Things Did Not Expect With Labor:
I started out my pregnant definitely wanting an epidural, but after reading a few Lamaze books, I hoped to be able to have a natural birth. Well, those Lamaze books and the natural birth video showed at our birthing class were all lovely but totally unrelated to (my) reality.
First, all of those natural methods of coping with contractions (the later ones before going to the hospital) were RUBBISH. Shifting positions did NOT help, the beautiful labor ball I bought for bouncing on was agony, and walking felt horrible. All I wanted to do was lie in the fetal position. I was not expecting this, I definitely thought I was going to want to be active during contractions, and even expected to want to birth on all fours or squatting. But that old "bad" supine position was the only one I wanted to be in!
I had also heard and read in my natural childbirth books that massage helped distract from the pain. D kept massaging my shoulders during/after contractions, and all it did was drive me batty! It felt like a gnat gnawing at my shoulder! But I knew he was trying to be nice, so I didn't push him away.
Moreover, I was very indignant that I wasn't going to be "allowed" to eat during labor. So I did not expect to completely lack interest in all food. Even during early labor, I wasn't hungry at all. I had to force myself to eat tacos Friday night, and threw them up early Saturday morning when I went to the hospital for the first time. After I was discharged, my mom told me to eat a little, so I had a few popsicles and a tiny bowl of cereal, but then threw them all up at the hospital. I usually love to eat allllllllllllll the time.
So I was delighted to get an epidural once my cervix showed progress past 4 (apparently other hospitals allow earlier epidurals, boo!), but I was not expecting to still feel sensations, which I did! I had thought an epidural would make you totally numb from the waist down, but it wasn't like that at all. I felt the intense pressure in my butt and the intense urge to push. So the epidural still allowed me to feel the need to push, which was a pleasant surprise, although still feeling the doctor massaging my perineum wasn't nice (although it was great that I didn't tear at all).
What about your labors was a surprise to you?