*STM+ Check in/Birth Stories*

[Deleted]

I think the board is nearly complete!

STMs+ let's hear your birth story. Try not to scare anyone too much!

If you've had more than 1 LO would you say delivering your second was easier, more difficult or similar to your first delivery?

When did you have your baby name picked out?

*ETA - FTMs feel free to jump in the conversation!

[Deleted]

I was due on 1/4.

My 39 week appointment was on 12/28. I woke up that in the middle of the night with mild contractions that lasted throughout the day. They never got more than 15 minutes together though so I just wasn't too worried. They hurt like a bitch but then I'd giggle after because it was just such a weird feeling.

We almost went to Trader Joe's but I hadn't slept at all so instead tried to lay down at 830. Got up to pee at 930 and my water broke on the toilet.

We got to the hospital at about 1030 and I demanded to walk. As soon as we got to the desk it all hit me really hard and she was like... okay I'm going to just assume we need to admit you now. They checked me and I was a 3. DH was green when we got to the hospital and the nurse yelled at him that he needed to sit down because she would be needing his help later on.

I signed up for my epi, the guy came at 12:45 am on 12/29. At 12:55 the doctor checked me and I was 9.

They had me lay down to let the epi work and then started pushing around 2:45. The nurse stopped me shortly thereafter and says "okay, stop pushing now. I'll get the doctor, I'm new & I can't deliver your baby." Had DD at 3:42 AM.

Her cord was wrapped around her neck and so when her head came out the doctor clamped it to cut it but something happened and the clamp slipped and sliced the cord so blood started shooting all over. It was insane but for some reason I just knew it wasn't really a big deal, and it wasn't. The "new" nurse got blood all over her scrubs.

DD was less than 7 pounds, 20.5 inches.

She's the only one so far, I'm sort of worried the next one will come even faster! Hopefully someone is around to take me to the hospital right away, not sure I'll wait an hour with this LO.

We had DDs name picked out when we found out we were having a girl and announced it then.

[PiradicalMaid]

I had a great first birth, so I promise it isn't scary!

At 40w5d (Father's Day), I woke up at around 4:30am with what felt like menstrual cramps. I took a walk, took a bath, and they kept coming (although spaced pretty far apart). I cancelled plans for the day and started using some of my comfort measures (breathing, birth ball, rocking). I threw on some DVDs to help the time pass quickly, but still wasn't convinced this was the real thing.

At 4pm, the contractions had really sped up, and I decided I needed a little more support, so we called our doula in. She did a double hip squeeze that was soooo amazing and brought relief with each contraction. She timed my contractions and around 7pm said we probably wanted to head to the hospital (my chosen birth location). The car ride was a little rough! When we got to triage, I learned that I was 6 cm dilated and almost all the way effaced plus baby was loooooow (no need to tell me!). I went into the shower, and my partner held the shower head on my back while the nurse filled up the birth tub.

I hit transition pretty quickly after I got in the tub. I felt like I was coping well, but I was yelling some funny things like, "make it stop!"--- don't let that scare you! I thought it was funny about one second after I said it. I was also saying some mantras and everything was going well. I kept feeling pressure, even though I was only about 8cm at the time (baby was just so low). The nurse helped me do some gentle bearing down, which helped. The pressure got more intense and my body was pushing on its own. The midwife came in and felt a small cervical lip, but she had me push and slid the lip out of the way. LO was born about 12 minutes afterwards!

Sylvia Josephine was born at 11:12pm on Father's Day. She was 21" and 9lb5oz (I was shocked when they weighed her- I had no clue she was that big!)

ETA: I missed the name question. We were team green and had our top choices for boy/girl names. When LO's dad said, "It's a girl!" I said, "Hello, Sylvia." Then I was like, wait, right? We waited a couple hours to decide for sure, but we were pretty much settled on Sylvia the whole time. 

[JoeLies]

Mine was a bit complicated. I wanted a natural, med-free labor and ended up with an urgent C-section. I figured that I was healthy and strong, and had a high tolerance for pain - labor should be relatively smooth. Except it wasn't. Regardless, my son is doing great and turns 2 in a few months.


SO after dinner on my due date, my contractions started out of nowhere, consistently 3 minutes apart. We eventually ended up at the hospital around 2am, and my contractions were still steady at 3 minutes apart, BUT I was only 2cm dilated. C's HR tanked pretty early on and it took awhile for it to re-stabilize, so they had me stay. The pain wasn't bad, just annoying enough that I didn't sleep at all that night.

