Birth Stories?

SarahF8611 · August 2016

Would anyone be interested in STMs sharing their birth stories?? I LOVE reading birth stories and it may help FTMs see all the ranges of how births can go!

LinziLoo09 · August 2016

I've already posted this on the Everything thread, but here's my not-great birth story: Water broke at 12:30am and contractions started immediately. They were 3-5 minutes apart from the first contraction. I also had back labor, so it was wrap-around pain. It was too painful and frequent to go back to sleep, so I tried numerous positions like in the birthing class. Eventually I took a shower because I knew it might be a while once I got to the hospital.

I needed a penicillin IV for strep B, so we went in to L&D at 4am. I was only dilated 5cm, but they decided to keep me since the IV needed 4 hours prior to birth. Dilation stalled at 6cm for a LONG while, and I had to labor on my side because one side of the cervix was more dilated than the other. At 12.5 hours in non-medicated, I started vomiting bile during contractions (which were still 3-5 minutes apart). That was when I decided to get an epidural. The epi was magical, and I finally was able to sleep for 2 hours. My midwife brought me a sandwich to eat. The epi did slow down the contractions, so they eventually gave me pitocin to get them going again. After 8 hours with the epi, it ran out of juice (I wasn't even pushing the button...at all!). My midwife said they didn't want to give me another because they wanted me to push with my contractions.

At that point I was fully dilated, so they had me start pushing. The pushing helped a lot with the pain, but the baby wasn't far enough down. They wanted me to labor down for a while, but I couldn't deal with the pain. So I got permission just to keep pushing. That lasted 3 hours until DD finally came. By that point I could feel everything, and as she was crowning, I remember yelling "I can't do this, let's just do a c-section". Which for some reason they refused haha. DD was thrown onto my chest immediately, which surprised me because I had forgotten all about the baby in this whole labor debacle.

Unfortunately after my birth, my placenta did not come on its own (I had a partial placental abruption at 34 weeks, and the scar tissue led to retained placenta). So my midwife had to reach elbow deep into me to scrape it out manually. It was really terribly bad. I also needed a few stitches for tearing.

I passed out within 30 minutes of the whole thing after 22.5 hours of able (was able to hold DD for a tiny bit at least) and woke up four hours later. Fortunately my postpartum recovery was pretty quick and mild. And I'm pretty sure that experiences like mine are more rare. Mine was not a textbook labor with stages in the least. Hope I didn't scare anyone. If it makes you feel better, despite all that I'm here having another kid, prepared for a vaginal delivery.

Gizmo1231 · August 2016

This thread unfortunately brought up a lot of mixed emotions for me.... What I would share is that things can go really wrong really fast and at the end of the day- a healthy baby is the prize, not following any special birth plan or having the delivery you dreamed of.

I need to take the time one day to write out DS1's birth story but it is still too painful right now. Maybe when he's 20

LinziLoo09 · August 2016

@Gizmo1231 my whole coping strategy from my birth has been to overshare <as evidenced by the book I just published above>. I also provided graphic information to all of my friends and family. Somehow the retelling of it has made it more manageable for me. But it certainly can be worse than mine, and I understand not being able to deal with it. <hugs>

Kbchavez23 · August 2016

With LO1, I labored for 12 hrs, pushed for 3. Had an epidural but needed an episiotomy which required quite a few stitches. She was 8lbs 14ozs.

LO2, I was induced. Everything went so fast! I had a nurse who was training (which I'll never let happen again) & she didn't check how far I was dilated before I got the epidural. I ended up having the baby about 20 mins after that. My husband almost missed it! I also had to get an episiotomy & this baby was only 6 lbs 14ozs.

Let me tell you, for me the recovery has been much worse. My tailbone was fractured during labor with LO2, that was in June of 2015 and it still hurts on a daily basis. My dr said to prepare for it to fracture again this time. Yay.

princesslockness · August 2016

This will be long and was definitely not ideal. I hope this story doesn't scare anyone, but shows how things can go south quickly but you can still be ok with the outcome.
I still love this story, because its how I got the most important boy in my life.

I woke up at 1 am with the headache that wouldn't go away. Tylenol + hot shower + dark&quiet room didn't cut it. So of to L&D I went, leaving H at home to take care of the pups and sleep in.
I was admitted at 5am, had 2 nurses struggle to place my IV - 45 minutes + multiple sticks + light thingy = 1 badly placed but there IV. At 6am I was hooked up to the pitocin as my BP was 160ish/110ish and I finially had protein in my urine (That happened about 3 weeks after BP went high and stayed and I had rapid swelling and weight gain). My doc showed up at about 7:30 and checked me. 4cm and 90% so he made plans to break my water on his lunch break, and I was to have my pit doubled as fast as they were allowed to.

H shows up around 8:30 and chills with me until around 10:15 when he got the call to go to work (worked for a staffing agency so no set hours). The nurses said we wouldn't have a baby until after dinner time, so I sent him off.

At around noon OB broke my water, put on internal monitors on both L and I - the others couldn't pick up contractions or his HB - I was at a 6 and still 90%. At 2:30 they asked if I wanted an epi as the guy would be in surgery until after 6pm, and this was my chance to get it before then. I got it, but had is set really low as I wasn't feeling contractions.

***** This is the part that really pisses me off, and I am still considering taking the nurse to court*******

At 3:15ish I started to feel the need to push. I paged my nurse, she laughed and said 'its just the baby dropping down. You will be fine, you can't possibly have progressed enough and I won't check you until your doc is almost here.' (normally I have a pretty obvious spine, but I figured she had BTDT enough to know so I dropped it.) After 2 hours of this uncomfortable pressure/urge to poop and bothering her that it wasn't going away and changing positions did nothing, she finally checked me. As she pulled out her hand, her glove had green on it. I realized that if L didn't get here in 20min that we would have a section. the nurse had her trainee also check. The trainee made a face and squeaked out 'Thats not a head!'. So I started calling H to get him there, but his phone had died and neither I nor the staffing agency could get ahold of him. I call my mom and MIL to let them all know whats up, and that they can come meet L in the morning.

My OB gets there, checks me and calls an OB surgeon. They both talk to me about whats up, why its happening and try to make me feel better about it. We get into the OR at 6:12 pm, I am transferred beds and hooked up to the new spinal instead of epi. Only the spinal didn't get put in correctly so I started to feel it all as soon as they finished scrubbing my stomach. I felt everything because they had to keep moving to get L out as quick as possible.
L's butt came out at 6:31, his head at 6:39 (apparently my ute locked down and wouldn't let him leave). I was now shaking (its a normal reaction to the drugs and cold OR). As they were cleaning me out/stitching me up, and making sure L hadn't aspirated anything and was OK, I was given a shot of something wonderful through my IV.

