We went into the hospital for our scheduled pre-induction stuff at 9pm on Sept. 29th. The nurse checked me and found I was already dilated a centimetre and a half, so no Cervidil would be necessary. I was given the option of sleeping there or coming home and returning at 7am for induction with Pitosin. I opted to come home. I had calmly driven myself to and from the hospital and Hubby lamented that he didn't expect things would go this way. He said he always pictured himself driving me to the hospital in a panic. Little did he know he would get his wish...
We were kinda wired and excited and stayed up til 1am. Went to sleep and woke up around 3am with contractions. I waited a bit and got up to walk around. That's when my mucous plug fell out, so I excitedly took a picture and tried to get some more rest in bed. When things became stronger, I finally woke up Hubby and I went in the bath to labour there. I was contracting every two-three minutes, so by 5am, the bath wasn't really working and we headed to the hospital. He drove like a maniac back to the hospital with me yelling at him to slow down because it's not like the Little Man was going to pop out in a second or anything. Contractions while stuck sitting in a car are really uncomfortable, by the way. So glad we don't live far!
We got there and there were no rooms available yet, so we got stuck in the curtained area, which doesn't give one much room or privacy. I laboured there for seven hours and found it rather distracting. I spent some of it in the whirlpool, but didn't find that very effective in terms of pain relief. My mom and Hubby helped me A LOT, but the lack of privacy was very distracting to me and with only a few hours sleep, I had a very hard time keeping present and focusing. When I lost it, I would get really nauseous and twice I thought I would puke (had the puke pot ready and everything) but ended up being able to deal. I spent most of that time on the bouncy ball. Walking was too intense and lying down was too painful. In the end I knew in order to get anything going I had to willingly accept a higher intensity and lay down on my side. By noon I was exhausted and at five centimetres, sometimes with no break between contractions. I asked for an epidural because I honestly didn't think I'd have the strength to deliver without a rest. I had to wait about an hour and a half for a room to empty and a nurse to assist the anaesthesiologist (there were a TON of people giving birth that day for some reason!) and was finally whisked into my room and shot up with the sweet stuff.
The epidural took well, but there was a patch around where my slipped disk was that didn't seem to take. It wasn't as bad as before, but I still felt it. The medication in it also made me feel itchy all over, which was kinda annoying. Still, for the first time I was able to eat a little bit and everyone left the room so I could get a bit of sleep. I don't remember actually sleeping, but was left alone for an hour and a half or so. My best friend showed up for a bit and they all had lunch. Everyone came back and by 6pm I was eager to get the show on the road, so I didn't really want to sleep, but the nurse came back and told me I really should try to sleep because I would be delivering soon. Everyone left again and I think I got a little sleep, but the nurse was also rushing around my room preparing it for the birth. I had started shivering so I knew I was transitioning quickly. My doctor came in and broke my waters (she had to do that twice because the first time she only got a few layers) and by around 7pm, I was at 9 and a half centimetres.
I did not feel the urge to push, but my pain in my back had definitely increased a great deal and I had to start breathing through contractions again. My mom was really good at massaging me. I tried to push, but couldn't feel anything, so my epidural meds were lowered and we waited half an hour.
When I finally felt some pressure, I got up and used the squatting bar. What I think was great was that my doctor didn't tell me when to push or count or any of that stuff. I pushed when I wanted to push, for as long as I wanted to and that was it. No pressure. If I wanted to rest through a contraction, I could. The bar was effective, but also tiring, so we tried my side. I found that way too uncomfortable and just not beneficial, so we moved to my back. At some point, while my Little Man was coming down the canal, his heart rate started to drop, so I knew I had to hurry up, but was getting seriously tired. The nurse tried pushing on my stomach, but accidentally pushed on my breast, which made me yell for the first time during my whole labour. So that idea was dropped. My doctor said we could either do the pushing or use the vacuum. I told her to go and ahead and use the vacuum, so she set it up. There was some meconium in the water, so things were getting a bit hairy.
At this point in the pushing stage, you're so close and can touch the baby's head, but I started to wonder how much further he had to go. And I was seriously tired. I started crying and everyone started cheering me on, "you can do it!" and I'm pushing and nodding my head back and forth "no". Above the din, I hear my doctor's voice, "Kelly, your baby needs you right now, com'on push!" and that was my incentive to get him out as quickly as possible. So I swore and grunted a bit and animal instinct took over. In the end, his head came out without the vacuum and my doctor said, "grab your baby!" I reached down and grabbed this wet, warm thing and stuck him on my chest. I was then stabbed in the arm by another nurse (I was warned about that beforehand, to stop the bleeding because I tore), the baby is crying and being wiped down, my mom is crying, Hubby is crying and I'm crying because holy crap, he's ALIVE! My placenta comes out and the doctor is like, "here's your placenta, wanna see?" and it's just the craziest moment. Everything happens at once and it's a blur. Meanwhile, I still hadn't even seen his face because he was all squirmy and wet, so I couldn't pick him up properly. I remember my Hubby kissing me and my mom hugging me, but that's about it. I spent a lot of those moments with teary, blurry eyes.
