Stories...

~Lynda~ · #1 April 10th, 2009, 07:09 AM

Ok for those ladies who have already been through labor, tell us about them briefly (one at a time)!! i love hearing labor stories. For those who are trying for their first child, read the stories, they are usually interesting...

I'll start with my first... I was at a hockey game (we're season hockey ticket holders) and it was a week prior to my due date. I wasn't feeling right... can't explain, just not right. there was a nurse two seats down from us and she told me not to worry, that i probably had 2 more weeks since it was my 1st. we went home and i was getting ready for bed and i heard a popping sound. i didn't pay much attention but then a liquid started to trickle down my leg. i wiped it and smelled it to see if it was amniotic fluid or pee (sorry). my dh was in bed watching tv and i said, hun what would you say if i think my water broke. he said, go to bed, you're delerious. so i layed down in bed, and woooosh, out came a gush of water. seems the babys head was acting like a cork when i was standing but when i layed down, out it gushed. we went to hospital around 10pm. since my water broke they wanted to see if the contractions would start on their own. they were mild all night long. in morning they decided we needed to speed it up, so they put iv with pitocin in it to induce contractions. well that worked, i went into major contractions shortly after. it was so completely painful, i never dreamed of that kind of pain. but i wanted to do it without drugs. i was 4cm dilated. i needed to go to 10. i thought i was going to dye. but i kept breathing through them. then they were coming right on top of each other. by now i was 15 hours into this process. i was so exhausted that the dr. said they had to give me the epidural, or i wouldn't make it through. so they did. i slept for an hour or two and then the contractions started to get stronger again. i called the nurse and they said they were going to have the epidural "upped". so they upped the dose and it didn't really help. but the contractions weren't as severe as before. i could feel each one, but it wasn't really biting. so i figured i could get through it as is. 19 hours into it, i got to 10cm - finally. I pushed for 3 1/2 hours till i was super exhausted and then they told me they were going to do forceps to get the baby out cause her heart rate was dropping with each contraction. so i said, do what you gotta do. they got her out with a couple more pushes and they took her away immediately cause she was in fetal distress due to being in the birth canal for such a long time. she was fine, but needed to be monitored for stress and low blood sugar. we went home two days later, and i couldn't sit for a week!!!! my labor went about 22 hours. yikes.... i will tell 2nd story later...

SavaAngel · #2 April 10th, 2009, 09:10 AM

AJ's isn't a short one - and I hope it doesn't scare ya'll. Hey, I have forgotten some of the pain and want to have another - what's that tell ya!

AJ's Birth Story - August 5, 2006

**Jenn** · #3 April 10th, 2009, 02:00 PM

I absolutely love labor and giving birth! It's one of the things I'm most looking forward to when we get pregnant again!

With my first I was 37 weeks and a couple days when my water broke in the middle of the night (3 am). It started as a trickle and I thought I was peeing myself so I high tailed it to the bathroom and as soon as I sat down out it gushed. It was pink, and a lot of it, so I knew it wasn't pee. I stuck a towel between my legs and hobbled halfway down the steps to tell dh (fi at the time) that my water broke--he hadn't come to bed yet. We got to the hospital around 4:30am and on the car ride over my contractions started coming and were about 4 minutes apart. At about 5 am they did the test to check for amniotic fluid and said it was inconclusive (they said it turned blue but not blue enough, whatever that means). I was also 3cm and 80% effaced. So because I was only 37 weeks they had me walk around for a couple hours to see if this was the real thing or not. I got rechecked at 7am and was 6cm and 100% effaced so they admitted me. We walked over to my birthing room and got settled in. I was doing this drug free and using hypnobirthing and it was just absolutely wonderful! I got checked again at 9am and was 8cm. Shortly after I was feeling a lot of pressure and they said I had a tiny lip of cervix and not to push. Up until then I had a pain free labor (not to say it wasn't uncomfortable and hard work but not "pain") but not pushing was the hardest thing I've ever done. Actually I think it was just a stalling technique because no one expected me to progress as quickly as I did being a first timer and the doctor wasn't ready yet. Once things were set up and I was allowed to push I pushed for 14 minutes and out he came! Total labor time was 6 hours 49 minutes! Oh and my water did definitely break in the beginning--it was a high break and his head corked it up not allowing the water to flow but once I started dilating more is when it would come out. He was a nice size for being 3 weeks early too. Liam was born at 7lbs 5oz and 19 1/2 inches long.

**Jenn** · #4 April 10th, 2009, 02:13 PM

For my second baby I knew I didn't want to deliver in a hospital and really wanted to go with a midwife and freestanding birth center. It was wonderful and a really great experience. I used my hypnobirthing again and had another really great labor and delivery.

Very early morning the day of my due date (1:15am) I got woken up by a contraction. Having had a "false alarm" only 6 days prior I wasn't convinced this was the start of things so I went back to sleep. But by 2am contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and I knew this was it! I woke up dh, called the midwife, and we set off. We had moved only a few weeks before so our commute to the birth center was now 1 1/2 hours (without traffic). I had tested GBS+ so I had to get my antibiotics as soon as possible, especially given my history of quick labors. We got to the birth center at 4am and 15 minutes later I was checked and antibiotics started. I was 3cm and 75% effaced, the same as I had been for the past 2 weeks! I figured I was in this for the long haul so once the antibiotics were drained they unhooked me and we walked around for a while. I was exhausted so around 5:45am I came back to bed and slept between contractions. My Mom was with us and she was afraid that my labor had stalled because it looked like I was sleeping the whole time! LOL Then at 6:45am the baby shifted position inside and I heard a big pop followed quickly by a huge gush of water. At that point my eyes snapped open and I told them my water broke. I was checked again at that time and was about 5-5 1/2cm and 100% effaced. I still thought I was going to be laboring for a while but at 7:25am I started pushing and ten minutes later he was out! Lochlann was born weighing 8lbs 5oz and 20 1/2 inches long. From the time my water broke til he was out was pretty intense but up until then, thanks to my hypnobirthing, I was able get through it very well. My body didn't so much like the quick delivery and my blood pressure shot up and I started hemorrhaging. The midwife had to manually extract huge clots and give me a shot of something in my thigh and pitocin to try and stop the bleeding. I was minutes away from a hospital transfer but they did get the bleeding to subside. I wasn't worried about it, I knew I was in good hands.

For our next birth we are planning a home birth and we couldn't be more excited for it!!!