I passed out, and the anesthesiologist later told me, woke myself up because I snored after about 30 seconds. L was taken to another room to finish his evaluations and I was taken to recovery. After my 30-45 minutes there, I was wheeled into my PP room. H was there and was Face timing everyone with L. Yes, my MIL got screenshots of L before I ever got to hold him (one reason I dislike her). H had gotten off work at 6, ran home to take care of the dogs + shower. He showed up in L&D just as L was being taken to my room.

We were able to EBF for about 4 months before I lost my supply because of prep changes.
I was fine during recovery. L and I went to pre-student work days at 10 days PP, and L hasn't quit moving and flirting since.

mrsmerc2015 · August 2016

I second what @Gizmo1231 said - a healthy baby is the goal. Don't get to attached to your birth plan/fantasy of what it will be like.

This is definitely an honest account of how things can go- it isn't always a dreamy baby-story...I don't want to scare anyone, but this is how my first L&D experience went:

I took a Bradley class. Read the Dr. Sears books. I wanted a natural, med-free birth and ended up having quite the opposite. High level:

Water broke after a full work day at 36w5d. I hadn't packed a bag yet (I'd planned that for the following weekend), and was completely caught off guard. No other signs of labor up until that point, except I'd felt like complete garbage at work all day. Got home, stood up from the couch around 7:30 and felt the gush. Picture (or don't, really) my exH and I sniffing my pants to see if it is pee or amniotic fluid.

Called the OB's office and they instructed me to head to L&D since I was technically pre-term and my water had broken. *Prior to my water breaking I had no idea that once your water breaks you leak. And leak. And leak. Until well after the baby is born. Fair warning

*

Got to the hospital, I hadn't even pre-registered so had to do that while gushing every time I moved. It was as torturous as it sounds. The lady there kept trying to get me to sit down, but I couldn't because contractions had started and I was terrified of leaking all over her chair.

Labor progressed quickly until about 4 am. I walked around a lot. Took a shower. Walked more. L&D nurses told me to rest because I'd need to push soon so I got in bed (something I'll always regret) and labor completely stalled after that.

Around 9am my OB came in (I belonged to a large practice with multiple offices and a lot of doctors), and started me on pitocin, because I'd completely stalled out at 4cm. Shortly after that the contractions got incredibly uncomfortable (and unnatural feeling), so I said "F it" and had them give me the epidural. In the end, I'm glad I did because it made what happened later a little easier...

The pitocin moved the dialation along, and I started pushing around noon. Pushed for 3 hours with no progress. The doctor eventually realized that little guy was turned "sunny side up" and pushing with the wrong part of his head. At that point, my options were to have the OB use the vacuum to get him out (which could have resulted in brain damage) or a c-section (where I had the potential to bleed out). In the end, we opted for the c-section because that seemed more manageable somehow? I don't remember a ton of that decision making timeline other than crying a lot because I was beyond exhausted and had been up for over 24 hours at this point, not to mention pushing is exhausting.

I had a fantastic anesthesiologist who talked me through the entire c-section. It was fairly uneventful, other than after my OB had sewn me up (which was tough because I'd pushed so long. My OB said my uterus was like "hamburger meat." That was slightly scarring) and they couldn't find an instrument during the count...they found it quickly after and it wasn't in me, thankfully!

Little guy was born a little after 4pm. He was 7lb 1oz but still deemed a preemie, which I find fastinating because he was fully formed/good sized and born 8 hours shy of being "term."

I, too, hope I haven't totally terrified anyone. I am opting for a scheduled c-section this time, but our hospital does the family-centered c-sections where there is no barrier and I can hold Bodhi and breastfeed right away. My first experience was nothing like I'd wanted, so I'm hoping that this approach gets me closer to a positive birth experience.

DiFazette · August 2016

@Gizmo1231 hugs. I get it. There are details I share publicly and things I'm still not ready to discuss.

I had had a super high risk, life threatening delivery situation. I don't want to be an alarmist or cause any concern so unless anyone is specifically compelled with the deets I will refrain from scaring the shit out of everyone.

Here's what I will say. Labor/delivery is a means to an end. You will (God willing) get a healthy, beautiful pink squishy baby at the end of it all. You will love that child more than you ever knew was humanly possible. You will count the minutes until nap time and them miss them when they're asleep right next to you. You will leave your heart with them anytime you have to be apart. You will celebrate the most mundane shit, because you've never known love like this and you are so proud of every single thing you will be moved to tears.

Get caught up in the love, your growing family, the beauty of life - don't get caught up in the birth. Labor/delivery is a means to an end. It is such small potatoes compared to every moment following that baby being placed in your arms.

mimi603107 · August 2016

I started having contractions with my first son at about 8pm on a Friday night. Contractions were far apart and we didn't know if it was the real thing so we watched a movie at home while I timed them. After the movie they were still too far apart to even consider going into the hospital so we decided to get some sleep. Well I couldn't sleep through them so I layed on the couch while timing and DH was asleep in our room. Eventually around 4 am I woke up DH because my contractions were coming quicker and lasting longer (can't remember the timing after almost 8 years) so we decided to call the on call doctor at my office. She said to wait an hour and if they continued, to come into the hospital. So we basically just took out time and got ready...took showers, etc for that hour and left for the hospital around 5am. We got to the hospital about 6am and they checked me...I was only 2 centimeters dilated! I remember being so surprised because I thought I'd be farther along then that lol. So they decided to monitor me for an hour and determine after that if they'd admit me. After an hour, 7am, they checked me and I was 7 centimeters so they admitted me, broke my water and I got an epidural. Labored until about 10 am when they checked and I was fully dilated. They told me to start pushing so I did and they told DH that I wasn't pushing even though I was and that I'd have to have a c section if I didn't push because our sons heart rate was dropping. So I remember DH saying to me "I know you're trying really hard but you have to try alittle harder so you don't have to have a c section" so I started pushing again and they doctors realized that I actually was pushing lol. Then they realized that our son was sunny side up and that was why it was difficult for him to come out. They ended up having to use forceps and giving me an episiotomy, in their words "I was cut from one end to the other"....the recovery was horrible. I pushed probably a total of 5-6 times and he came out and was born at 10:28am.
My labor and delivery with my second son was a lot different and easier in my opinion and the recovery was a breeze compared to my first. Really showed me that it doesn't matter what you went through the first, second etc times because every time is different and can be night and day.

@linziloo09 your comment about forgetting about the baby during your labor, made me laugh because I felt the same way. During my labor I was so concentrated on getting through the contractions that I basically forgot that I'd have a baby at the end of it.

SarahF8611 · August 2016

I suppose I'll do mine! Seems like mine will be slightly more on the "hopeful" side.