Everything calmed down a bit, the Little Man was swaddled and given back to me and my doctor sewed me up. He was alert and exploring the room, turning towards Hubby's voice (I think he was bouncing off the walls) and started trying to suck everything immediately. If it weren't for me being in an awkward position while being stitched up, I would have put him to my breast. Hubby cut the cord and after my bed was changed and I was cleaned up, we were left alone and I finally got to feed Baby for the first time. He latched on like a pro, no assistance necessary. Sometime later in the evening, he was weighed and measured and I was able to stand up for the first time. I tried going to pee, but was still kind of numb from the epidural and unable to. (That's the other cool thing - they didn't automatically catherize me for the epidural. I was drained once in the afternoon, but otherwise left to try to go on my own) Anyways, I managed to pee sometime later that night.
And after that, the rest of the hospital stay was uneventful, I was just happy to get home. Baby was too. He was much calmer at home.
So the big questions are answered:
1) Was labour pain anything like my Period Cramps From Hell™?
Yes, they were. The only difference is with labour contractions, you get a rest every few minutes, so that pain is actually more manageable. My period cramps are unrelenting. So every month, it was like I went into labour. The other difference is that the cramp pain made me pass out. In labour, you can't really pass out, so it's kinda different, but essentially the same.
2) Would I do it again?
Yes, in a heart beat. Yes, pregnancy and labour were tiring and painful, but the payoff is so amazing, it makes it all worth it. So yes, all the money and time and tests and crap we went through over the last two years are absolutely worth it.
Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with my experience and quite happy being a 24-hour "cafeteria" to my Lil' Boo. He is adorable and charming - very impatient, like his mother. He's a fighter (that's why he's here!) and fights off people changing him or strapping him in car seats, but anyone can hold him and he turns on the cute vibes. We're bed-sharing now because I can't bear to be without him. He only cries when we change him or I don't get him to the breast quickly enough (when he wants it, he wants it NOW! Right NOW! OMG!), so he's a very calm baby overall. No complaints. And I'm getting about 6 hours of sleep at night, plus a nap in the day. Anyways, I should get back to sleep. And it seems like the cafeteria has to open for business again, so I'm off for now.
We were kinda wired and excited and stayed up til 1am. Went to sleep and woke up around 3am with contractions. I waited a bit and got up to walk around. That's when my mucous plug fell out, so I excitedly took a picture and tried to get some more rest in bed. When things became stronger, I finally woke up Hubby and I went in the bath to labour there. I was contracting every two-three minutes, so by 5am, the bath wasn't really working and we headed to the hospital. He drove like a maniac back to the hospital with me yelling at him to slow down because it's not like the Little Man was going to pop out in a second or anything. Contractions while stuck sitting in a car are really uncomfortable, by the way. So glad we don't live far!
We got there and there were no rooms available yet, so we got stuck in the curtained area, which doesn't give one much room or privacy. I laboured there for seven hours and found it rather distracting. I spent some of it in the whirlpool, but didn't find that very effective in terms of pain relief. My mom and Hubby helped me A LOT, but the lack of privacy was very distracting to me and with only a few hours sleep, I had a very hard time keeping present and focusing. When I lost it, I would get really nauseous and twice I thought I would puke (had the puke pot ready and everything) but ended up being able to deal. I spent most of that time on the bouncy ball. Walking was too intense and lying down was too painful. In the end I knew in order to get anything going I had to willingly accept a higher intensity and lay down on my side. By noon I was exhausted and at five centimetres, sometimes with no break between contractions. I asked for an epidural because I honestly didn't think I'd have the strength to deliver without a rest. I had to wait about an hour and a half for a room to empty and a nurse to assist the anaesthesiologist (there were a TON of people giving birth that day for some reason!) and was finally whisked into my room and shot up with the sweet stuff.
The epidural took well, but there was a patch around where my slipped disk was that didn't seem to take. It wasn't as bad as before, but I still felt it. The medication in it also made me feel itchy all over, which was kinda annoying. Still, for the first time I was able to eat a little bit and everyone left the room so I could get a bit of sleep. I don't remember actually sleeping, but was left alone for an hour and a half or so. My best friend showed up for a bit and they all had lunch. Everyone came back and by 6pm I was eager to get the show on the road, so I didn't really want to sleep, but the nurse came back and told me I really should try to sleep because I would be delivering soon. Everyone left again and I think I got a little sleep, but the nurse was also rushing around my room preparing it for the birth. I had started shivering so I knew I was transitioning quickly. My doctor came in and broke my waters (she had to do that twice because the first time she only got a few layers) and by around 7pm, I was at 9 and a half centimetres.
