Positive labor and deliver stories! :) (NO horror allowed!)

[MariaG]

I have had 3 boys, all induced due to high blood pressure, all without pain meds or epidurals.

#1 I was on bed rest so although I had signed up for lamaze classes, I was not allowed to attend. I did get the book though and practiced, practiced and practiced some more. I was scheduled to be induced at 6am but my water broke at 12am. Because of BP, I was instructed to go to hospital right away. Once there, they gave me pitocin to “speed things along” (Oh to do it over again and have the confidence I have now to say NO!). On a pain scale it was about an eight. I was very inwardly focused. I absolutely hated it when people came to visit and talk. And in fact, the only place I wanted to be touched by Dh was on my lower back when a contraction came. I had back labor with all three and hard direct pressure was so wonderful. But I truly do not like to be touched at all, for all three. So don’t feel bad if you don’t either At 9:30 am I started to push and what only seemed moments later, but was actually 30 minutes, I was holding my beautiful baby boy.

#2 6am induction. Gelled the cervix and broke my water. Nothing really started happening until 12pm. Then things took off. 6 pain scale, very inward again, also very quiet like the first. At 3:30pm I started to push, at 3:50pm I was holding my second.

#3 Researched a little more. Found the Bradley Method. Best thing I ever have done. 8am induction. Drug called cervicil. Nothing happened. Sent me home and told me to come back if my water broke. At home minor labor pains, kind of like cramps. Took a hot bath and felt better. Went to sleep. Dumb sister called at 11pm to find out how I was doing. Great, I was SLEEPING until you called. Could not go back to sleep with the minor contractions so just walked around and read. At 1am went back to bed, and water broke. This time even though they told me to come right back when the water broke, I was going to stay home until my labor got going good. As I got out of bed to get cleaned up, I realized my labor was going good so we went ahead and went to the hospital. At hospital, at about 2am they checked me. Said I was only 2 cm dialated, the same as when I had left hours earlier. Asked me for a second time what I wanted to do about my pain choices.

Now if I hadn’t of already had two kids, I would have probably crumbled. Only 2cm? But I knew my body and knew things were progressing really well. This one though was about a 91/2 pain wise and I was a moaner. But at 4am after 3 pushes #3 was born!

None of my labors was over 10 hours. I was so blessed! I can only pray that if I have more they will be as quick.

The best piece of advice for those who are choosing to do natural child birth is this. When you get to the point when you think “I can’t do this anymore!!!” You are almost done.

And if you want an epidural, ASK.

Know what you want, research the best way for it to happen and do it. There is always a possibility for plans to change, but that does not mean you should not make them and do the most to make it happen.

As Master Yoda would say, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

God Bless,
Maria

 

[my4ducks]

I have had four very different births. All with midwives, all in the same bed at the Maternity Center. My first was a boy. I walked around 4 cm dilated from 37 weeks to 42 weeks. When I did go into labor it was nothing like my BM instructor said it would be. My husband and I had gone to a movie “The Bird Cage” earlier in the evening and during the movie I started to have very stong contractions. I whispered that I thought I was going into labor and the man behind us gave out a “Oh, my gosh!”. But after only 4 the contractions were gone and we finished the movie. Went home to bed. Around 1am woke up with very strong contractions, woke up DH and called the midwife she said take a bath, relax, go back to bed until they were more consistant. Called her back at 1:20am and said “they are 2 minutes apart now, should we come in?” By 1:30 we were in the car, my mom kept saying “Honey, tell me when it begins, is it over, talk to me!” The problem was that our BM instructor told us contractions will gradually rise to a “climax” and the gradually decline. Nope not mine! I had one long intense contraction after another. My special place turned out to be last place in the world I wanted to be. At one point my husband said that he had run out of beaches and I growled for him to start over. I didn’t want him to touch me just stand there and let me grab onto him. I was not comfortable anywhere but the toilet!!! Yep, you read right. Funny thing is that I was told this was an option and scoffed at it because, well - GROSS! But, no that’s where I labored for 2 hours. Forget the jacuzzi, I couldn’t move from the toilet. When the MW came in and told me I had to start to push I asked why I couldn’t just stay on the toilet. She laughed and said that I hadn’t signed up for a water birth. I made it to the bed, literally fell onto my side with one leg lifted like a dog - very delicate and lady like let me tell you. After 21/2 hours of pushing I delivered a beautiful 10lb 8oz boy. Through this whole experience my MW never gave up on me. She was gentle and patient. She never said that my baby was too big. She did scold me for doing too many kegals which is really the reason why it took me so long to push my little guy out. (Think rubberband) Praise be to God that he was so big because he was born with a TRUE KNOT in his cord and should have not made it. But because the cord was so thick it never caused him any distress.

Baby 2 was a boy as well. Same bed. From the first contraction to the delivery of the placenta only 2 1/2 hours and Only 9lbs. 14oz. No time for the jacuzzi, again.

