 15 month old, well, it all happened so fast. It was midnight when I realized I had some minor cramping but nothing out of the ordinary. I was so nervous I started keeping track until I realized I was contracting every 5 minutes. At that point, I woke up my husband and called my mom to come watch our girls. The whole way to the hospital I was in denial even though I had begun to pass the mucus plug. When we arrived at the ER, got sent to L&D, got examined, the nurse told me my water was bulging and I was in active labor. At 11:15am, we welcomed our third princess. I went pain med free for the third time. No complications whatsoever and no tearing.
I'm also the kind of woman that only pushes twice and pops out that baby. I thought everyone was the same until my aunt delivered her first a few months ago and said she pushed for 3 hours. Yikes! I'm hoping this delivery is quick and drama-free as well, but who knows. And btw, even though I was young and scared, apparently I laughed when I was pushing out our first born. I kept saying it felt like jello... no meds either. I still use the same OB 5 years later and he won't let me live it down. Lol
You'll read all our stories, but in the end your experience will be unique in its own way. There really is no preparing or planning for delivery. You'll think it'll happen one way yet something completely different will happen.
Trust that your body will know what to do when the time comes. Enjoy it! :-)
It was truly amazing but this time around I'm using a midwife because honestly doctors just suck in my opinion. This is my 9 month old and he is the best thing that has every happened to me, totally worth the 24 hours of pain!
I woke up early the morning of January 8th because I lost my mucous plug. Sounds gross and it was. I was leaking all day, but it was not "water breaking." We were housesitting at a friend of ours and I did not expect anything unusual to happen. I went by my midwife's and they also assured me that while I could go into labor, I could also just as easily NOT go into labor for a week or more. I went about the rest of my day, nothing really noteworthy, grocery shopping or some such. I was still two weeks early.
We went home that evening and some light contractions started. I never really felt my Braxton-Hicks contractions, so it was odd to finally feel one and I wasn't sure if they were the real deal. Our doula Wendy came out to see the Airstream for the first time as preparation for the birth which we expected to still be two weeks away. While she was there, we discussed the contractions and agreed that we would know more in the morning -- either they would stop or progress further. And progress further they did. I went out to the couch at around 1:30AM and started watching the clock to figure out how long they were lasting and how far apart. I managed to just go with it until around 3:30AM when I woke up my husband Josiah and told him that they were at the 4-1-1 timing. We called our doula Wendy; she agreed to meet us at Dayspring, our birthing center at around 5AM.
The road to town was a sheet of ice. Not pleasant.
We got to the birth center and into our room and I labored through the contractions with Wendy and Josiah until about 9:30AM when we decided to keep my chiropractic appointment to see if it would help. The drive was nuts; contractions are a nightmare above about 30MPH. The adjustment value was about half-and-half for me. I'm hopeful that it helped her positioning, but I did feel many of the contractions in my back which was crazy painful. We got back to the birth center and labored until about noon, when my doula and the student midwife, Lindsay, decided I was still in the early stages of labor (!) and that I should try to sleep since I had so little sleep the last two nights. This made me cry since the contractions were so painful that I was convinced I was pretty far along, but they assured me that it was actually going to get a lot MORE painful. Reluctantly, I agreed around 1PM, and did end up getting some good rest in between contractions. I had to develop this mantra, though; I told myself over and over that pain was temporary and each contraction got her closer to being here. Somehow it worked.
Sometime between 3 and 4PM, something changed, and I got out of bed and told Josiah to get our team back in there, because the contractions had gotten stronger. About a half an hour later they arrived, and around 5PM we decided to do an exam to see how far dilated I was, which we needed to do before laboring in the birthing tub anyway.
10 centimeters! Go time.
That was bananas. I wasn't expecting to hear that, since I thought I still had transition to go through, but I was elated. They got the tub ready and the warm water felt so good and really helped me with the pain. Lindsay checked baby girl's heartbeat and she had very strong tones throughout. Good job, baby girl! The sticky wicket, however, was that my water WOULD NOT BREAK. Apparently, I make strong bags of water. Who knew? So, a small bubble of it was protruding through the cervix, like a water balloon. I even got to reach up and feel it. They had me try to push through several contractions to try to break it, but nothing happened. Finally, my midwife Inga broke it for me (with her fingernail!), and with the very next contractions I felt the urge to push.
This was just the beginning.
Pushing took forever. I was not particularly efficient at it until Lindsay gave me a pressure point to focus on. This helped immensely. Baby girl kept getting closer and closer to arriving. That was awesome and I really wanted a waterbirth, but the team thought I could get her out with fewer contractions if we let gravity help. So, they brought out the birthing chair. It's like a little stool with a cutout and handlebars. Very cool. A few contractions later and she started crowning. Josiah got to watch the whole thing, which I didn't even realize at the time. Soon, her head was out and in another push, her body followed. Ingrid Palmer Drewien was born at 8:28pm! They quickly brought her up to my chest and we could hear her -- not screaming, but definitely letting us know she had arrived. The team helped me over to the bed and laid her on my stomach. I finally got to see her -- her beautiful face, tiny body, vernix everywhere. It was such a surreal moment -- I couldn't believe she was actually here with us now. So awesome.