I did not feel the urge to push, but my pain in my back had definitely increased a great deal and I had to start breathing through contractions again. My mom was really good at massaging me. I tried to push, but couldn't feel anything, so my epidural meds were lowered and we waited half an hour.
When I finally felt some pressure, I got up and used the squatting bar. What I think was great was that my doctor didn't tell me when to push or count or any of that stuff. I pushed when I wanted to push, for as long as I wanted to and that was it. No pressure. If I wanted to rest through a contraction, I could. The bar was effective, but also tiring, so we tried my side. I found that way too uncomfortable and just not beneficial, so we moved to my back. At some point, while my Little Man was coming down the canal, his heart rate started to drop, so I knew I had to hurry up, but was getting seriously tired. The nurse tried pushing on my stomach, but accidentally pushed on my breast, which made me yell for the first time during my whole labour. So that idea was dropped. My doctor said we could either do the pushing or use the vacuum. I told her to go and ahead and use the vacuum, so she set it up. There was some meconium in the water, so things were getting a bit hairy.
At this point in the pushing stage, you're so close and can touch the baby's head, but I started to wonder how much further he had to go. And I was seriously tired. I started crying and everyone started cheering me on, "you can do it!" and I'm pushing and nodding my head back and forth "no". Above the din, I hear my doctor's voice, "Kelly, your baby needs you right now, com'on push!" and that was my incentive to get him out as quickly as possible. So I swore and grunted a bit and animal instinct took over. In the end, his head came out without the vacuum and my doctor said, "grab your baby!" I reached down and grabbed this wet, warm thing and stuck him on my chest. I was then stabbed in the arm by another nurse (I was warned about that beforehand, to stop the bleeding because I tore), the baby is crying and being wiped down, my mom is crying, Hubby is crying and I'm crying because holy crap, he's ALIVE! My placenta comes out and the doctor is like, "here's your placenta, wanna see?" and it's just the craziest moment. Everything happens at once and it's a blur. Meanwhile, I still hadn't even seen his face because he was all squirmy and wet, so I couldn't pick him up properly. I remember my Hubby kissing me and my mom hugging me, but that's about it. I spent a lot of those moments with teary, blurry eyes.
Everything calmed down a bit, the Little Man was swaddled and given back to me and my doctor sewed me up. He was alert and exploring the room, turning towards Hubby's voice (I think he was bouncing off the walls) and started trying to suck everything immediately. If it weren't for me being in an awkward position while being stitched up, I would have put him to my breast. Hubby cut the cord and after my bed was changed and I was cleaned up, we were left alone and I finally got to feed Baby for the first time. He latched on like a pro, no assistance necessary. Sometime later in the evening, he was weighed and measured and I was able to stand up for the first time. I tried going to pee, but was still kind of numb from the epidural and unable to. (That's the other cool thing - they didn't automatically catherize me for the epidural. I was drained once in the afternoon, but otherwise left to try to go on my own) Anyways, I managed to pee sometime later that night.
And after that, the rest of the hospital stay was uneventful, I was just happy to get home. Baby was too. He was much calmer at home.
So the big questions are answered:
1) Was labour pain anything like my Period Cramps From Hell™?
Yes, they were. The only difference is with labour contractions, you get a rest every few minutes, so that pain is actually more manageable. My period cramps are unrelenting. So every month, it was like I went into labour. The other difference is that the cramp pain made me pass out. In labour, you can't really pass out, so it's kinda different, but essentially the same.
2) Would I do it again?
Yes, in a heart beat. Yes, pregnancy and labour were tiring and painful, but the payoff is so amazing, it makes it all worth it. So yes, all the money and time and tests and crap we went through over the last two years are absolutely worth it.
Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with my experience and quite happy being a 24-hour "cafeteria" to my Lil' Boo. He is adorable and charming - very impatient, like his mother. He's a fighter (that's why he's here!) and fights off people changing him or strapping him in car seats, but anyone can hold him and he turns on the cute vibes. We're bed-sharing now because I can't bear to be without him. He only cries when we change him or I don't get him to the breast quickly enough (when he wants it, he wants it NOW! Right NOW! OMG!), so he's a very calm baby overall. No complaints. And I'm getting about 6 hours of sleep at night, plus a nap in the day. Anyways, I should get back to sleep. And it seems like the cafeteria has to open for business again, so I'm off for now.
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