The doctor came in later that morning and we discussed an induction since I wasn't progressing AT ALL, but they didn't want to send me home since they weren't sure how stable C was. Pitocin is the devil. They started it around 2pm and suddenly my contractions were 1 minute apart and brutal. And I had to lie flat and still on my back, so as not to move the monitors. It took 2 1/2 hours before I'd progressed enough to get an epidural. I quickly became #teamepi for life.

Anyhow I started dilating quickly but then C's HR tanked again, and badly. They had to pump me full of drugs to STOP the contractions, then they broke my water and of course he'd pooped. It took a good 6 minutes for C's HR to stabilize after that, and things were very tense. Ultimately the doctor said we could restart the pit and attempt to keep going (knowing it could be a drug-fueled start/stop process) or proceed with a C-section then and there. We already assumed his cord was wrapped around his neck, so we weren't taking any chances. They wheeled me into the OR and we met C not even an hour later. And he was perfect, aside from being incredibly loud and hungry. And my recovery was honestly way easier than it should have been, given the amount of drugs that had been pumped into me over a 6 hour period.


So yeah, not AT ALL what I was expecting! But C's development seems totally on par so far. Even in babies who are born seemingly healthy, cord issues can sometimes hamper the flow of oxygen to the brain, which may impact speech or other forms of development down the road. Needless to say, I don't regret for a second that we went with a C-section rather than continue down the path of a vaginal birth.

That said, I honestly don't know what to do for 2.0. I'm not really nervous because I felt confident in my doctor and nurses during the whole process with C. I just don't know which way to go.

[doodler]

I was due on a Friday. On Wednesday night my water broke in bed at 8:30 pm. I took a shower and we headed to the hospital around 10. I was having the mildest contractions about every 10 min apart. They started me on pitocin a few hours later. After about an hour of pitocin contractions I waved the white flag and got my epidural. They told me to sleep after that but I had the blood pressure cuff on and it woke me up every 10 min or so. I was pretty comfortable until around 6:30 am when DS started dropping. After that the pressure was insane. I dilated quickly at that point and was ready to push around 9:30. I pushed for an hour and finally the head came out. The doctor told me to stop pushing and I yelled at her that I couldn't. She looked me in the eyes and yelled right back that the cord was wrapped and I needed to stop pushing. Turns out she had to cut the cord off of DS. He was smurf blue when he came out and his head was craaazy. They took him immediately and recusitated him. He was perfectly fine once they got him breathing and didn't even end up with a conehead. After labor was the scary part for me so I won't go into that here

[lizzybeth13]

Although scary things happened during my delivery, I really wasn't ever scared and immediately after DS's birth I looked at DH and said "I could do that again".

I was induced at 40w5d due to rising blood pressure. I started at 3 cm dilated when they began pitocin at 8:30 am. PITOCIN IS SATAN. The contractions were so intense and on top of each other that I literally felt like I was losing my grip on reality. I gave in on my med free plan at 12:30 and got the epi, and almost immediately fell asleep. At 1:30 the nurses came running in because DS's heart rate had dropped, so they moved me around to find a good spot for him. Turns out it was on my back, and I had been on my side bc of blood pressure. I liked being on my back better.

It had been an hour since the epi and they checked me again. I hadn't progressed at all from 3 cm when they started the epi. In that one hour I had gone to 9 cm. But they had to back off the pitocin bc of DS heart deceleration. They also put an internal heart rate monitor on his scalp bc I'm a big girl and they kept losing him.

They restarted pitocin at about 3. At 4:45 I told the nurse I needed to push. She checked and said he was still too high. I said no, I needed to push now. So she said to go ahead and practice pushing but not to wear myself out. Two pushes later she was yelling at me to stop so she could get the doctor. He was sliding back up at the end of every push, but he was crowning during pushes.
I pushed for about twenty minutes total and he was born with the cord around his neck twice, which explained the heart decelerations AND why he kept sliding back up.

His APGAR was a 7 and 9, and he hasn't had any issues. I had a second degree internal year but my recovery was pretty painless and I'm hoping for as good of an experience this time.

[aluzitano]

I had a really good birth experience. I'm gonna just write a short version here because little boop might wake up any minute from her nap

N was 3 days late -due 11/27/14 (Thanksgiving), born 11/30 (almost December! Missed it by about 35 min)

Woke up at 1am to my first contraction (and my dog getting sick all over the house - yup, cleaned up dog poo while laboring...such is my luck)

Watched 4 episodes of Murder, She Wrote while DH slept and my contractions got closer together

Called hospital around 4am when contractions were at 5-1-1

DH drove me to hospital, we got there around 5 and a homeless guy tried to help me into the front doors for money while DH parked the car (valet doesn't start til 6am...great for ladies who go into labor in the middle of the night, right???)

