icegurl470
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Let me just start out by saying we women are capable of some amazing things! I went into labor Tue night (4 days overdue). The contractions started out a good 30 minutes apart around 8pm and they were accompanied by nausua and diareah, so I wasn't entirely sure whether it was labor or something I ate. Things moved pretty quickly, however, and I knew when the contractions were 10 minutes apart and getting closer that it was the real deal. I called the hospital around 9pm and gave them the heads up that I would be in that night or early the following morning. They advised me to sleep as much as possible, early labor could last well into the next day (I had been up since 6am that morning). I laid down but the contractions quickly became more intense, about 5 minutes apart, and I kept having to get up with urges to poo. I woke my husband up around 11pm, and he was shocked to see how much pain I was in.
By the time we got to the hospital my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and there was no one in the OB ward (It's a very small hospital, sometimes only averaging one birth a month, so it isn't staffed full-time) It took 30 minutes for the first nurse to arrive. I was in agony. She checked me around 1am and I was "maybe" 3cm dilated. She said she would call my doc when I was 4cm dilated, also I had to be at least 4cm dilated to use the labor tub. She wanted to give me a good 3-4 hrs before she checked me again so I will have made some progress and not be diapointed. I spent most that time on a birthing ball and in the bathroom contracting on the toilet and in the shower. All during this early part of labor I had violent vomiting and direah (as if contractions aren't bad enough!) I had back labor. This was my first baby and I never had Braxton Hicks during pregnancy, so I never knew what contractions felt like. They hurt so bad, I wrived in pain and became very shaky and sweaty.. took my breath away. By 4am I was completely exhausted and wanted desperately to lay down, but every contraction made me sit up and lift my pelvis up off the bed with my arms. If I had been limited to the bed with IV's or something, I think I would have had a terrible time. The toilet, being open in the bottom and the ball being soft and full of air were the best for me. By 4am I was 4cm dilated and the nurse called my doc. He said to wait until I was 5cm dilated to put me in the tub My energy was fading fast and I was overdue, so he didn't want the tub to slow down labor or stop it completely.
Fortunately, a little over an hr later, I was 5cm dilated and allowed to use the tub. It was a GODSEND! It was like a hot tub that took up a corner of the room, complete with two lounging seats lined with messaging jets and a large open area to put your legs. I would lounge between contractions then get into the deep open part during a contracting, with one hand on each seat to hold myself steady and just float. floating took a lot of pressure off my back and allowed my pelvis to open up. The only drawback to the tub is it made me very hot. Cold wet compresses were the best thing for me at this point. Contractions were excruciating. No amount of research, books, documentaries or discussions with other moms could prepared me for this level of pain. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was "transitioning" and my slow steady breathing was quickly becoming groans of agony... The nurse said my doc would be there at 7am. He was 15 minutes late. every time a nurse would come in or walk by I would say things like "PLEASE HELP ME!!" "I CANT DO THIS!" "WHEN IS HE GOING TO GET HERE?!". They kept saying I was doing great and I just kept saying NO! and shaking my head. My doc finally arrived and checked my cervix. I was 9 1/2 cm dilated. No wonder I was in so much pain, I had gone from 5cm to 9.5cm in an hr and a half!
My water finally broke. A huge gross bloody sac quickly followed. After that all hell broke loose. The contractions were so close and intense I personally could not help but sob uncontrollably. My doc couldn't ignore my pleads any longer and came in to check on me. I was bearing down during contractions and he said I could start pushing if I felt like I needed to. I needed this baby out, so I started pushing. The pushing was frustrating. I felt like I wasn't making any progress and it was very tiring and hot. The tub was nice because the bubbles added some coverage. I didn't feel so exposed. Shards of poo that just come out uncontrollably when I pushed were quickly sucked into the giant filter (sorry TMI). I was completely passing out between contractions. I remember waking up in the tub surrounded by people with a building contraction and thinking when is this nightmare going to end! unfortunately, the floating made pushing very awkward and the warm water was making me over-heat. I waiting until I thought I had some time between contractions to flee the tub. Upon exiting the tub I was engulfed by a crippling contraction, that sent me on all fours and I let out a horror movie scream. After finally getting to the bed it was maybe 3 pushes before I felt something "turn on" in my body and its almost like muscles I never even knew I had just kicked in and I felt like I pushed the head out without even trying. My little girl had a fist up by her face that came out when the head did, so that probably accounted for some of my difficulties pushing. The pain of the head coming out made me freak out. A series of blood curdling horror movie screams filled the OB ward. The doc had his hands down there helping the rest of the baby out and I was smacking at him and ripping his hands away. I threw my husband and another nurse around who were holding my legs when I began kicking. finally after a long pause and surely a horrible scene I got another contraction and pushed the rest of her out. It was a glorious moment. The pain just disappears all at once. Biggest relief in existence. Trinity was born at 9.09am, 6lbs 4oz, 21.5" long. I was in labor about 12 hrs.
