Well, I figured I would post a proper birthing story of our new little addition, Connor David. (Connor is named after my late maternal grandmother's maiden name, and his middle name is the name of my 2 favorite uncles, my father in law, and [this is quite funny] my OB)
Well, I knew I was going to be induced. We had scheduled it on Monday, May 9th because it was Lars' day off. Having an induction date is fantastic, however, I found it extremely nerve-wracking to know when I would be going through labor, and could barely sleep the few days leading up to it. The day before delivery, I actually thought, "tomorrow I will be having baby Connor!" and then I threw up.
We called in to the maternity ward at 6am and they told us to be ready when they called to go directly to the hospital. Luckily they called within 30 minutes and said they had an opening and to be at the hospital in an hour and a half.
We arrived at the hospital, got checked in, and were sent to a room. My vitals were taken, my history, and the nurse asked my preferred pain management method. She attempted to talk me out of going natural but stopped once she saw I was very serious about NOT having an epidural. My previous deliveries had been epidurals and I swore after the last botched job I would never get an epidural again. Unfortunatly, that really left very few other options for me. I told the nurse I would just see how far I could go and go from there. I was really open to pain meds if I needed them and really had no set "plan" of how I would go about labor. I did, however, know hypnobirthing techniques, coping strategies, and that it would "really hurt" from some friends of mine that had gone through it without meds.
To be induced you are given a drug called pitocin intravenously. An IV was started and the pitocin was kicked up. I was admitted dilated to a 3, 80% effaced and a -2 station. My nurse informed me that she would be leaving at 3pm, so it would be nice if I could deliver before then. I truly thought that it would be a possibility to have delivered by 3pm. Boy was I wrong!
The pitocin could only be upped every 30 minutes. I would have to have my blood pressure monitored every time they changed the dose, and the baby and my contractions would have to be monitored continuously. That meant no walks around the hospital like I had envisioned... My first dosage didn't seem to be doing much at all. I asked to have it upped. The second dosage didn't seem to produce very strong contractions. I asked again to have it upped. In between there somewhere I had my water broken by the OB...we were told that would speed things up....not sure it did....The third time I asked to up my pitocin, I just told the nurse to continue upping the dosage every 30 minutes until I told her to stop. Each time they upped the meds the contractions got stronger. I knew that strong contractions were the only way to get this little guy out! Every time they turned up the medication, they could only turn it up 4 points...The limit they liked to stay at was around 20. After about 2 hours I had reached 20. I liked that once we hit 20 I was starting to feel some painful contractions. It wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it should be so, of course, I asked to have my pitocin upped. Because it was the limit the nurse could administer, she had to get clearance from my OB to go any higher... He obliged as long as I was ok and Connor was continuing to do well. I continued to have my pitocin upped until I was at a 36...which was apparently extremely high...but it was making those contractions painful and I was certain the adage "no pain, no gain" applied here...
So, 10:30 is when the contractions started to pick up... I told the nurse they felt like mini fires that blew themselves out. That's how they felt, but didn't stay there for long.
My contractions continued to get stronger as labor and the pitocin progressed. Unfortunately, Connor seemed to be stuck in his current position, and my dilation seemed to be at a stalemate. The nurse, and doctor became concerned that he was over 9lbs, and perhaps, stuck in his current position. They thought that his head was possibly too large...and warned me that things might not go as I had planned.... It was a hint that a C-section might be in the near future. I wanted to continue...and, reliably, asked for my pitocin to be upped. Meanwhile, I had sent my bored husband to get some lunch, I had walked around, listened to music, played endless games of spider solitaire....I was bored to death, in between contractions anyway.
By 3pm, we had a little babysitting problem and my son needed to be home to take a nap. He only likes to do that in his own bed with his blankie and his best friend, Monkey. I told my husband, since things were going so slowly, to go ahead and take the kids home, stay for his nap, and come back to the hospital a few hours later. I was convinced this labor was going nowhere--fast. Luckily Connor moved past the position he was stuck in and I was able to see some progress quickly. By this time my pitocin was up to 36 and I had finally gone to a 6, 90% effaced, and a -1 station.
My OB came in about 5:30pm and asked how I was doing. My nurse had informed me to call Lars and get him to get a babysitter or something and head straight back to the hospital because going from a 6 to a 10 could go very quickly. He was doing all that he could to get the kids a sitter and come straight away. By this time my contractions were extremely intense. I found refuge in listening to music, breathing through contractions and standing like a football player ready for "HIKE" to be yelled. I paced a lot. I bounced on a birthing ball. I gripped the chair/table/bed like I was wishing death upon them. They got so intense around that time that I had to lay down. I could no longer stand without feeling my legs might collapse. The nurse gave me something in my IV that would give me 20 minutes of the "edge taken off of my pain" in attempt to slow down a bit before Lars got there. Finally, my husband arrived. It was obvious my body was waiting for him.
About 6:15pm, my contractions really picked up. My OB checked me and I had quickly gone to a 9cm, 100% effaced and was at a 1 station. They were so painful I could only hum...and think of nothing but just getting through them. They were setting up the room, my doctor was gowning up and getting ready to deliver. I had the overwhelming urge to pee. I swore I was going to pee all over the doctor...I was so nervous I would actually do it; although, rationally, I knew it was just all the pressure that gave me the feeling that I had to pee, but I actually didn't have to... About 2 or 3 contractions later I knew that Connor was crowning. I was sooooo ready to push, the feeling was so intense. I was given the equivalent of a dental numbing shot just where I might tear (presuming that this child was going to be HUGE because of how long and slow labor had been). I was told to push and was so surprised that it was that time already. I expected things to be a lot worse for a lot longer.
After pushing through 3 contractions, and panting in between to be stretched, to have the cord released from his neck, and to ease the shoulders out, Connor was completely out. It was amazing. I was in such awe that I had actually done it all by myself. All that I could say was "He&# ya. I did that." The nurse laughed and said she was proud that my only swear word during the whole delivery was that. She thought it was quite humorous (Of course I did plenty of silent swearing in my head during labor; I just never vocalized it). After delivery I had such a hormonal "HIGH" that I couldn't really even function for about 10 minutes. I did have to deliver the placenta...I was happy when that was over. I was THRILLED to hear I hadn't torn a bit. It sure does pay off knowing where to bear down, and being able to feel it.
I sat there for some time waiting for my baby to be weighed and scored and tested. To all of our surprise, Connor was only 7lbs 9oz and 20inches long; turns out I just have a narrow pelvis and he came out a bit bruised and battered, but healthy and fine. I was so proud that I had done all of it. I didn't really think it was possible of me. I always thought I was tough, but was happy to have tested my theory. Within an hour I was walking around and feeling good. 3 hours after delivery I was ready to go home. Sadly, the hospitals make you wait for 24 before going home. Within a couple of days I was wanting to go on a bike ride. And, today, day 5, I feel like I could run a marathon and be perfectly up for anything coming my way.
If I had the chance, or if we do have the chance, to do this all again, I would definitely do it exactly as I did. The experience was amazing.