I woke up around 3am and started having contractions. Before then, I had gone into the hospital 4 times for "false labor". I'm not an alarmist, each time I was having contractions 5 minutes apart for 1-2 hours, each time confirmed after being monitored. My OB has said that this happens to 5% of women and it's just the way it is. I still had to go each time to be checked out (to my dismay), but contractions always went away after a few hours in L&D and I was always sent home. SO, I didn't know if I should go in or not. Finally, around 8am, my husband INSISTED he take me in (he's a real rule follower) but I thought it was just another false alarm (I was still ten days out).

When we got to L&D, I said hello to all my peeps (we were besties by this point) and jumped up to checked and monitored. I texted work to say I'd be late. When they checked me I was 3 cms dilated, which made me think MAYBE today was the day. I was still having contractions every five minutes but couldn't be admitted because I wasn't 4 cms. The nurse suggested I walk around outside the hospital for an hour to see if I could get myself more dilated. I came back to be checked but I hadn't dilated anymore. I was annoyed but whatever, they went to go get my paperwork to send me home and while they were gone my water broke (just tinkle)!! Score. They checked with a little strip, and sure enough, it was my water and I was admitted.

I got checked into my room, hooked up to the monitors and asked for my epidural, please (which they didn't give me until later)! The baby's heart rate seemed to drop a little every time I had a contraction so they broke the rest of my water so they could get an internal monitor on him. With that better monitor, he it was clear he was doing fine). From there, everything progressed normally. I dilated slowly (over the whole day) and eventually it was time to push. I pushed for about 15 minutes and then he was out. I gave myself pretty bad tears (level 2). The absolute worst part of labor for me was being stitched up afterwards while the epidural was wearing off. I had my baby on my chest and kept peeking down there while my Doc was saying "Don't worry about down here, look at your baby!". We nurse right away and all was good.

As for the next couple days...I was NO way prepared with how much recovery *I* would need. The pain and bleeding "downstairs" along with trouble walking and general crappy feeling I was no way prepared for.

Lastly, I'll say that 99.9% of the time, the labor you get is luck of the draw. I went in with zero plan (except knowing I wanted an epidural) and was glad I did. I know that I had a relatively "easy" time with my labor but I 100% believe it's nothing I did, just simply luck.

jennbaylor12 · August 2016

Hugs to all of you with difficult labors/deliveries/recoveries!! I will echo @DiFazette and say, remember the end game. Labor is, give or take, a day. Your child is Forever.

I went to full-term and was induced. I checked in at 7p, methods for induction were started at 9p and I labored all night. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, and I didn't sleep at all but definitely manageable. My intention was to have a non-medicated labor and delivery and I was on track. Around 6a my OB popped in, said hi, informed that he was on the way to do a c-section for another patient and that he would come back after to check my progress. Around 9am I sent my husband downstairs to get himself breakfast, I was NPO due to being in labor, and my Dr came in while he was out of the room. We were laughing and joking, I was informed from observation that I was around 5cms and then he gloved up to do the exam. Things changed pretty quickly as upon his exam he discovered that my son had turned breach in the prior 24 to 48hrs and I was going to have to go straight into an emergency c-section since I was progressing and there was no way I could deliver. My husband strolled back in eating a breakfast taco and found me crying and signing paperwork authorizing a spinal and being prepped for surgery. Things moved so quickly that it was really hard to track but, suffice to say, at 1010am my son was delivered. Didn't follow the plan that we wanted but, again it's about the end game. DS was 9lbs8oz, there was absolutely no way a breech delivery was going to happen and I have never had a problem with the c-section even though it wasn't the route I had wanted to go. I had an extremely easy recovery, was sitting up a few hours later, was walking that night, I never had any issues recovering once I got home. There were a few complications that occurred during surgery as well as afterwards but nothing that has in any shape, form or fashion tainted the experience or that could ever take away from the miracle that was having my son. Those things faded away so quickly in my mind and all that remains is this beautiful little boy

slartybartfast · August 2016

[Foreword - I had back labor (which is atypical) due to baby being stuck in a funny position. In retrospect, there were some things we could have done for this but I didn't know at the time]

I was 39 weeks, 1 day pregnant. My braxton hicks had been strong and didn’t let up for a few weeks- a contraction would last over an hour (sign of baby being in a funny position... NOW I know this...). Waking up just before 11pm to pee, my water broke as a slow leak.I was group B strep positive so I had to head to the birthing center and couldn’t get labor going at home. I was incredibly nervous knowing this was it. I was shaking with apprehension. Fear. Excitement.

By midnight we were checking in. I was definitely having frequent contractions but they weren’t very strong or painful. Each one lasted for a very long time, just like the earlier ones. The midwife let me know that because of the ruptured membrane with group b strep positive, they really like to see labor going within 6 to 12 hours. She started explaining the options for induction including cervadil and pitocin. This was not ideal for me.

We decided to give my body 12 hours. I told DH to get some sleep and I tried to rest as well but I was too excited. I decided to walk the halls to encourage the contractions.

The contractions were definitely picking up and by 5 am were quite painful - I had to stop and breathe and sway through them. I continued to walk around, working with each contraction. They became quite painful and I let myself drift out of them. At 6:30am I was 80% effaced at 3 cm and the baby was in a -1 position. If things kept up, I wouldn’t need to be induced.

DH walked the halls with me and very quickly the contractions progressed. They became extremely painful. They weren’t waves of tightness and pressure like I’d read about, they felt like sharp pain all over my lower abdomen and sometimes my back. The sharp pain would hang around, dull, and then pick right back up. There were no breaks between them. No relief periods. I labored and worked through them like this until around 11a. They became incredibly strong. I tried laboring in the shower - which did a lot of nothing, and ended up on the floor, breathing through them, trying to release my brain from the pain. They were still back to back and my body started convulsing during the peaks. Shaking really hard. Then in the troughs - which never went all the way down, just relatively less pain, I started puking. My uterus was going nuts. I was just puking, convulsing, and breathing. I was miserable but prepared to continue. At 11:30a, the midwife checked for progress. We wondered whether or not I may be in transition.

I had only progressed to 3.5 cm. The air seemed to go out of the room. We were in disbelief. My cervix and my uterus were not on the same team here. My uterus was extremely aggressive about getting this done but my cervix was just not ready.

I worked my way through 4 more hours of unbelievably painful contractions, one on top of the other. Never a break, never a moment of relief, no room for endorphins. My eyes were rolling around in my head and I couldn’t communicate to anyone. I tried the jacuzzi and it was a joke. It just limited my movement. It was a matter of breathing through them and detaching from them. When I let myself react and scream at them or squirm, they got worse. I ended up kneeling on my hands and knees, in total agony, covered in sweat. How much more of this could I possibly take? At this point, with each contraction, I started to feel like my internal organs were trying to ram themselves out of my vagina. I still was not very able to communicate but let a nurse know that I thought my body was pushing. Actually I said I was pushing but it wasn’t me.

My midwife checked my cervix. I was sure I was at the end. I was sure she would say, almost there, let’s set up for delivery.