The placenta was delivered immediately after. I was really out of it, trying to stay awake to bond with the baby who was on my chest. I had been awake almost 30 hrs. I remember the doc and the nurse complementing my placenta on apparently how good it looked and being rewarded with a chocolate milkshake. I asked the doc how my vagina was, because I was sure it was destroyed based on the horrible burning ripping pain I experienced when the head came out. Surprisingly, I only suffered a few first degree tears in the labia. One of the tears in my labia required one stitch, but that was it. No perineal tear. Later the doc said small superficial anterior labial tears, although minor and not needing repair, like perineal tears, can be very painful. I pushed for about an hour and a half. Looking back I think I started pushing too early. The one big urge I got to push that got the head out was the "urge" I think I was supposed to wait for.
I felt terrible for making such a horrible scene near the end of my labor. I remember looking at my mom, my sister and my husband, who were with me the whole time and seeing the horror on there faces when I was screaming. And of course I got a little snappy at times with the nurses, but no one held anything against me. In fact, the nurses did nothing but complement me on how well I did after. As far as natural labor goes, I was told mine was textbook and I handled it as well as could be expected for a first time mom.
I would tell anyone who truly wants an un-medicated, inference free birth to make sure to surround yourself with people who are going to help you complete your goal. The nurses asked me once in the very beginning what I wanted for pain relief, my options being stadol or an intrathecal (they don't do epidurals) I said I wanted nothing and they never mentioned it to me again after that, not even when I was pleading for help. My mom asked if there was anything they could give me when she first got there and my husband quickly said she doesn't want anything and that was it. Don't have ANYONE in the room that's going to keep asking you if you want drugs, because trust me, anyone in there right mind will eventually say yes. Everyone just kept telling me how well I was doing (even when I wasn't!), which was really helpful. Remember that its a finite process, it will end. One day of pure hell reaps a lifetime of joy. I didn't think so at the time, but you truly do forget about the pain. The best memory I have is the glorious relief when she was born. It's labor, it's painful. Everyone handles pain differently. No one will hold anything you do against you.
By the time we got to the hospital my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and there was no one in the OB ward (It's a very small hospital, sometimes only averaging one birth a month, so it isn't staffed full-time) It took 30 minutes for the first nurse to arrive. I was in agony. She checked me around 1am and I was "maybe" 3cm dilated. She said she would call my doc when I was 4cm dilated, also I had to be at least 4cm dilated to use the labor tub. She wanted to give me a good 3-4 hrs before she checked me again so I will have made some progress and not be diapointed. I spent most that time on a birthing ball and in the bathroom contracting on the toilet and in the shower. All during this early part of labor I had violent vomiting and direah (as if contractions aren't bad enough!) I had back labor. This was my first baby and I never had Braxton Hicks during pregnancy, so I never knew what contractions felt like. They hurt so bad, I wrived in pain and became very shaky and sweaty.. took my breath away. By 4am I was completely exhausted and wanted desperately to lay down, but every contraction made me sit up and lift my pelvis up off the bed with my arms. If I had been limited to the bed with IV's or something, I think I would have had a terrible time. The toilet, being open in the bottom and the ball being soft and full of air were the best for me. By 4am I was 4cm dilated and the nurse called my doc. He said to wait until I was 5cm dilated to put me in the tub My energy was fading fast and I was overdue, so he didn't want the tub to slow down labor or stop it completely.
Fortunately, a little over an hr later, I was 5cm dilated and allowed to use the tub. It was a GODSEND! It was like a hot tub that took up a corner of the room, complete with two lounging seats lined with messaging jets and a large open area to put your legs. I would lounge between contractions then get into the deep open part during a contracting, with one hand on each seat to hold myself steady and just float. floating took a lot of pressure off my back and allowed my pelvis to open up. The only drawback to the tub is it made me very hot. Cold wet compresses were the best thing for me at this point. Contractions were excruciating. No amount of research, books, documentaries or discussions with other moms could prepared me for this level of pain. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was "transitioning" and my slow steady breathing was quickly becoming groans of agony... The nurse said my doc would be there at 7am. He was 15 minutes late. every time a nurse would come in or walk by I would say things like "PLEASE HELP ME!!" "I CANT DO THIS!" "WHEN IS HE GOING TO GET HERE?!". They kept saying I was doing great and I just kept saying NO! and shaking my head. My doc finally arrived and checked my cervix. I was 9 1/2 cm dilated. No wonder I was in so much pain, I had gone from 5cm to 9.5cm in an hr and a half!