Dr checked me, I was at 5cm

DH came in and forgot the hospital bags and had to go out and get them again

I labored in a rocking chair, then moved on to shower, then moved on to nitrous oxide (EXCELLENT), and then got an epi when I got to 8cm (very proud! Lol)

Dr said baby would be out by mid afternoon, based on the way I was progressing

My whole fam and DHs fam gathered downstairs in the waiting room while I waited for LO to move down

Got a really bad pain in my back - LO's chin was tucked just a millimeter or two too far to one side, so she got stuck

Epi guy had to come back and fix my drug cocktail

Comfortable for a while - they let my mommy come and see me since it was past dinner time at this point and she was worried lol

Mom left to update everyone, N got stuck AGAIN and I had to get my drugs redone all over again - I could still feel a small twinge though, which came in handy for pushing

Started pushing at around 9:30pm, right when National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation came on tv!

Pushed for 2 hrs, movie ended, goober still stuck so they got the Hoover and then "it's a girl!" at 11:25pm (but DH thought it was a boy at first - the nurse had to correct him!)

I nursed and did skin to skin while I got stitched up and DH went downstairs to tell whoever was left that it was a girl

Overall, I was very happy with how the birth progressed, though it was long...don't know if this one will come way quicker, since the only reason Norah took so long was because she wouldn't move her chin! Lol

We had a girl's name and a boy's name picked out really early on, but we've always loved the name Norah and, years ago, I told my mom not to name her dog that, just in case lol

[JoeLies]

lizzybeth13 - They put the monitor thingy into C's scalp as well. Then they couldn't get it out, so he was born with an antennae.

[richaroodo]

I am very lucky to have had three fairly easy and uncomplicated births. That's probably why we keep having more babies

DS1 was born at 39w. Contractions started when I was out walking on Friday night. Admitted to the hospital the next morning at 11 and he was born at 10:45pm Saturday night.

DD was born at 40w4d. Contractions started around 7 on a Monday morning. I had an appointment later that morning so I just went to the appointment as scheduled. The doctor did a quick check and sent me off to the hospital. Since I was seen at the office I got to skip the pre-admission evaluation and went straight to my room. DD was born later that night at 9:38pm.

DS2 was also born at 40w4d. My water broke at 11:45am. I called the office to let them know and they told me to head to the hospital. Contractions still hadn't started when I got there around 2pm so they had me walking around to get things started. Nothing happened. Finally around 6 they gave me a pill (no idea what it was called but it was incredibly tiny) to get things moving. I was skeptical but boy was I wrong. By 7 contractions had started and DS was born at 9:25pm.

[PiradicalMaid]

Aug 21, 2015 13:18:28 GMT -5 armfruit said:

So many cord issues. Is that more common than I thought?

A nuchal cord is super common (about 1/3 of births) and not in and of itself a problem. Since baby isn't using their throat to breathe while the cord is attached and the cord has wharton's jelly which allows it flexibility, having the cord around the neck is *usually* fine. Obviously other factors come in to play! Usually the doctor or midwife just slips the cord off after baby's head is born or the baby is untwisted after birth. I'm actually surprised how many doctors cut the cord at that point.

Sorry, I'm a little bit of a birth geek 

[jmc11511]

I was due 12/17. At 34 weeks I went in for a check up and mentioned I had had some cramping. My OB decided to check just in case and told me I was 2 cm dilated and my cervix was 70% effaced. She told me I was being put on bed rest and she was sending me to L&D. By the time I got there I was having contractions 5 min apart. They gave me magnesium and a steroid for DS lungs. Labor stopped and I was kept overnight for observation. The plan was to send me home the next day, but that night the neonatologist looked at my ultrasound and noticed a problem with the placenta. So the next morning he recommended we induce, since there was concern about placental abruption. They had been giving me magnesium so the pitocin and magnesium were fighting each other. I was finally in active labor again around 9 PM. DS was born at 3:11 AM on 11/5/11. He spent 8 days in NICU and his only health issue now is that he has mild asthma. I did get an epidural, and it HURT. I have problems with my lower back due to a car accident. I now have a spot in my back where they put the epidural that hurts pretty regularly. I'm hoping to go without an epidural this time. Bonus points for a picture of my cute boy.

[lizzybeth13]

Aug 21, 2015 14:21:35 GMT -5 PiradicalMaid said:

Aug 21, 2015 13:18:28 GMT -5 armfruit said:

So many cord issues. Is that more common than I thought?

