louisianagirl
Mom to 2 Boys
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2011
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My LO was born on his due date, Friday 9/23 at 8:53pm. He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 20 inches long. 
After having no dilation or effacement at my appointment on Tuesday prior and not having any symptoms, I woke up Friday morning with small cramps. I sat up in bed and felt a small trickle. I told my husband and he said "Well, get off the bed!"
I turned on the light and noticed a pink colored liquid on the sheets. I checked the toilet as I didn't flush during the night (for this reason) and there was more pink colored stuff. I got excited as I finally had a change. I started to notice more pain and walked around the bedroom as my husband read me articles about bloody show/mucus plug. I went back to the bathroom and realized I had a lot of mucus when I wiped. We waited about an hour and then my husband decided to run to work to tie up some things for a few hours. I ate some breakfast and he left for work. He said he'd be back in about 2.5 hours or so. When he left the pain got increasingly worse and contractions started to come on faster and faster. I really thought I would have more rest time in between. I tried to take a bath and couldn't due to the pain. I just walked and walked until finally I sent my husband a message and said "Come home now". When he arrived he wanted to make sure the contractions were at least 5 minutes apart. While he packed the car and timed them, I paced. We determined they were coming between as few as 3 minutes to some that were 7 minutes apart. After eating a small lunch, we left for the hospital. During the drive, the contractions were 4 minutes apart consistently. When we got to the hospital, they said they would check me. My hubby was sure they were sending us home. When they checked me, I had dilated to 4 centimeters and my water was ruptured. The baby was really low and when she touched his head, the water gushed out. She said you aren't going home and I was going to be admitted. I was wheeled to my room. My nurse asked me a few questions as I breathed through the contractions. I told them I wanted to get to 5 centimeters before I had the epidural. This was a goal I set for myself because I was so afraid the epidural would slow down labor. After another hour or so, they checked me again. I was 6 centimeters. OK! Its time for the epidural. They told me I was an excellent candidate for a natural delivery because I had progressed so far so fast. I thought about it for a few seconds and then I said
No, go ahead and give me the epidural. The epidural was painless and a very easy process. Finally, a little relief! I probably could have waited a bit longer for the epidural but I was nervous and decided to get it when I could. As our families arrived, we watched the contractions on the monitor. Another hour passed, 8 centimeters! They couldnt believe how fast I was progressing without any pitocin. Another hour or so, 9 centimeters! Then it happened, the labor slowed down a bit. I was really worried about this happening and it did. I had just a tiny bit of cervix left around his head and they wanted to wait a little longer. The doctor actually discussed with the nurses about letting me push through what was left of the cervix, but my nurse said she was worried I would tear my cervix. They moved me around in the bed a bit and at one point, my LOs heart beat dropped and scared us to death. Thats when the doctor decided to see if I could go ahead a push a little and see what happened. The doctor watched and felt comfortable that I could deliver the baby. People came out of no where and it was go time before I knew it! I was so scared of a c-section I pushed so hard! I pushed through 3 contractions and my son was here! 
I had a 2nd degree tear which took about 30 minutes to stitch up. My epidural was on a pump and thankfully I didnt pump but 2x during the labor as I was still able to feel my legs and some of the contractions and I think this helped. All in all, it was a very good experience. I was only scared once, when they lost his heartbeat. My advice would be not to get the epidural too early as it can slow down labor. It wont for everyone, but it does for some. The other thing is stock up on stool softener!
After having no dilation or effacement at my appointment on Tuesday prior and not having any symptoms, I woke up Friday morning with small cramps. I sat up in bed and felt a small trickle. I told my husband and he said "Well, get off the bed!"
I turned on the light and noticed a pink colored liquid on the sheets. I checked the toilet as I didn't flush during the night (for this reason) and there was more pink colored stuff. I got excited as I finally had a change. I started to notice more pain and walked around the bedroom as my husband read me articles about bloody show/mucus plug. I went back to the bathroom and realized I had a lot of mucus when I wiped. We waited about an hour and then my husband decided to run to work to tie up some things for a few hours. I ate some breakfast and he left for work. He said he'd be back in about 2.5 hours or so. When he left the pain got increasingly worse and contractions started to come on faster and faster. I really thought I would have more rest time in between. I tried to take a bath and couldn't due to the pain. I just walked and walked until finally I sent my husband a message and said "Come home now". When he arrived he wanted to make sure the contractions were at least 5 minutes apart. While he packed the car and timed them, I paced. We determined they were coming between as few as 3 minutes to some that were 7 minutes apart. After eating a small lunch, we left for the hospital. During the drive, the contractions were 4 minutes apart consistently. When we got to the hospital, they said they would check me. My hubby was sure they were sending us home.
When they checked me, I had dilated to 4 centimeters and my water was ruptured. The baby was really low and when she touched his head, the water gushed out. She said you aren't going home and I was going to be admitted. I was wheeled to my room. My nurse asked me a few questions as I breathed through the contractions. I told them I wanted to get to 5 centimeters before I had the epidural. This was a goal I set for myself because I was so afraid the epidural would slow down labor. After another hour or so, they checked me again. I was 6 centimeters. OK! Its time for the epidural. They told me I was an excellent candidate for a natural delivery because I had progressed so far so fast. I thought about it for a few seconds and then I said
No, go ahead and give me the epidural. The epidural was painless and a very easy process. Finally, a little relief! I probably could have waited a bit longer for the epidural but I was nervous and decided to get it when I could. As our families arrived, we watched the contractions on the monitor. Another hour passed, 8 centimeters! They couldnt believe how fast I was progressing without any pitocin. Another hour or so, 9 centimeters! Then it happened, the labor slowed down a bit. I was really worried about this happening and it did. I had just a tiny bit of cervix left around his head and they wanted to wait a little longer. The doctor actually discussed with the nurses about letting me push through what was left of the cervix, but my nurse said she was worried I would tear my cervix. They moved me around in the bed a bit and at one point, my LOs heart beat dropped and scared us to death. Thats when the doctor decided to see if I could go ahead a push a little and see what happened. The doctor watched and felt comfortable that I could deliver the baby. People came out of no where and it was go time before I knew it! I was so scared of a c-section I pushed so hard! I pushed through 3 contractions and my son was here! I had a 2nd degree tear which took about 30 minutes to stitch up. My epidural was on a pump and thankfully I didnt pump but 2x during the labor as I was still able to feel my legs and some of the contractions and I think this helped. All in all, it was a very good experience. I was only scared once, when they lost his heartbeat. My advice would be not to get the epidural too early as it can slow down labor. It wont for everyone, but it does for some. The other thing is stock up on stool softener!
Always great to read a positive one 