She said 7 centimeters. I was crushed. Suddenly I found the ability to communicate. Except it was in agonizing screams at the top of my lungs “I just want to be done I can’t do this anymore I just need to be done” and in the mean time my body just kept trying to dump itself inside out. I couldn’t stop pushing. I said that and that nurse told me that if I pushed at 7 cm I would cause the cervix to swell and would need a c-section [Later learned this is not true in almost every case]. That was my tipping point. I couldn’t stop the pushing. I felt I was botching the whole thing and couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t breath through the pain anymore and was just screaming “I can’t do it. I can’t do it.” My teammates were working against each other. Meanwhile, my blood pressure was extremely high and the nurse wanted it continually monitored. So I went for an option that I had been really hoping to avoid.

An epidural would slow down the contractions and hopefully reduce my blood pressure. Once I opted for one they had the anesthesiologist in there instantly even though the entire center was full of laboring women. I have no idea how they got him there so fast but assume I was sort of on the edge of needing necessary interventions and he was "on call" for the room… Immediately my contractions fell into a far more regular pattern. I was still able to feel them very clearly and they were still fairly painful - the epidural dose was low and didn’t take on my left side. I wanted to stay connected to my body so that I could work with it. I didn’t want to be numb for this. By 3:30pm, I was able to relax and just go back to breathing through contractions for a while. Around 6, I was finally dilated to 10cm and the baby was at a -3. The midwife happily proclaimed it was time to push!

I didn’t have a hint of that earlier sensation of my guts wanting to dump out of my vagina but she coached me on how to do it myself. She thought it wouldn’t take long at all. With each contraction I pushed with all my might for three efforts. I started to think it just wasn’t coming. I felt like I was failing again and was going to have a c section. Then finally, after about an hour and half, the head started to emerge. I started shrieking with the pain of the head moving through. I watched in a mirror and was sooo shocked and amazed to see my vagina finally opening, allowing him space as I forced, with every ounce I had, that little guy right out of my body. He came out and I was just screaming “I DID IT! I CAN’T BELIEVE I DID IT! HE’S MINE - HE’S PERFECT”

DS cleared all his own passageways immediately and wailed at the top of his lungs too. Like mother like son. On my chest he calmed down so quickly. He stretched his limbs through all the newfound space. He knew me and that was clear. DH he had tears streaming down his face. We spent a blissful hour as a new family of three. Meanwhile they went to town stitching me up. I didn’t tear in my perineum - but my vaginal canal really was on team cervix. Even though DS’s head wasn’t very big, his hand wasn’t up… there was no good reason for it other than I was just all tight, I tore all the way down the canal almost a centimeter deep. They assured me it will heal well though. [It did, easy recovery there.]

Austenista · August 2016

It's such a coincidence this thread got started today. I spent a sizable chunk of my evening last night trolling birth announcements and late pregnancy symptoms posts on the August '16 board because I wanted a real picture of what comes next.

I started this pregnancy with so many ideas about what I wanted to go down. I'm now at the point where I feel like I'm going to be happier and more relaxed if I just view it like @DiFazette is saying, and trust the process with the end goal in mind. The more I read, the more I feel like you could prepare and plan and study until you're blue in the face and your body could just throw it all out the window when things get real.

Would y'all that have experienced the whims of labor even recommend a birth plan? Or do you think it's essentially a set up for disappointment if one gets too attached to what they've put on it?

DiFazette · August 2016

@caseyewhitaker It really depends on who you are. If you're a type A, everything has to go my way person, DO NOT do a birth plan. You will be thrown into a world of chaos much greater than you can likely handle.

If you are a reasonable human (no judgement, I used to be hardcore type A, having a child has made me a very mild A) you can write down your birth 'wishes'. You don't get to plan this. It isn't a vacation or wedding. There will be no set schedule.

I just think for a certain kind of person, a birth plan becomes gospel and that's when it goes downhill very quickly. Don't be that person.

slartybartfast · August 2016

oops left out the part where I pooped. Unfortunately they already had the mirror set up so I watched that... blech.

princesslockness · August 2016

@caseyewhitaker +1 to @DiFazette 's description. I was pretty relaxed. I knew what would cause a CS, what would cause an emergency CS and called that good. I didn't have my heart set on anything so it was really easy to roll with what happened. I honestly don't have any regrets except getting the stupid nurse to check me.

I would have an idea of after birth things you would like. Such as: skin-to-skin, nursing/formula, visitor policy, first meal picked out. Maybe have a list of things that can keep you calm and entertained during labor, but otherwise know that things go out the window and you can't always prevent or change them.

SarahF8611 · August 2016

youre brave!! I did NOT watch, nor
did I "reach down and pull out your baby" like my OB wanted me to do. No thanks.

DiFazette · August 2016

slartybartfast said:

oops left out the part where I pooped. Unfortunately they already had the mirror set up so I watched that... blech.

I had a L&D nurse work for me as our nurse for dental anesthesia patients and she said a large portion of vaginal deliveries poop. Whether or not they admit this to the patient has everything to do with said patients demeanor.

dmontgo · August 2016

If only babies could teleport out of the womb...or at the very least send a postcard...

Christinaruth74 · August 2016

We had no birth plan and I'm thankful for that now.
I went in with an open mind but in no way could have predicted what actually happened..

i was 10 days past my due date when my water finally broke. We went in but I wasn't actually in labor and was only about 1cm dilated, so they decided to start me on pitocin hours later.

i wanted to avoid an epidural so I powered through pit contractions for a bit, but I still wasn't dilating and my contractions were more intense than they should have been for having no progression.. I opted for Stadol and as they were prepping me, the first heart decel happened.

They stopped the pit and vetoed Stadol. They also put in some internal monitors, one for my contractions and one for the baby's heart rate.

Pit back on and I opted for the epidural. Contractions were leaving me maybe 30seconds to a minute of reprieve in between and I still wasn't progressing.

Fast forward a bit and the epidural didn't fully take and 2 more heart decels from the baby and I was being wheeled into the OR for an emergency c-section. The final decel was the scariest... I was being flipped every which way with the 2 internal montiors and now a catheter, while they tried to get her heart beating again. I was given oxygen, but I was so worked up the mask only made me more anxious. At this point I was hysterical. I was put under general anesthesia and went in for the section with my H waiting outside.

When I woke up and was wheeled back to my room, I was so drugged and exhausted that I was too afraid to hold my baby for any extended period of time. Then they told me about the immense scarring they found and how wedged the baby was inside of me.

As others have said, sometimes your birth story is painful and hard to relive. I struggled both physically but mainly emotionally afterward. I missed so many moments I had dreamt I'd have. My h didn't get to cut the cord, I never heard her first cry... And now I'm crying again.