A nuchal cord is super common (about 1/3 of births) and not in and of itself a problem. Since baby isn't using their throat to breathe while the cord is attached and the cord has wharton's jelly which allows it flexibility, having the cord around the neck is *usually* fine. Obviously other factors come in to play! Usually the doctor or midwife just slips the cord off after baby's head is born or the baby is untwisted after birth. I'm actually surprised how many doctors cut the cord at that point.

Sorry, I'm a little bit of a birth geek 

The only reason my doc cut the cord was because it was so tight it was pulling his head back. I also got yelled at to stop pushing. It's a lot harder than you would imagine.

Also, I forgot to say that we picked out names before we knew boy or girl. We are already in the process again and I'm not even five weeks yet! I like having a name picked out early, because I get to use it throughout pregnancy when I talk to my bump.

[samesister]

I was due on 7/15. I woke up on 7/10 with what I assumed were contractions. They weren't bad and definitely not close together. I sent hubby to work. I made it most of the day fine and even let DH go golfing after work. I kept timing my contractions and they were 10-15 mins apart but getting more painful. I called DH to come home. He got home and we just kept waiting for them to get closer together. I took a shower, ate dinner, tried to sleep. But they were getting so bad I decided we needed to go to the hospital. Got to the hospital to find out I was 6cm already. But my contractions were still over 10 mins apart which had the nurses perplexed. The OB broke my water. Eventually the contractions started to hurt so bad I opted for the epi. Was cold and shaking like crazy when they were giving that to me. But after that I felt fine and tried to rest. I kept progressing but the nurses told me I had to "labor down", which meant they weren't going to let me start pushing for a few hours. Finally I was nearly 10cm and they told me I could start pushing. Well this was about the time my epi had basically worn of on my left side. I could feel every painful contraction on one side. The pain was unreal. And while I was pushing the nurses finally told me that LO was sunny side up. With every push they were trying to spin her with their hands. Because my epi was almost non existent at this point, they had me go on my side and on all fours to try to help the baby move. They had me in all these funky positions. Then the OB came in. I was so delirious I had no idea what he was saying but the nurses had me keep pushing. And then the next thing I know he was snipping me. I had no idea what he was doing because of all the pain I was already in. He didn't mention it or ask or anything. DD finally came out shortly after that. From my first push to DD being born was a little over 3 hours. I know some people push longer but 3 hours was just ridiculous.

My recovery was brutal. I won't go into all of that but i just can't imagine having my recovery happen like that again. I just can't. None of the nurses even cared about the pain I was in. One nurse sprayed some sort of numbing spray on me before being discharged and I ended up being allergic to something in it and broke out in a rash everywhere. It was truly awful. I hope to move before baby #2 is born so I don't have to deliver at this hospital or with that OB again.

And we had DD's name picked out at about 7 mos.

[minae01]

I love birth stories! I'm swamped at work but still going to type out the stories of my little preemies! These are really long. Sorry!

DS1: At 32w3d, I woke up in the at 3am leaking fluid. I wasn't really sure what was going on, but figured it was discharge and went back to bed. When I woke up, it was still coming, so I called the on-call OB. She told me to come in right away. I didn't really think that I was in labor so early, so I didn't hurry. I started having contractions before we left the house. They got stronger and closer as we drove to the hospital. When I got there, they determined my water was leaking and that I was in labor. I was 4-5 cm. They tried to stop labor - I don't know what they gave me, but it didn't work. They started me on IV antibiotics since I was strep B positive. I continue to contract and dilate. I got an epi around 7cm, as I was in a lot of pain. I was blacking out during the contractions. I was in such disbelief that it was happening! The NICU doctor came to talk to me and assure me that 32 weekers do very well. I started pushing around 4 hours after I got to the hospital. I pushed for about 45 minutes to get my 4 lb. 6oz baby boy out. We were team green, and I thought he was a girl. It was a pleasant surprise that it was a boy! We took a couple of pictures and he was taken to the NICU where he spent the next 24 days. I had a 1st degree tear. OB said that if baby was any bigger, my tiny pelvis would have a hard time getting him out! Recovery was fine, physically. Traveling back and forth to the NICU and dealing with the ups and downs of that was the tough part. They don't know why he came so early. There was no sign of infection, although I did have a kidney stone at 26w that they think could've had an effect. Who knows? My 32 week preemie is now almost 3 and hasn't had any major health problems!

