- Joined
- Oct 21, 2011
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How I prepared for birth:
-I drank RRLT every day from 34 weeks (1 cup a day till 38 weeks, then up to 4 cups a day),
-began taking EPO orally at 36 weeks, then both orally and internally from 39 weeks,
-read positive, natural birthing stories
-was doing some of the positions from spinningbabies most days (squats, pelvic tilts, and the forward -leaning inversion)
-was sitting backwards on chairs, cross-legged on the floor, or on my yoga ball. No reclining for me! Towards the end I told my husband "I need to have this baby so I can lean back, put my feet up, and RELAX!"
Things I tried to get labor going:
-sex
-spicy food (including labor cookies)
-walking
-stairs
-3 sweeps
-clary sage oil
-bouncing on yoga ball
-nipple stimulation
At 12 days past the due date, we went in at 6 am for the induction. I talked to my mom (a L&D RN) about inductions the day before and we came up with a plan, which I relayed to the nurse. She was awesome and willing to let me do it how I wanted. I wanted low and slow on the Pitocin, no interventions, as natural as possible, no epidural. I was told that the last 5 babies that had been born had also been girls and their moms had gone natural. I was inspired to keep the streak going!
We started Pitocin around 7. I got the lowest dose possible for an hour, then upped it 1 unit (the lowest amount possible) for the next hour, and so on. I was having Braxton hicks regularly, but had been for the past couple weeks. I kept telling the nurse "I'm feeling them, but it's just pressure."
These first several hours were just a lot of fun lol. My mom, sister and husband were with me and we talked and visited and laughed. I bounced on the ball or we walked the halls, and we just enjoyed being with each other.
At 1 pm my Dr came by to check me. I was at a 4 and 80% effaced, yay! I was 4/10 of the way there, with essentially no pain
She asked me if we could bump up the Pitocin to 2 units an hour and I agreed.
At that point I was tired, still not feeling much, and decided to take a nap. My husband and mom left to go get some food. I rested for about 45 minutes, then I was feeling more energetic, so I got up. At this point, I started feeling some pain and was moving/rocking through each contraction. I called my mom and husband to come back. Hubby took his time, which resulted in a phone call like "What are you doing? Why haven't you left yet? Yes, I'm having contractions! Get in the car and get here!" He came sprinting in about 20 minutes later.
I had just gotten checked, so see if I could come off the Pitocin (being hooked up to a monitor makes moving around difficult!) only to be told I was still at 4 and 80% effaced. They like to see cervical change before stopping Pitocin. This was probably around 3 pm, and it was really starting to be work. They asked me if I wanted to walk more, and instead I opted for some positioning. My mom helped me do Walcher's position from spinning babies, then my husband did several abdominal lifts with me. I also sat on the ball while my husband or sister squeezed my hips to apply pressure, or I leaned on a chair and moved my hips. I just kept reminding myself to relax and breathe and open.
At around 4 I was really feeling the contractions, and I asked again to be taken off the Pitocin, so I could get in the shower. The nurse checked me and I was "5 or 6". Progress! I was finally unhooked from the Pitocin. The nurse wanted to get some fetal heart tones for a few minutes, so I stayed hooked up to the monitor for a few more contractions. My mom looked at the strip, the print-out of the contractions and baby's heart rate, and suggested the nurse check me again, as the baby was having some good head compressions. I was at 8! My husband, mom and I all said "Call the doctor!" No time to get in the shower, I was pacing the room, rubbing my back. My mom said I was marching lol. Lots of pressure, but manageable. I could feel pinching on the cervix with each contraction.
The Dr showed up, more nurses came in, and they're telling me "Whenever you feel pushy, climb up on the bed." I did, though I wasn't feeling particularly pushy, because I thought, hey, time to get this over with. In hindsight, I should've paced through a couple more contractions. I got on the bed and it felt wrong, like the angle was wrong. The pain was more intense. I was barely keeping it together, and pushing didn't feel right, either. I pushed a bit through 3 contractions before I really felt her move down.
Then on the 4th, she crowned and dang, that hurt! At that point, I yelled (and had a sore throat the next day because of that lol). I heard my husband tell me it was almost over, she was almost out, and I just kept going with that push, till her head came through, the water sac broke and her whole body rode out with it. I was so out of breath lol. My mom told me I was a birthing champion lol.
She was born at 4:51 pm. I did not tear at all! The Dr and nurses start going "short cord! short cord!" and could only put her on my lower abdomen till my husband cut the cord a few minutes later. Then I put her on my chest and she latched on right away.
She was 7 lbs 14 oz, and 20 inches long. She has a head of dark brown hair, which I was NOT expecting. She has big chubby cheeks, but a skinny little body lol. She's been an amazing nurser so far and an amazing little sleeper.