Baby 3 was a girl. First time I experienced “transition”. Funny how I can’t remember this birth. Why is that? It was a posterior birth so I had ALOT of back labor. Boy was she beautiful though. She was a petite 9lbs 7oz.

Baby 4 was also a girl. I actually went into preterm labor with her at 26 weeks. This was my fourth baby but because I had had a miscarriage and the preterm labor every little twinge I thought I was in labor. On 12/23 went to the MW (45 min. away mind you) walked and walked, went to the mall and walked some more, went back to the MC to be sent home. No more contractions, no more progression. 4:30 am 12/24 woke up again with contactions and for the first time my water had broken. Because of this the MW told me to come in. But by 6:30 the contractions had stopped. I put my stuff in our usual room and for the next 6 hours we proceeded to walk for two miles, shower, jacuzzi, pressure massage, bounce on the ball, everything but sex, although she said she would leave for awhile but that just wierded me out too much. Anyway, around 12:30 I decided to suck it up and drink a casteroil cocktail (not too bad when blended with OJ). It was Christmas Eve and I wanted to be home in the morning for the other children. So we watched a movie and then precisely 30 minutes later I had to use the restroom. I felt great and cleansed aftward. While I was in the bathroom though, I remembered that we forgot to get the roast for Christmas dinner so when I was done and contracting again, we drove to a gourmet grocery store. It was packed. I was in my birthing clothes in a swanky part of Bethesda, MD in labor waiting for a roast. By the time we got back to the MC (1:30) I was in full blown labor barely able to walk up the flight of stairs. I experienced every part of labor this time around and again she was a posterior baby, and she was stuck on my tail bone. Thankfully, she swooshed out around 4:30pm 12 hours later and weighing in at 9lbs 1oz. We left at 10 pm that night and on Christmas morning the other 3 children (aging 2,3 and 5) climbed into our bed to welcome our best Christmas present ever!

Oh what a blessing the babes are no matter how they come into the world. Rejoice for God is great and all knowing. Listen to your body and your baby and all will be fine.

Gods Blessings, and thank you for putting up with my long windedness.

 

[beckyann2597]

I have terrible pregnancies (puking nearly the whole time) but pretty nice labors.
DD#1
woke up at 5:30 am. felt like I needed to have a bm. We were living with my mother at the time and she is a OB nurse of 30 years, so we woke her up and told her my symptoms. She siad to call the hospital and grab the bags. We called the hospital and they siad"this is your first child so just sit tight for another hour". I was having constant contractions and had a lot of rectal pressure, so my mom siad ‘screw that! Lets go!’ We woke up my younger brother (16yrs old) and called my sister who was a week away from delivering my nephew, also her first child. We told her we could pick her up on the way (she lived 3 blocks away). We all jumped in the van and drove over to my sisters house. When we got there we had to wait for her to get out of the shower! after waiting 5 minutes, she came running out with her hair in a towel saying “I just have to blow dry my hair!” and the entire van yelled NO!!! and so she had to get in the car with a wet head. we were off!
It usually takes an hour to get to the hospital that my insurance covered, but because it was so early and my husband sped there in a half hour. It was about 6:30 am by the time we were driving up to the ER entrance. My mom ran ahead and grabbed a wheel chair, my husband helped me out of the car, my sister grabbed my bag, and my brother parked the car. My mom then pushed me in the wheel chair and my husband to my purse and heavy bag and my sister waddled behind. Right before we got to the ER door (that my husband was holding open), my momstopped pushing me and started rubbing my back because I was complaining of back labor. I yelled at her “What are you doing, I need to get in there and have this baby!” and he stopped and pushed me in. My husband siad in a calm voice “Thats right honey, take all your anger out on your mother.”

We get to the recieving desk on the delivery ward, and I say get me in to have this baby ASAP! One nurse jumped and siad “lets get you into a delivery room” but the older nurse in charge siad “Oh no, this is your first child…go to triage” She thought it would take a while. In the elevator my sister had taken the bags from my husband so he could more easily sign us in, so she came running up at this point with her arms full of bags HUGE pregnant, and the nurses both ran after her with a wheel chair ready to take her to the delivery room! No No! she siad, SHE’S in labor, take care of her!

We get into triage, the Dr. checks me out and says “You are 100% effaced and 10cm dialated, so lets go into the room and break your water.” We did and 6 pushes later Audrey was born at exactly 7:30am. My brother siad that he really didn’t want to be there for the delivery but so many nurses were running in that he didn’t even bother trying to get out. I had a 2 hour labor and delivery on my due date.

 

[sparkle]

The most positive ones for me were with ALL my kids, after 3 or so ultrasounds they said each time they were girls, and they’re all boys!!! Only God knows all!

 

[kage_ar]

Since I had c-section under general - I went nite nite and woke up. No great advice from me

I will share my best friend’s advice - after baby # 3 she said that a big exercise ball is a lifesaver and a doula is the best money she EVER spent (her DH agreed on that).

Prayers and good luck!