Talking about it has been so healing and helpful

the bad stories aren't the normal, so don't go into it thinking the worst will happen! Your story will be yours... Just have an open mind, even if you choose to have a birth plan, leave wiggle room and lots of it.

slartybartfast · August 2016

@caseyewhitaker - Birth plan or not, I think being informed about labor and delivery, the different options, routes, interventions, etc is totally advisable. And then being adaptive depending on how things unfold for you. There are a lot of elements of a birth plan that aren't always subject to how labor goes (involving cord cutting, bathing, etc). There are a lot of things that you can decide ahead of time if/when/under what circumstances you would be open to them - or not.

So I guess I would say - I think a birth plan/wishes is an important exercise. As long as you're looking at it realistically and knowing that your body and your baby are in the driver's seat during labor (not your mind) and you may need to make some turns if some roads are closed.

mattanda2011 · August 2016

LO #1 - At 36 weeks I started having really horrible itching on my hands and feet, it would wake me up a night, and I spent about all of my time with lotion and socks on my feet (it was winter so I thought it was just dryness). At 36w 6 days, on a Friday I finally called in to my OB and she said go to the hospital we need to have you checked for Cholistasis. Long story short, labs wouldn't be back until Monday so I could stay and be monitored or I could go home and come back if we had any decreased movement. We choose to go home. Get a call Saturday at 11am, all the doctors have talked and decided we need to induce you today - come in as soon as you are ready. Got to the hospital about 1pm, hooked up to monitors and about to get pitocin until they realize I am having regular contractions and they aren't going to do pit unless my contractions stop. Walked around the hospital a bit, got my epidural around 6pm and she was born at 9pm.

LO#2 -(And this is the one that concerns me for this time!) I was off for the summer and DH was home in the middle of the week, so we decided to take DD for a walk around the neighborhood around 10am. I started having contractions and asked DH if I should start timing them. His smart response was "No use in timing them yet, we still have to walk home" it got harder and harder to walk through my contractions, but I was so worried about going to the hospital and not being in labor that I called my OB office and they scheduled me to come in at 12:30 so I could get checked and see if I was really in labor. Decided to take a shower, told DH he could stay home with DD while I went to the Dr and then if it was the real deal he could meet me at the hospital. Came down from the shower and told DH I think he should come with me and drive me to the OB. He had already called his mom to come watch DD as he could tell he needed to come with me. 12 and its time to leave to go to the dr and I tell DH we need to go straight to the hospital, I think this is the real deal - I am pacing outside out house waiting for my MIL to get there because the contractions are coming quick and painful. We quickly drive to the hospital and by now I am screaming in the car and starting to feel the urge to push. Arrive at the hospital at 12:45 and DH parks in the fire zone to get me upstairs to L&D. We can't find any nurses, only the person in charge of intake who wants me to fill out a bunch of paperwork we have already done - until DH says, I think shes about the have this baby. They put us in a room, I beg for an epidural - Nurse checks me to see if I can get one and I am 8cm. Dr comes in and says she will be back in about 1 hour and we can start pushing. DH leaves to move the car. Within about 5 minutes I call for a nurse to tell her I can feel the head with my hand - Everyone goes a little crazy trying to get the doctor back, find DH etc. about 5 minutes and 2 pushes later he was born at 1:28. Less than 3.5 hours after I first felt a contraction. TONS of stitches because he basically flew out and tore everything on the way out. But recovery without and epidural was a ton easier.

ve304856 · August 2016

I love reading all your birth stories! I have 2 birth stories to share.

With DS I started having contractions at 7pm. We went to the hospital around 3 am. They checked me and I was only 1 cm. They sent me home around 5am. At 7am my water broke, luckily I went to the bathroom and as soon as I sat on the toilet my water broke. I called the dr and she said to walk around for an hour to see if I was leaking. I was in so much pain I just sat down and couldn't walk. When she called back and told me to come I at 8am. I then started to get dressed and my water broke again! I didn't know this was possible, but apparently it is. I was checked and was at 5 cm. But they had no rooms, by the time I got into a room I was at 7cm. I got an epidural at 10am. Then they let me labor down for a while. I pushed for 3 hours and then said if I couldn't get him out soon then they would do a c-section. I guess that was the modulation that I needed. They needed to use a vacuum and he was born right before 5pm.

With DD I was having contractions aroind midnight. I decided to go in around 3am. When they checked me i was at 1 or 2 cm and they planned on sending me home until the dr who was checking me accidentally role my water while checking. So I was admitted, but since I wasn't in active labor yet I was able to order breakfast. The contractions weren't starting so they gave me pitocin. Then I asked for the epidural about an hour later. The epidural only numbed my right side so he had to come back and redo it. I had her a little after 7pm. She did come out sunny side up.

Overall I am happy with my labor and deliveries. They were pretty uneventful. And in the end I got my babies! I can't wait to do it again!!

sourlemon · August 2016

I'm not getting into details because it's hard to talk about and super scary...but generally:

Nothing went right. My heart stopped. I had a generally healthy baby...the issues with her probably would have happened even if her birth was perfect. She's a healthy 2 year old now. I'll have a scheduled c section this time.

Thank God for modern medicine and hospitals or else dd1 and I would not have survived. No question.

Toller · August 2016

I LOVE birth stories- good or bad. Particularly, the difficult ones makes me feel more prepared for possible situations like that.... and yes the important thing is a healthy baby- but what happens to mom during that time matters too.

As far as "birth plans" my doula stressed "Birth Preferences". We also went through tough scenarios and wrote down ahead of time what we preferred to do, etc. Not that you can be prepared for EVERY situation, but to have that realistic viewpoint of labor was really helpful, I thought.

Personally, it's very important to me how my birth happens. I'll be okay if it's not necessarily the "perfect med free birth" that is at the top of my list (as that is VERY unlikely with twins!!) but I at least would like it on my own terms and I do not want to be bullied. A traumatic/emergency birth will difficult no matter what because that is NO one's plan, even if you don't have an "Official plan"......

yellingbanana · August 2016

Oh fun

I LOVED reading birth stories when I was pregnant with my 1st. And thank goodness I did, I was way more prepared for everything. (My mom and sisters had freakishly easy births, but my kids are way bigger than theirs so that's my calming factor).

