Katy Bug
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I have a positive story when it comes to induction and pitocin. However, due to the process being so long and me feeling pressured into doing it, I can say I won't ever do an induction again. I had my boy on September 13th. I have some negative and positive things to say about the birth. At first I was traumatized, now I feel rather giddy about the whole thing. I went in wanting a totally natural birth with no pain meds, even with the induction. Here it goes.
I was scheduled to go into the doctor on Wednesday, September 12th, for an induction. I was only 40 weeks and 4 days but my doctors didn't want me going past 41 weeks and would have scheduled me for that Sunday. I felt pressure from my midwife to go ahead and do the induction and my husband, as supportive as he's been, was a bit clueless on how induction works and how disappointed I was that I wouldn't be going on my own. So I planned the induction even though I didn't want to and cried that I wouldn't be going into labor on my own. I also had to have antibiotics for Group B Strep so we had to go in at 5 pm on Wednesday to make sure they pumped enough in me.
So my husband and I went to eat and went on to the hospital, where we checked in and signed some papers. Since I was already 3 cm dilated, I would just get Pitocin, but I wouldn't get it until 3 am! I still don't get that but whatever..They put an IV in me, which I HATED and started the antibiotics around 6:30. The nurses kept telling me to rest but I couldn't because 1) the nurses kept coming in ALL the time 2) the blood pressure monitor kept beeping because it kept falling off me and 3) my IV hurt like HELL! The nurse put it like right on my right wrist and it struck a nerve and it hurt for hours before I said something. Finally, sometime around 2:30, before they were going to start Pitocin, I said something to one of the nurses (she was the best nurse there that night) about the IV. She told me the IV wasn't supposed to hurt as bad as I was describing it. Like the whole back of my hand was hurting. So she asked if I wanted it moved and I said yes. I asked her the best place to have it and she recommended my hand. So I had her put another IV in my left hand and it felt WAYYY better, I mean like a 100 times better, like I couldn't even feel it better. Then she took the other IV out and I was fine then. I'm so glad I had her change that IV because I can't imagine that thing hurting me during pushing.
Anyway, after that they started the drip and I went to 20, the highest they would let me go, with just mild cramps. The midwife came in our 8 that morning to break my water. About 2 minutes after she did that I started feeling the contractions and my pain was already bad. I think I tried to "breathe" through the pain for about 30 minutes before I wanted some kind of medication other than the epidural. I either had Nubain or Demerol, I can't remember. Either way, about 20 seconds after the nurse put it in my IV I totally felt out of it, but it helped me get a few hours of sleep, which I needed. Apparently I said some funny stuff to the nurses and my family while on it and the stuff made you feel sleepy. When I woke up from it I was still a bit groggy but eventually the edge wore off for the pain and I asked for the epidural. My nurse was so sweet while the rather nice looking anesthesiologist gave me the epidural. I sat on the edge of the bed and she sat in front of me and held me and played with my hair while I was having contractions and whispered to me how the anesthesiologist was the best looking one they had. Within minutes of getting the epidural my pain was gone but my legs were so numb!
The numbness of my legs got to me a lot. It felt like ants were crawling on me and I hated not being able to feel them but the pain was gone. There went my natural labor out the window! Around 5 or 6 ish I was 10 cm and, after being there for 24 hours (really only 9 hours in hard labor), it was now time to push. So we had a practice round and all was fine. That is, until the epidural started wearing off. Right as the nurses were coming in to help with the pushing, I (in my stupidity) thought it would be over in about 10 minutes. Only a few pushes and he'll be out. But no, I was very wrong. Because of this I told them to let the epidural wear off so it would be easier to push.