Later that day my husband was telling me how proud of me he is and I was like "I don't want to do it again for a long time." But I'm already thinking of what I'll do differently next time (push in a different position!) I was very nervous about going to this hospital and being induced, but it ended up being very positive, with people who supported me and worked with what I was envisioning. I asked people to pray for a smooth, safe birth, and I don't think it could've gone any smoother 
-I drank RRLT every day from 34 weeks (1 cup a day till 38 weeks, then up to 4 cups a day),
-began taking EPO orally at 36 weeks, then both orally and internally from 39 weeks,
-read positive, natural birthing stories
-was doing some of the positions from spinningbabies most days (squats, pelvic tilts, and the forward -leaning inversion)
-was sitting backwards on chairs, cross-legged on the floor, or on my yoga ball. No reclining for me! Towards the end I told my husband "I need to have this baby so I can lean back, put my feet up, and RELAX!"
Things I tried to get labor going:
-sex
-spicy food (including labor cookies)
-walking
-stairs
-3 sweeps
-clary sage oil
-bouncing on yoga ball
-nipple stimulation
At 12 days past the due date, we went in at 6 am for the induction. I talked to my mom (a L&D RN) about inductions the day before and we came up with a plan, which I relayed to the nurse. She was awesome and willing to let me do it how I wanted. I wanted low and slow on the Pitocin, no interventions, as natural as possible, no epidural. I was told that the last 5 babies that had been born had also been girls and their moms had gone natural. I was inspired to keep the streak going!
We started Pitocin around 7. I got the lowest dose possible for an hour, then upped it 1 unit (the lowest amount possible) for the next hour, and so on. I was having Braxton hicks regularly, but had been for the past couple weeks. I kept telling the nurse "I'm feeling them, but it's just pressure."
These first several hours were just a lot of fun lol. My mom, sister and husband were with me and we talked and visited and laughed. I bounced on the ball or we walked the halls, and we just enjoyed being with each other.
At 1 pm my Dr came by to check me. I was at a 4 and 80% effaced, yay! I was 4/10 of the way there, with essentially no pain
She asked me if we could bump up the Pitocin to 2 units an hour and I agreed. At that point I was tired, still not feeling much, and decided to take a nap. My husband and mom left to go get some food. I rested for about 45 minutes, then I was feeling more energetic, so I got up. At this point, I started feeling some pain and was moving/rocking through each contraction. I called my mom and husband to come back. Hubby took his time, which resulted in a phone call like "What are you doing? Why haven't you left yet? Yes, I'm having contractions! Get in the car and get here!"
He came sprinting in about 20 minutes later. I had just gotten checked, so see if I could come off the Pitocin (being hooked up to a monitor makes moving around difficult!) only to be told I was still at 4 and 80% effaced. They like to see cervical change before stopping Pitocin. This was probably around 3 pm, and it was really starting to be work. They asked me if I wanted to walk more, and instead I opted for some positioning. My mom helped me do Walcher's position from spinning babies, then my husband did several abdominal lifts with me. I also sat on the ball while my husband or sister squeezed my hips to apply pressure, or I leaned on a chair and moved my hips. I just kept reminding myself to relax and breathe and open.
At around 4 I was really feeling the contractions, and I asked again to be taken off the Pitocin, so I could get in the shower. The nurse checked me and I was "5 or 6". Progress!
I was finally unhooked from the Pitocin. The nurse wanted to get some fetal heart tones for a few minutes, so I stayed hooked up to the monitor for a few more contractions. My mom looked at the strip, the print-out of the contractions and baby's heart rate, and suggested the nurse check me again, as the baby was having some good head compressions. I was at 8! My husband, mom and I all said "Call the doctor!" No time to get in the shower, I was pacing the room, rubbing my back. My mom said I was marching lol. Lots of pressure, but manageable. I could feel pinching on the cervix with each contraction. The Dr showed up, more nurses came in, and they're telling me "Whenever you feel pushy, climb up on the bed." I did, though I wasn't feeling particularly pushy, because I thought, hey, time to get this over with. In hindsight, I should've paced through a couple more contractions. I got on the bed and it felt wrong, like the angle was wrong. The pain was more intense. I was barely keeping it together, and pushing didn't feel right, either. I pushed a bit through 3 contractions before I really felt her move down.
Then on the 4th, she crowned and dang, that hurt! At that point, I yelled (and had a sore throat the next day because of that lol). I heard my husband tell me it was almost over, she was almost out, and I just kept going with that push, till her head came through, the water sac broke and her whole body rode out with it. I was so out of breath lol. My mom told me I was a birthing champion lol.
She was born at 4:51 pm. I did not tear at all! The Dr and nurses start going "short cord! short cord!" and could only put her on my lower abdomen till my husband cut the cord a few minutes later. Then I put her on my chest and she latched on right away.
She was 7 lbs 14 oz, and 20 inches long. She has a head of dark brown hair, which I was NOT expecting. She has big chubby cheeks, but a skinny little body lol. She's been an amazing nurser so far and an amazing little sleeper.
Later that day my husband was telling me how proud of me he is and I was like "I don't want to do it again for a long time." But I'm already thinking of what I'll do differently next time (push in a different position!)
I was very nervous about going to this hospital and being induced, but it ended up being very positive, with people who supported me and worked with what I was envisioning. I asked people to pray for a smooth, safe birth, and I don't think it could've gone any smoother 