DD 1:
I had pre-eclampsia, I was huge and swollen, and had gained 70lbs by the time I gave birth. DD was late, and we had an ultrasound 2 days after her due date. The tech spent most of the time measuring DDs head, which we found out later was because it was over the 100th percentile. We had our induction scheduled for 3 days later.
I went in to get induced at 7:00 am on a Friday, was already dilated to 1cm and in labor. I'd been having contractions for days, but not regular. They hooked me up to pit and my contractions were 1 min long, with 30 seconds in between. I'm not sure if it was the pitocin or the position of my baby, but the contractions didn't feel like a 'squeezing' as much as a knife being stabbed from my belly button to my pelvis. After 7 hrs of crazy painful, pooping my brains out labor, I had dilated to 2 cm and DD was nowhere near dropped. That is when my natural-med-free labor plan went out the window. Got epidural at 7:00pm, immediately dilated to 5 cm.
Unfortunately, by that time, DD was stressed and her heart rate was dipping with each contraction. She got a scalp monitor to keep track of her heart rate.
By 4:00 am on Saturday, I was still at 5cm and she still was at a -3 station meaning she had not moved down at all. And my epidural wore off, that was fun. Her heart rate was still dipping with each contraction and at 9:00 am on Saturday, I was still at 5cm, she was still at -3 station. Oh and my blood pressure was dangerously high by this point.
We agreed that if no progress was made by 10:30 am that we would need to go to c-section.
At 10:00am, about 4 doctors and 5 nurses rushed into my room to alert us that DD did not have a heart rate. They gave me a quick shot in the leg of something to stop the contractions (starts with a T). Told me to get on my hands and knees while they wheeled me down the hall for an emergency c-section. With my naked butt in the air, me crying at DH to call my mom, and freaking out that I might lose my baby.
When we got in the operating room they could see that the medicine worked, my contractions stopped, and DD had a normal heart rate. Phew! A nurse stabbed my stomach, I yelled and she noted that I needed a spinal to re-numb me for surgery.
C-section feels like a lot of tugging and pulling, but I was so happy when they pulled DD out I would have done anything to get her. Unfortunately she had pooped while in utero and inhaled it into her lungs. Not good. A doctor and nurse spent a good 5 minutes suctioning her lungs of meconium before she was able to let out her first cry. The best sound in the world. Ana was 8lbs 11oz, 18 in long, and her head was over the 100th percentile. (The average size of a 10 month old baby)
After surgery, I was shaking and cold feeling, but fed DD as soon as we were in the recovery room. Then we both slept for 16 hrs straight.
Recovery from 1st c-section was insanely painful. There were a lot of tears. was it worth it? Absolutely.

DD 2:
After my first experience, I had a little PTSD. DD 1 was almost 5 yrs old when we had DD2. We opted for Repeat c-section because my Ob didn't offer VBACs and I was nervous about rupturing my uterus. And with my previous experience I was not ready to labor and end up with a c-section again.
Morning of scheduled c-section, everything went smoothly. My c-section was just like the first but without the panic. DH and Doctor were joking and talking about football.
DD 2 came out screaming, a great sound! 8lbs and 7 oz, 19 in long, and her head in the 75th percentile.
Recovery was loads better, I walked as soon as I was allowed (and still on good iv drugs). But DD got a fever and cephalahematoma - a lump on her head from the vacuum used to help pull her out. She had to go to NICU for about 6 hrs but was totally fine. She does still have a little lump on her head, but nothing like when she was a baby. She is 5 now

I second @sourlemon
Thank goodness for modern medicine! If it wasn't for that.... Well I'm happy to live in the 21st century.

And ditto birth 'wishes', better than plan. I truly am hoping for easier labors for all of the women on here. Most importantly, for healthy babies and mommas

brittnic86 · August 2016

Yeeeeeeah I'm really scared to have to do this twice. lol.

SarahF8611 · August 2016

DiFazette said:

slartybartfast said:

oops left out the part where I pooped. Unfortunately they already had the mirror set up so I watched that... blech.

I had a L&D nurse work for me as our nurse for dental anesthesia patients and she said a large portion of vaginal deliveries poop. Whether or not they admit this to the patient has everything to do with said patients demeanor.

My husband (and mom) still deny thy o pooped but I SWEAR I did. I find it nice they are trying to let me keep this shred of dignity. Haha.

karmba · August 2016

Thanks to everyone for sharing! These stories are a good combo of terrifying and inspiring

yellingbanana · August 2016

karmba said:

Thanks to everyone for sharing! These stories are a good combo of terrifying and inspiring

For real! Can't wait for us to all have our babies and have a whole new birth stories thread in December/January

jenlynne0624 · August 2016

Marking my place for tomorrow while I'm at work

Mamax2 · August 2016

I'll have to add mine tomorrow.

DiFazette · August 2016

Toller02 said:.

As far as "birth plans" my doula stressed "Birth Preferences". We also went through tough scenarios and wrote down ahead of time what we preferred to do, etc. Not that you can be prepared for EVERY situation, but to have that realistic viewpoint of labor was really helpful, I thought.

Personally, it's very important to me how my birth happens. I'll be okay if it's not necessarily the "perfect med free birth" that is at the top of my list (as that is VERY unlikely with twins!!) but I at least would like it on my own terms and I do not want to be bullied. A traumatic/emergency birth will difficult no matter what because that is NO one's plan, even if you don't have an "Official plan"......

Yes, I've heard much more of the wishes/preferences talk lately than 'plan' which I think is a huge step in the right direction. Plan indicates there's control... Hahahahah.

sammyl1221 · August 2016

Thank you ladies for sharing!!! These are truly incredible stories and it's so crazy to think that in just a few short months we will get to experience it!

DumbledoresArmy · August 2016

I just wanted to say thank you to all the brave ladies who are sharing their stories, especially the ones that are difficult. It really is good for us to hear about them. Thank you!!!

JEM525 · August 2016

Here it goes, I was blessed with a wonderful labor experience. It was long but wonderful.
On a Saturday morning I started having contractions At 11am. I timed them and They were 3 minutes apart. I called my Dr. At 11:30 and at that point I couldn't talk threw my contractions so she said to head to the hospital. I called outside to DH to wrap up his project he was working on and by 12:30pm we were at the hospital. My hospital has a check in area where they see how far along you are before they bring you up
to a delivery room. I was not dialated but my blood pressure was very high and my contractions were every three minutes and felt strong. So the submitted me and I was brought up stairs to a beautiful delivery room. It looked more like a hotel room. The RN came in and checked me which was not a plesent experience and I was not dialated. An hour later I had a nurse shift, from then on I was with one RN until I delivered. She put on calming music and dimed the lights. She respected I didn't want any interventions and asked if I wanted to labor in the shower first. The shower had four shower heads and I could position them any which way. I stayed in there for most of my labor. I then moved to the laboring tub which had lights and jets all over. I went from 0-8cm in 20minutes. Which was intense but worth it. When I got out of the tub. I started to get sick to my stomach. This was not new to me because I had been getting sick my entire pregnancy. But after awhile the throwing up and contractions got to me. I choose to get an epaderal before they had to check me again. At 11pm I got my epaderal and then at 12:30 I was 10cm. At that point I was tired and asked if I could take a nap. The nurse said if my body didn't feel the need to push I could labor down as long as the baby was fine. I slept from 1am-5am. At 5am I felt my body pushing so I started the process. They called my OB in but she was not able to make it so another OB from her practice came. The OB asked if she wanted her or the RN who had been with me this whole time to deliver and I chose the RN. The RN continued to assist me. My son had had a bowl movement before he was completely out, so they had one NICU nurse in the room ready to take him and clean him up before he could breath in any of the meconium. The RN delivered my baby boy, handed him over to the NICU nurse who cleaned him up right away, right next to me. And the RN stitched me up where I tore naturally. And the Dr. Stood on to make sure she did everything that needed to be done. My DH was able to hold my son skin to skin while I was stitched up and then I was able to hold my son for the first time. He was born at 6:57am at 8lbs 7oz. It was a long 20hr process but it went by quickly and I had a healthy baby boy at the end of it. I hope to have a similar experience with this LO. We will see if I choose and epaderal or not, but I plan to labor unmedicated for as long as I can. I wish everyone a labor with a an outcome of a healthy baby and healthy mama!