Sometime around 30 minutes to an hour I could feel my contractions on my left side only. It was horrible and then the pressure down below started getting worse. They had me on my back at first and the doctor told them to raise the bar on the bed and try the "rope", which was basically me tugging on a sheet tied to the bar while pushing. I didn't like that and after a while I asked if I could get up on my hands and knees, which they gladly let me do. Whatever I wanted to try, they were supportive. But that's when things got worse for me. The pressure down below was so horrible that I couldn't bear it and I had a full blown panic attack (I have high anxiety). I was up on my knees, not pushing, and telling the nurses I was going to die. I was all up on their shoulders asking them to save me and to do something, to get him out. I ended up laying down and bawling and my husband was trying to console me by telling me to I "gotta breathe" and I yelled at him to shut up or to stop it or something. I ended up biting his fingers because of the pain :/ Finally I calmed down enough to lay back down on my back and they gave me an oxygen mask. I remember sweating so much that my hair was drenched and so was my face.
Once on my back again, we resumed pushing. I was extremely tired. I hadn't slept good the night before we came into the hospital and I had only about 2-3 hours of sleep that day, so I was exhausted. The nurse kept telling me she could see the head and that he had a lot of hair but I didn't care about that. I just wanted him out. I kept telling them, "I'm so tired" the whole time but still I kept on pushing through the pain in the 3 10 second intervals. About the time we hit the 3rd time to push every time I would scream because of the pressure. It felt like I had to give the biggest poop of my life and it just wouldn't come out. But sometimes after the 3rd, when they would want me to rest, I would still want to push and would keep telling them "I need to push!". The pain and pressure was so bad to me that I was actually begging for a c-section.
Finally, when the doctor came in I felt a bit of relief because I knew it wouldn't be long now. They don't do episiotomies but she had a table set up just in case and I was about to beg for one because I wanted him out so bad. The doctor is what really helped. Once she was in the room my boy was out in about 5 or 10 minutes. When I told her I needed to push she told me to wait for a contraction so I did. Finally I started feeling a burning down there and I KNEW it was the "ring of fire" everyone describes, so I knew I was close. That's when I closed my eyes and pushed as hard as I could. The burning got worse but still I kept pushing, and after pausing and pushing again a few more time I felt this release and I opened my eyes and there he was on my chest, crying the moment he came out. And I was just so relieved from the pain and overjoyed at seeing him and having him there on my chest that it all felt like a dream.
When they took him away to be cleaned I just kept sighing because it was finally over. The pain was instantly gone. My husband stayed by my side as the doctor stitched me up. I didn't have too many stitches but I tore inside and out. I really wanted to see my boy and it felt like I was on that bed for ages waiting for them to bring him to me. My placenta came out in a gush soon after, which was nothing, and the doctor pressed on my stomach to get the blood out but none of it hurt as bad as what I had just gone through. Finally they brought me my boy all swaddled up and put him beside me. He was alert and just staring while poking his little tongue out. I won't forget the moment, ever. I do remember, while the doc was stitching me up, that my legs and body were shaking uncontrollably. My body had just delivered a baby and it was like a trauma to it. Just something I hadn't expected. However, I also didn't expect to have my epidural wear off to where I felt everything.
At the time, I told my mom I was a bit traumatized by the whole experience and even pondered whether I would ever do it again, or even do it again for my boy. But now, looking back, I think it was a rather amazing experience and to feel all that..dumb as I might sound I'm kind of glad I got to feel it all. That ring of fire everyone describes wasn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The pressure and the contractions were way worse. The fire was nothing. It was more relief to me because I knew the end was close.
In the end I had a 7 pound 3 ounce boy. I seriously thought I was going to die but it goes to show how first time moms just do not know what to expect and the experience is different for everyone. Did I have a positive birth? Yes, for the most part. Take out my ridiculous panic attack and it was fine. Take out the 2 hour pushing and it was fine! But overall, I'm really glad I went through it and it was a positive induction. Everything went smoothly and the nurses worked with me great. They were the best staff ever and I'll be going back to them again, you know, in about 5 or 6 years..
