On January 5th my day started out by going to the doctor for my 40 week appointment, at that point I was so ready to not be pregnant anymore; I had really hoped that I wouldn’t have had to go for yet another visit to the doctor. After the routine weight check and the millionth time of peeing in a cup, I met with the nurse practitioner and was hooked up the non-stress test. After checking me [and baby] she informed me that I was all ready to go. That if I wanted, they could induce me.
Even though I loved the thought of not being pregnant anymore, I still wasn’t fond of the idea of using chemicals to bring on labor. I had also heard that contractions are much stronger after you’ve been induced. So after thinking it over and making a pro-con list with Marcos we decided not to do it and just wait. By the look that appeared on the face of the NP, she thought I was crazy. But I didn’t care.
Marcos works second shift and doesn’t get home until after midnight, any time between midnight and three in the morning. As soon he got the job, I started praying that I’d go into labor either on Sunday (his day off) or in the morning. I mean, what woman wants to be in the hospital, in labor, alone? Not me!
So, that day after getting home from the doctor hubby left for work. And there I sat, like every other day until late that afternoon when the contractions started. I wasn’t really sure if they were real. They weren’t consistent and didn’t seem to be progressing much. I even started ‘journaling’ the times when I had them in order to keep track. By the time Marcos got home my contractions had become more regular and by 4AM they were about five minutes apart. So of we went to hospital.
After going through a million questions in the triage, I was told that my doctor wanted to start me on some meds to speed up my contractions. I wasn’t too pleased, but I didn’t want to complain at that point. By 7/7:30AM I was throwing up because my contractions were so strong. [Thanks to the meds!] That was by far way worse than the contractions themselves which were pretty darn painful to begin with. So not being able to control my vomiting (Oh and my body was shaking extremely out of control. It was almost as if I didn’t have any control over stopping it.) I made the decision to have an epidural.
Now, this whole pregnancy I had been telling people and myself that I wanted delivery to be as natural as possible. So I was kind of disappointed in myself at first for having help. I will also admit that I was a little nervous about getting an epidural, more so than the thought of pushing a baby out of my body. But once that catheter was in and started working, I loved it. I even got to rest while I waited for the labor to progress. My water did break on its own, which I was happy for. That was at about 11 o’clock. By 11:50AM our son was out!
I was just as excited for the birth as any other mother would be. They put the baby right into my lap as soon as he was born. But I found it kind of annoying that the nurses coach you even after the birth. “Hold him. It’s your baby!” I know all of that. “Look at him!” It felt almost as if they didn’t think I wanted him. All I was doing was trying to catch my breath. I mean, come on! I just pushed for nearly an hour.
Other than being sick during labor, it wasn't a bad experience. From all the stories and TV shows on the subject, I expected it to be much worse. And maybe it would have been if I would have gone 100% natural. I don't think I'll ever find out. If I get pregnant again, I am for sure getting that epidural and this time it will be before I get sick!
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