I'm not sure if I delivered the placenta first or if Josiah cut the cord first, but soon I had her up at my chest, skin to skin, and just enjoying her first moments with us. It's amazing how modesty didn't even enter my mind at the time. I remember Josiah getting to look at the placenta and Lindsay showing him the "tree of life." We kept the placenta and are planning to plant it with the seedlings that will hopefully become a grove of trees on our land.
After an hour or so, they measured and weighed her -- 21 inches, 7 lbs., 9 oz. on the spring scale. The team made us an awesome breakfast for dinner and then left us alone to enjoy our first night with our baby. She slept very soundly skin-to-skin on both my chest and Josiah's. The team came to check on us in the morning and around mid-day we took our little girl home.
People always told me terrible birth stories and to be ready for pain but honestly, pushing was the easiest part - didn't hurt at all! Obviously, the meds did their job. I also had the best nurse and doc. They were awesome! I'm hoping for a similar experience this time around but realize every pregnancy/birth is different.
We got to the hospital and had to wait for a room. They confirmed my water broke and waited to check to see how far I was until I got the epidural. I finally got that at 3am and I was 6.5 cm dilated. We attempted to get some sleep. Around 5:30 they checked again and I was 9.5cm. So we just waited until I started feeling pressure. I probably started pushing around 9:15 and she was born at 10am.
My second I had my first contraction at 230am and told my husband to have my parents come over. He called them and I went to the bathroom and had a bloody show and called my sister and asked her to meet me at the hospital. My husband told me to go back to bed it would go away.... I think I lost it lol my parents got there quickly and we were at the hospital by 3am. My doctor never made it my second daughter was born at 513am in a dimmed lighting with soft music playing peaceful enviornment.
Wish me luck on my third lol
I had a 3 out of 4 tear and lots of stitches but honestly didn't feel much with the epidural.
It was really defeating because I had planned for a natural birth but I would rather mourn a birth than mourn a child. And honestly, I now believe she wasn't coming out any other way. I am attempting a VBAC this time around!
Good luck, hope it goes smoothly for you!
My water broke at 730pm while I was on the toilet at home. Contractions started shortly after but they were very mild. We went to the hospital and the nurse checked me and said "oh my, you are grossly ruptured". My DH and I still laugh about that... What an awful way to put it!
They admitted me and I took the epi about 10pm. My epi ended up not taking so I still felt every contraction which helped my labor progress faster. After 8 hours of labor, including 1 hour of pushing, my little DD was born at 3:30am.
I'm honestly considering not getting an epi this time around... We'll see how I feel in the moment! PP said it best, your story will likely be different and not to worry because your body will know what to do.
Jamie
My point is, be prepared. Read up on all the things that can happen in delivery. Have a plan going in but realize that things can change quickly and most of the time those things are out of your control. Research midwives and doulas vs. hospital/doctor deliveries. Do your research. Find out what you are most comfortable doing and find a doctor that will help you through the process.
Jamie
They started me on Cervadil that night, contractions started the next morning but weren't progressing, so they started Pitocin. After 26 hours, I was only at a 4, the kid's heart rate was getting erratic and everything else was starting to go badly, so I ended up having a c-section.
About 36 hours later, my liver function returned to normal, and I was up and walking to the bathroom under my own steam at about that same time.
Kid is now 2, active and crazy and super- excited for a sibling.
I first had no clue I was in labor. It was Tuesday afternoon and I just felt kind of off and just crampy (I felt like this a lot at the end). By 4pm I realized that they were contractions but just really infrequent. I went on a walk, took a shower, ate dinner, watched a movie (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire). My husband came home and he took a shower. My contractions were coming but just still not consistent. I then started to think well I will try and rest and my hubby should sleep too. I ended up not being able to sleep, tried to finish the movie...but was pacing back and forth with contractions. Then all of a sudden I was like, "I gotta pee"!!! I waddled to the bathroom and when I was about to sit down I heard a pop and a ton of fluid and other things ran down my legs (yes TMI but after having a baby I'm not shy about the details!)
My water broke at 12am on Wednesday night, and everything went pretty fast at first. My contractions then were 1-2 min apart instantly....I literally went from 0-60 in a minute!! I started shaking and my husband was getting our stuff in the car and putting a trash bag over the seat!! I got to the hospital and could barely walk in...they wished me away in a wheelchair and then I was instantly in the delivery room. The pain was so intense I don't remember a lot.
My midwife checked me and I was 9cm dialated!!! Holy crap I was nervous I wouldn't be able to get the antibiotics (group b strep positive). I also desperately wanted an epidural!!
Well as things have it my labor slowed and I was able to get antibiotics and an epidural! The bad news was that I wasn't effaced enough and my cervix had a lip on it that made it harder for baby. She was also in a face up position which took the pressure off of where I needed it! So I got pitocin to speed things up again!
So now it was Thursday at 10:00am. They told me I could push and I did for 2 hours...well on 3-13-14 at 11:55 I met my DD. She was 9lb 6oz and 22 in long! She was healthy and perfect! I did have tearing (not bad though considering her size). I was terrified of tearing for some reason, but in the end you don't really feel the tear or the stitching up!
My word of advice be up for anything and everything during labor and delivery!
Ahh sorry this was long!!!!