If I scared anyone, I'm sorry. This wasn't meant to scare but to bring some peace of mind to those with not knowing what to expect or worrying about the epidural wearing off. Like I said, I have high anxiety and I have a tendency to think I'm going to die in certain situations. Many of the nurses and my own mom were laughing at me at some points. It wore off but guess what, I got through it. And if I can get through it, afraid of everything as it is, then so can you. Good luck to those giving birth soon
I was scheduled to go into the doctor on Wednesday, September 12th, for an induction. I was only 40 weeks and 4 days but my doctors didn't want me going past 41 weeks and would have scheduled me for that Sunday. I felt pressure from my midwife to go ahead and do the induction and my husband, as supportive as he's been, was a bit clueless on how induction works and how disappointed I was that I wouldn't be going on my own. So I planned the induction even though I didn't want to and cried that I wouldn't be going into labor on my own. I also had to have antibiotics for Group B Strep so we had to go in at 5 pm on Wednesday to make sure they pumped enough in me.
So my husband and I went to eat and went on to the hospital, where we checked in and signed some papers. Since I was already 3 cm dilated, I would just get Pitocin, but I wouldn't get it until 3 am! I still don't get that but whatever..They put an IV in me, which I HATED and started the antibiotics around 6:30. The nurses kept telling me to rest but I couldn't because 1) the nurses kept coming in ALL the time 2) the blood pressure monitor kept beeping because it kept falling off me and 3) my IV hurt like HELL! The nurse put it like right on my right wrist and it struck a nerve and it hurt for hours before I said something. Finally, sometime around 2:30, before they were going to start Pitocin, I said something to one of the nurses (she was the best nurse there that night) about the IV. She told me the IV wasn't supposed to hurt as bad as I was describing it. Like the whole back of my hand was hurting. So she asked if I wanted it moved and I said yes. I asked her the best place to have it and she recommended my hand. So I had her put another IV in my left hand and it felt WAYYY better, I mean like a 100 times better, like I couldn't even feel it better. Then she took the other IV out and I was fine then. I'm so glad I had her change that IV because I can't imagine that thing hurting me during pushing.
Anyway, after that they started the drip and I went to 20, the highest they would let me go, with just mild cramps. The midwife came in our 8 that morning to break my water. About 2 minutes after she did that I started feeling the contractions and my pain was already bad. I think I tried to "breathe" through the pain for about 30 minutes before I wanted some kind of medication other than the epidural. I either had Nubain or Demerol, I can't remember. Either way, about 20 seconds after the nurse put it in my IV I totally felt out of it, but it helped me get a few hours of sleep, which I needed. Apparently I said some funny stuff to the nurses and my family while on it and the stuff made you feel sleepy. When I woke up from it I was still a bit groggy but eventually the edge wore off for the pain and I asked for the epidural. My nurse was so sweet while the rather nice looking anesthesiologist gave me the epidural. I sat on the edge of the bed and she sat in front of me and held me and played with my hair while I was having contractions and whispered to me how the anesthesiologist was the best looking one they had. Within minutes of getting the epidural my pain was gone but my legs were so numb!
The numbness of my legs got to me a lot. It felt like ants were crawling on me and I hated not being able to feel them but the pain was gone. There went my natural labor out the window! Around 5 or 6 ish I was 10 cm and, after being there for 24 hours (really only 9 hours in hard labor), it was now time to push. So we had a practice round and all was fine. That is, until the epidural started wearing off. Right as the nurses were coming in to help with the pushing, I (in my stupidity) thought it would be over in about 10 minutes. Only a few pushes and he'll be out. But no, I was very wrong. Because of this I told them to let the epidural wear off so it would be easier to push.
Sometime around 30 minutes to an hour I could feel my contractions on my left side only. It was horrible and then the pressure down below started getting worse. They had me on my back at first and the doctor told them to raise the bar on the bed and try the "rope", which was basically me tugging on a sheet tied to the bar while pushing. I didn't like that and after a while I asked if I could get up on my hands and knees, which they gladly let me do. Whatever I wanted to try, they were supportive. But that's when things got worse for me. The pressure down below was so horrible that I couldn't bear it and I had a full blown panic attack (I have high anxiety). I was up on my knees, not pushing, and telling the nurses I was going to die. I was all up on their shoulders asking them to save me and to do something, to get him out. I ended up laying down and bawling and my husband was trying to console me by telling me to I "gotta breathe" and I yelled at him to shut up or to stop it or something. I ended up biting his fingers because of the pain :/ Finally I calmed down enough to lay back down on my back and they gave me an oxygen mask. I remember sweating so much that my hair was drenched and so was my face.