jenlynne0624 · August 2016

I'm totally open with my birth story and any questions that anyone may have about the process and what I went through. I found it helps with the healing, and I love to educate people on the whole thing, especially post partum. I felt I was ok with knowing what to expect during delivery, but the healing afterwards I was lost. So, this may be gory, graphic, whatever, but it's real. And long.

June 23, 2014 we were finishing dinner (buffalo chicken tenders) and making s'mores for dessert. I had been having contractions the entire day, but it just felt like Braxton Hicks so I ignored them. I was a few days from my due date anyway. So dh and I were watching tv and hanging out and then got ready for bed. That's when it got uncomfortable. I told him to get some sleep that I was going out to facebook/bump for a little bit. I bounced on my physio ball (invest in one if you don't have one. They make labor easier). I can still breathe through the contractions for another few hours. Dh is with me at this point and I go take a bath while he timed my contractions. Before the shower I started throwing up for the first time in pregnancy and pooped. A lot. We hit the 5-1-1 rule around 330 am, so we kissed the dog goodbye, grabbed the bag and left.

We had a 20 minute drive to the hospital. Thank god it wasn't during rush hour or it would have taken so much longer. A contraction timer app is something you want to download to, fyi, so we continued to use that as we got to the hospital, and when we arrived I was at a 3-1-1 at almost 4 am. Filled out paperwork and I got wheeled up to triage to get evaluated. Nurse took me in the bathroom and told me to put the gown on then pee in a cup. It wouldn't happen. Nope. They determined that I am in fact in labor and I reward that confirmation by puking again. They took me over to my delivery/recovery room, which I loved never having to change rooms.

In that room I got my IV and checked, no membrane sweep, and my waters are bulging but never break on their own. Monitors hooked up and showed I had 2 contractions at a time and they were 2 minutes apart. I was already dilated to about a 6 when I got there, and 45 min later I was an 8. H deceled every time they checked him and I was on my back so I had to labor on my right side and he had to get monitored internally. I got some useless pain meds in my IV that made the room spin. Back labor was a bitch. Tried to breathe properly, and when I did that it was so much more manageable. I begged for epi but dh brought me back down to Earth and reminded me it was important to me to do it without. So I did.

A small lip of my cervix never effaced the whole way. They were waiting for that to happen even when I was at a 10 and my body was pushing on its own. I couldn't stop it. It was this overwhelming urge and it just happened. I never knew the amount of stuff that would come out of me at this point either. Nurses are amazing and cleaned it up without flinching. I was embarrassed until I realized I didn't care that much and to get that baby the ef out of me.They broke my water. Dr finally came in and I pushed around 645. All sorts of crazy, animalistic noises came out of me, mom heard them in the waiting room, and I yelled that it hurt when he crowned. Dh was a rock star. That lip of my cervix was pushed aside by the ob when baby was being delivered. I had an episiotomy to account for this. Baby came out with the cord around his neck three times and was BLUE. I didn't see it, but dh did, and because of the blue, dh did not get to cut the cord. Nurses got the cord off and baby breathed on his own without oxygen or anything, and while they're cleaning him up the doctor is stitching up my vaganus. I yelled at him for hurting me with the needle and he just stared at me for saying that hurt after I just pushed out a baby. Little man was born at 703 am.

In all, I was in the hospital for 4 hours and did it basically med free. It didn't go entirely the way I wanted it to- I didn't get the immediate skin to skin, dh didn't get to cut the cord, I didn't get to walk around, but our hospital makes it mandatory for the family to be together a solid hour or so before letting in guests, so that was an awesome bonding time. Baby latched right away and was the beginning of an awesome breast feeding story we're still on. I hope to have a similar delivery this time since in terms of labor, it was pretty standard.

maamawaabangi · August 2016

Here is a link to my blog where my 4th birth story is posted...
https://shecanlaugh.blogspot.com/2014/12/whitleys-birth-story.html?m=1

zubenescamali · August 2016

I don't remember a lot of my first birth. it used to be posted on thebump but after 7 years ago it is long gone. i'll try to remember best as I can.

DD1: 40w4d gestation and I woke up around 1am having contractions (i had worked up to 40w3d before i just gave up from feeling like crap) . they were all over the place in timing but mostly a few minutes apart, tolerable so I lay in bed for awhile until I got antsy. I remember at one point I was on all fours on the couch and I felt a small pop, think a little bit of my water broke but not much came out. I don't remember when we decided to go into the hospital, I had called the on-call number and since my contrx were only a few minutes apart and we weren't sure if my water broke or not they told us to come in. I think I got there around 5am. they weren't sure if my water broke and the head dropped down and plugged it again, or if it just didn't break. i was only 1 cm dilated. they took my vitals and that's where all the fun began. BP was 210s/110s so they started me on magnesium. the magnesium was awful, kept itching everywhere. my contractions slowed so they started pit. I was having a lot of pain with each contraction so they gave me stadol until the epidural could be placed. I don't remember a lot of what occurred because of the stadol. at some point they stopped being able to get readings on LO. the monitors were not picking her up. so they placed a scalp monitor. it didn't work. so they placed another. finally getting readings on her. which weren't good. decels. put me on oxygen. didn't help. repositioned. didn't help. more blood and now thick meconium. not long after they noted variable decels they decided to section me. wheeled me off to the operating room. DH taken to gown up. strapped down my arms, upped my epidural and started the process. lots of tugging, no pain, teeth chattering and shaking. felt completely detached from the whole process. baby arrives at 10:06am, crying, no problems, apgars of 9. i don't recognize her, it doesn't feel like she even came out of me. laid her on my chest, arms still in straps, feigned a smile for a picture through tears and then off to recovery I went while DH went with LO. not sure how long I laid there in recovery, eventually got feeling back and wondered why my legs were moving on their own (SCDs). finally got back to room and mom and sister showing me pictures of my baby on their phones. feeling nauseated, still itching, lost a lot of blood, the whole afternoon is a blur. nurses wouldn't let me drink, so I begged for ice chips. lost so much blood, so tired, dizzy, couldn't get out of bed for a couple days. couldn't sit up, couldn't walk more than a few feet down the hall. developed an ileus. had to have colonics for two days (didn't poop until day 8). discharged home on day 5. went back to hospital with a 102 fever on day 11. endometritis. IV antibiotics for 7 days. CT scan of abdomen. two uterine abscesses, one that required intra-abdominal drain. also got mastitis. finally discharged again on day 8.

i eventually recovered both physically and emotionally. despite the complications i BF DD1 for over 14 months. it was the only thing i had control over. somewhere along the way they told me i had a placental abruption during labor. probably from undiagnosed pre-eclampsia, the last few weeks of my pregnancy my BP climbed up, although still in the normal range, high for me. OB made no interventions since no proteinuria and NSTs normal, BP came down with rest.