My water finally broke. A huge gross bloody sac quickly followed. After that all hell broke loose. The contractions were so close and intense I personally could not help but sob uncontrollably. My doc couldn't ignore my pleads any longer and came in to check on me. I was bearing down during contractions and he said I could start pushing if I felt like I needed to. I needed this baby out, so I started pushing. The pushing was frustrating. I felt like I wasn't making any progress and it was very tiring and hot. The tub was nice because the bubbles added some coverage. I didn't feel so exposed. Shards of poo that just come out uncontrollably when I pushed were quickly sucked into the giant filter (sorry TMI). I was completely passing out between contractions. I remember waking up in the tub surrounded by people with a building contraction and thinking when is this nightmare going to end! unfortunately, the floating made pushing very awkward and the warm water was making me over-heat. I waiting until I thought I had some time between contractions to flee the tub. Upon exiting the tub I was engulfed by a crippling contraction, that sent me on all fours and I let out a horror movie scream. After finally getting to the bed it was maybe 3 pushes before I felt something "turn on" in my body and its almost like muscles I never even knew I had just kicked in and I felt like I pushed the head out without even trying. My little girl had a fist up by her face that came out when the head did, so that probably accounted for some of my difficulties pushing. The pain of the head coming out made me freak out. A series of blood curdling horror movie screams filled the OB ward. The doc had his hands down there helping the rest of the baby out and I was smacking at him and ripping his hands away. I threw my husband and another nurse around who were holding my legs when I began kicking. finally after a long pause and surely a horrible scene I got another contraction and pushed the rest of her out. It was a glorious moment. The pain just disappears all at once. Biggest relief in existence. Trinity was born at 9.09am, 6lbs 4oz, 21.5" long. I was in labor about 12 hrs.
The placenta was delivered immediately after. I was really out of it, trying to stay awake to bond with the baby who was on my chest. I had been awake almost 30 hrs. I remember the doc and the nurse complementing my placenta on apparently how good it looked and being rewarded with a chocolate milkshake. I asked the doc how my vagina was, because I was sure it was destroyed based on the horrible burning ripping pain I experienced when the head came out. Surprisingly, I only suffered a few first degree tears in the labia. One of the tears in my labia required one stitch, but that was it. No perineal tear. Later the doc said small superficial anterior labial tears, although minor and not needing repair, like perineal tears, can be very painful. I pushed for about an hour and a half. Looking back I think I started pushing too early. The one big urge I got to push that got the head out was the "urge" I think I was supposed to wait for.
I felt terrible for making such a horrible scene near the end of my labor. I remember looking at my mom, my sister and my husband, who were with me the whole time and seeing the horror on there faces when I was screaming. And of course I got a little snappy at times with the nurses, but no one held anything against me. In fact, the nurses did nothing but complement me on how well I did after. As far as natural labor goes, I was told mine was textbook and I handled it as well as could be expected for a first time mom.
I would tell anyone who truly wants an un-medicated, inference free birth to make sure to surround yourself with people who are going to help you complete your goal. The nurses asked me once in the very beginning what I wanted for pain relief, my options being stadol or an intrathecal (they don't do epidurals) I said I wanted nothing and they never mentioned it to me again after that, not even when I was pleading for help. My mom asked if there was anything they could give me when she first got there and my husband quickly said she doesn't want anything and that was it. Don't have ANYONE in the room that's going to keep asking you if you want drugs, because trust me, anyone in there right mind will eventually say yes. Everyone just kept telling me how well I was doing (even when I wasn't!), which was really helpful. Remember that its a finite process, it will end. One day of pure hell reaps a lifetime of joy. I didn't think so at the time, but you truly do forget about the pain. The best memory I have is the glorious relief when she was born. It's labor, it's painful. Everyone handles pain differently. No one will hold anything you do against you.
After I said I would adopt the next one lol ... my mom said she said the same thing and then I came along lol. And right now I do think of a second one. I know what to expect now and supposely the second one is easier, we'll see 