Once on my back again, we resumed pushing. I was extremely tired. I hadn't slept good the night before we came into the hospital and I had only about 2-3 hours of sleep that day, so I was exhausted. The nurse kept telling me she could see the head and that he had a lot of hair but I didn't care about that. I just wanted him out. I kept telling them, "I'm so tired" the whole time but still I kept on pushing through the pain in the 3 10 second intervals. About the time we hit the 3rd time to push every time I would scream because of the pressure. It felt like I had to give the biggest poop of my life and it just wouldn't come out. But sometimes after the 3rd, when they would want me to rest, I would still want to push and would keep telling them "I need to push!". The pain and pressure was so bad to me that I was actually begging for a c-section.
Finally, when the doctor came in I felt a bit of relief because I knew it wouldn't be long now. They don't do episiotomies but she had a table set up just in case and I was about to beg for one because I wanted him out so bad. The doctor is what really helped. Once she was in the room my boy was out in about 5 or 10 minutes. When I told her I needed to push she told me to wait for a contraction so I did. Finally I started feeling a burning down there and I KNEW it was the "ring of fire" everyone describes, so I knew I was close. That's when I closed my eyes and pushed as hard as I could. The burning got worse but still I kept pushing, and after pausing and pushing again a few more time I felt this release and I opened my eyes and there he was on my chest, crying the moment he came out. And I was just so relieved from the pain and overjoyed at seeing him and having him there on my chest that it all felt like a dream.
When they took him away to be cleaned I just kept sighing because it was finally over. The pain was instantly gone. My husband stayed by my side as the doctor stitched me up. I didn't have too many stitches but I tore inside and out. I really wanted to see my boy and it felt like I was on that bed for ages waiting for them to bring him to me. My placenta came out in a gush soon after, which was nothing, and the doctor pressed on my stomach to get the blood out but none of it hurt as bad as what I had just gone through. Finally they brought me my boy all swaddled up and put him beside me. He was alert and just staring while poking his little tongue out. I won't forget the moment, ever. I do remember, while the doc was stitching me up, that my legs and body were shaking uncontrollably. My body had just delivered a baby and it was like a trauma to it. Just something I hadn't expected. However, I also didn't expect to have my epidural wear off to where I felt everything.
At the time, I told my mom I was a bit traumatized by the whole experience and even pondered whether I would ever do it again, or even do it again for my boy. But now, looking back, I think it was a rather amazing experience and to feel all that..dumb as I might sound I'm kind of glad I got to feel it all. That ring of fire everyone describes wasn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The pressure and the contractions were way worse. The fire was nothing. It was more relief to me because I knew the end was close.
In the end I had a 7 pound 3 ounce boy. I seriously thought I was going to die but it goes to show how first time moms just do not know what to expect and the experience is different for everyone. Did I have a positive birth? Yes, for the most part. Take out my ridiculous panic attack and it was fine. Take out the 2 hour pushing and it was fine! But overall, I'm really glad I went through it and it was a positive induction. Everything went smoothly and the nurses worked with me great. They were the best staff ever and I'll be going back to them again, you know, in about 5 or 6 years..
If I scared anyone, I'm sorry. This wasn't meant to scare but to bring some peace of mind to those with not knowing what to expect or worrying about the epidural wearing off. Like I said, I have high anxiety and I have a tendency to think I'm going to die in certain situations. Many of the nurses and my own mom were laughing at me at some points. It wore off but guess what, I got through it. And if I can get through it, afraid of everything as it is, then so can you. Good luck to those giving birth soon
x