DD2 (copied from posted birth story with some edits):

GA 38w1d. I had gone on maternity leave early, about a week prior, due to the PGP (which i now know is likely due to pelvic tilt and scar tissue from c/s). I had a ton of stuff to do that day including building the nursery (furniture still in boxes and no closet doors). I met with my doula to finalize our contract and go over birth preferences. During our meeting I had a couple of BH contractions but nothing that was different from the last couple weeks. tried to do some work in the nursery and went to see the chiropractor and grocery shop for dinner. Around 11pm the contractions seemed to “change”, but they were not painful and I was so tired I tried to go back to sleep. Around 2:30am I started timing them, and found they were averaging 2-4 minutes apart and 45 sec to 1 min long. I nudged DH around 3am and told him he might be missing work today and texted my doula (good thing I had just signed that contract!).

I could have lay in bed but I was unable to sleep through or even between contractions and feeling restless so i tried to make breakfast (I was seriously craving a bacon egg and cheese biscuit, but i burned them) After about an hour the contractions were far more painful, and I found myself concentrating and breathing through them, so I got my water bottle and ipod with our “relaxation mix” and got into our small bathtub. At 4:45am DH got up to go to the gym – his normal routine – but after taking one look at me he decided to stay. I labored between the toilet (bowels started clearing and mucous plug was leaking out) and bathtub until close to 6am at which time we decided to start making phone calls. I called my doula (who hadn’t gotten my text and was surprised I was already in labor), mom and MIL. We started packing our hospital bags and I labored around the house, on and off the birth ball and with DH trying to rub my back and keep me relaxed. Contractions were 2-3 min apart, getting more intense and much more painful. MIL showed up around 7:30am to watch DD1and doula arrived around 8:30am. By now I was well into active labor, but we talked about laboring at home a little longer to avoid downtown traffic and because my big fear was getting to the hospital and only being 1-2 cm dilated. Started having back labor in addition to front labor- front contractions lasting about a min and then just as it would decrease the back contraction would start and last another 30-45 sec, so contractions just felt continuous. I also started shaking terribly right before them (which was at least a good warning) and feeling very nauseous. Doula was wondering if i was already in transition (I wasn’t- apparently some people get the shakes and throw up all throughout labor).

I tried walking around outside, but standing through a contraction was virtually unbearable, even supported by my husband and doula. Around 10am we decided to go to the hospital and finally left around 11:15 (not a single person in my house could seem to get DD's carseat out so i had to do it in the 10 secs i had between contrx). We got checked in around noon and they put me on the fetal monitor, attached the pulse ox and got IV access (all required for the VBAC). Thousands of questions and forms to fill out, best one is they asked me what form of birth control I was planning on using after delivery. I was denied a labor tub (both in use and against VBAC "policy"). The nurses did ask me for my birth plan. Then they checked me…only 4 cm, 0 station. disappointed that the strength and frequency of the contractions didn’t have me further along. then one of the jerk OBs in my group came in and said he was going to be in surgery most of the day but that he read my birth plan and he knew that the VBAC had been discussed with me previously…then during a bad contraction he says “well remember, you chose this”. jerk. so for the next 3-4 hrs i just labored, shaking, vomiting, unable to find a position to cope with the pain, contx continuous. At some point my blood pressure spiked a little so they checked my urine for protein and started monitoring my BP more often, which meant more wires to tether me down. It had been awhile so I asked to be checked again, 5cm. I felt trapped and imprisoned by the wires and the hip and back cramping sending the contraction pain over the top- I couldn’t imagine there would be a stage worse than this and fear took over. I could not get into the mindset of “one contraction at a time” and I could only think of the hundreds of contractions to still come. My doula, husband, and mother (not sure when she arrived) tried to coach me through them, but I was done. I asked for the epidural. took them three tries, about 45 minutes of sitting completely still. i asked it be kept as low as possible, i still felt the contrx on the right side but it was tolerable. Jerk OB came back and commented "so you gave in". said I was 6 cm, 80%, -1 station but with a bulging bag of waters. He said he wouldn’t intervene and that another doctor was coming on duty (thank goodness). Since the epidural slowed the contractions down, my doula gave me some recommendations to help progress – moving side to side, foot and palm massage, and other methods to release oxytocin that I won’t go into. i think the epidural helped me relax enough to progress. by 7pm I was at 9cm, and 0/+1 station. By now nice OB was on service and she said she would give me another hour to labor but then suggested AROM as it would likely put me complete. She went ahead and broke the waters at 8:10pm, and there was concern due to presence of thick meconium. Since baby was okay on the monitor we labored down another hour. By then I only had a lip of cervix left so they prepped for delivery. Having never had to push baby out i was a little nervous, but it wasn’t that difficult at all, used a mirror to help me see the progress. every time i pushed on my back i threw up so i had to push on my side. She decelled slightly during pushing, so they gave me oxygen in between contractions. I pushed for about 45 min and she came out at 10:03pm with the cord lightly wrapped around her neck, but still screaming. They had to take her over to the NICU team immediately because of the meconium so we didn’t get to have the delayed cord clamping or the immediate skin-to-skin contact, but at that point i had a baby, and i knew she came out of me. they forgot to move the mirror so i unfortunately got to witness the placenta birth. I had a second degree perineal tear and superficial periurethral tears, not surprising with her head circumference (off the charts) and after holding her and the epidural wearing off i was out of bed and walking around almost immediately. PGP resolved after only a couple days and i was running errands with baby by week's end.

sorry this was so long. i hope hearing my experiences helps someone. i had a lot of trouble coming to terms with DD1's birth, and having DD2's experience was very healing for me, even if it didn't go exactly as i hoped.

maamawaabangi · August 2016

And here is my hard(er) birth with my 3rd... (No trauma or many triggers other than long labor and crappy old midwives being jerk-balls)

https://shecanlaugh.blogspot.com/2015/10/coras-birth-story.html?m=1

Austenista · August 2016

@maamawaabangi your birth stories are beautiful and make me so frustrated that midwives cannot legally practice in my state. A homebirth has always been my dream.

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