I always wanted an unmedicated birth. The idea of having an epidural and not being able to feel your legs freaks me out to no avail. After reading all of the benefits, I decided. An unmedicated birth was perfect for me! Few supported me, most laughed and said, "Wait until you are in labor, you will be BEGGING for an epidural!" If you think that I am some crazy person that feels no pain, think again. I actually cried and screamed "Please! Please! Please stop!" during a cervix check. I swear I saw my midwife roll her eyes.
I went in on a Thursday night. Was hooked up to an IV and monitors (standard for inductions) and had the cervidil placed. All night, I fought with the monitors. It felt like they were so tight and were hurting so much. In the morning, the nurses came in, removed the cervidil, and offered me my last chance to take a shower before moving to labor and delivery. I jumped at the chance and hopped in! Half way through washing my hair, I was done. Those dang monitors hurt so bad... but, hey wait! They weren't even on. That whole time, it was contractions that I was feeling.
The wheeled me over to the labor and delivery floor. My charts read that I had been contracting every 4 minutes and the doctors decided to hold off on pitosin to see if my labor would start naturally. The doctor was patient and waited between contractions to ask me a mile long list of questions. She left, telling me that someone would come in to talk to me about an epidural in a few minutes.
I paced around the bed, unable to sit down because the contractions were too intense. I was fine as long as I was standing, but between contractions I decided to hop in the bed to rest. When I say hop, I literally mean hop. I hopped and then there was a pop. This is starting to sound like a Dr. Suess book. The pop was my water breaking all over myself, the bed, and the floor. I cried. I don't even know why. It felt gross? Tears of relief? Who knows? I just had myself a good cry!
I had the best nurse ever. She brought me lemonaide and I loved her. She came back in when my water broke and told me "This is it! You definitely don't need pitosin now!" She asked how my pain was and I admitted that it hurt more than just a little. She offered a pain reducer though the IV and I agreed. If my labor was just beginning and I already was in this much pain, how would I ever make it though? She asked the doctor to come in and check my cervix first because my water had broken. She checked and I was at an eight! An eight! I could do this! My labor hadn't just started, I was in transition. It was almost over and I was strong and I could do this.
I asked to use the jet pool instead. It was nice. I must have been in there for a half hour. On the way back, I told them I felt the urge. To, well, you know. She told me that she wanted me checked first because this urge often leads to a different kind of pushing. The kind that ends with a baby instead. I was a little shy of a full ten! With just a lip of cervix left, I waddled to the bathroom and spend the rest of my labor sitting on the toilet. Don't laugh. It was so comfortable!
I was finally getting the baby pushing kind of urge and I got back into the bed. The doctor came back. I was fully dilated! It was time to push, but there was one problem. While my little girl's head was right there, her body was crooked and stuck out of the left side of my belly. Remember that great nurse I had? I loved her. She had me flipping sides between every contraction. Finally, my daughter was ready to be born. I pushed and I pushed and I honestly heard a tearing noise, but I didn't care anymore. She was here!
June 24, 2011 12:20 PM
Elaina was born
8 lbs 10 oz 20 1/2 inches long!
She was so amazing that I didn't feel anymore pain after that. I just held her and looked at her little face while they stitched up my third degree tear and labia tear. She was so alert and stared back at me. An hour after delivery, I was able to breast feed her. It was the most amazing moment of my life.
People always told me that a women becomes a mother when she feels her baby kick, but a man doesn't become a father until he holds his child. That day, this man became a father.
It was all worth it and I could not imagine giving birth any other way!
How was your birth experience?
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