DS2: I was high risk due this time. They watched me carefully, and monitored my cervix. I got weekly p17 shots. All was well until I started dilating at 33w. I had an Ffn an it was negative, so I went on my merry way for 3 more weeks. At my 36w appt, I was dilated to 4-5. My OB knew how quickly things progressed last time, so she told me to be on high-alert that night because I was probably going into labor. I had to get to the hospital quickly since I was Strep B pos again. That night my contractions were irregular but I couldn't relax because I was so worried. We ended up going into L&D where I spent the night being monitored. In the morning the OB on call didn't think I was dilated anymore and sent me home. My OB came by right before I was going to leave to check me and said that I had indeed dilated a little more. I was moved to a delivery room and set up with an IV. I got an epi right away - even before contractions got strong. I don't mess around! I tried to relax for a bit. After 4 hours on the IV, I was at a 7, so they broke my water. Contractions completely stopped after that! They gave me some Pitocin and things progressed. I got terrible shakes and nausea. I couldn't sleep, so I just laid on my side and shook. It was terrible! It lasted for a couple of hours and then I was at a 10. The doctor had been concerned again about my small pelvis, since it was so hard to get DS1 out, but after one practice push with the nurse, we knew I wouldn't have any trouble with this one. I pushed for 10 minutes and out came my second baby boy 5 lbs. 6oz.(team green again). He nursed right away and had no problems breathing, even though he was only 36w0d. I again had a 1st degree tear, but no problems with recovery. My 36 weeker is 16 months old and is muscling his way into any and all trouble he can get into!

[okiemama]

DS was born by induction 12 days past due (dr wouldn't let me go any longer). I labored for 15 hours on Pitocin and only moved from a 2 to a 4, so I got the epi I didn't really want and was able to rest and eventually made some progress. Then I got to a 9 and stalled out there for at least an hour or two, DS had been sunny side up so I had been having powerful back to back contractions that weren't progressing me. I wanted a natural birth and had a doula with me, and while I was already bummed it came down to an induction and then a little disappointed I needed an epi- I know she helped me labor through such difficult contractions for so long and also used techniques to help me turn him a quarter and eventually he came! In hindsight I was probably very very close to a c-section at a few points. DS weighed 9lbs 2oz, labor was just under 24 hours.

DD was night and day different experience. Went into labor naturally, only a week overdue this time. Labored at home as long as I could possibly stand it, endured the 45 min car ride and arrived at the hospital at an 8- at which point the nurses started scrambling around like crazy. DD was born within 45 min of getting to the hospital. Totally med-free, wouldn't have been time even if I wanted! DD was 8lbs 12 oz and from the time "active labor" began it was 4 hours. Early labor included it was closer to 8-10.

I tell people both were painful, both were difficult, but in totally utterly completely different ways. I would do DDs again in a heartbeat.

Here's hoping I actually *make* it to the hospital with #3!

Eta: both names were decided by the start of the third trimester but not announced- we wanted to reserve the right to change our minds when we saw them.

[PiradicalMaid]

Aug 21, 2015 14:56:14 GMT -5 lizzybeth13 said:

Aug 21, 2015 14:21:35 GMT -5 PiradicalMaid said:

A nuchal cord is super common (about 1/3 of births) and not in and of itself a problem. Since baby isn't using their throat to breathe while the cord is attached and the cord has wharton's jelly which allows it flexibility, having the cord around the neck is *usually* fine. Obviously other factors come in to play! Usually the doctor or midwife just slips the cord off after baby's head is born or the baby is untwisted after birth. I'm actually surprised how many doctors cut the cord at that point.

Sorry, I'm a little bit of a birth geek 

The only reason my doc cut the cord was because it was so tight it was pulling his head back. I also got yelled at to stop pushing. It's a lot harder than you would imagine.

Also, I forgot to say that we picked out names before we knew boy or girl. We are already in the process again and I'm not even five weeks yet! I like having a name picked out early, because I get to use it throughout pregnancy when I talk to my bump.

That must have been scary. And I can only imagine how hard it would be to stop pushing! I mean, it's a reflex. But it sounds like you did great. I'm glad everyone was ok in the end.

[PiradicalMaid]

Aug 21, 2015 14:36:18 GMT -5 heartbot said:

Aug 21, 2015 13:18:28 GMT -5 armfruit said:

So many cord issues. Is that more common than I thought?

There's a reason so many babies (and women) used to die in childbirth.

ETA: Well, there's lots of reasons childbirth used to be so dangerous, but I think what I was going for (totally lost in my post-nap haze) was that that things go wrong in birth all the time. We're lucky to live in a time when even pretty serious problems can be solved with minimal harm, to the point we don't realize how common they are. Also: good hygiene. I'm so glad we live in a time when doctors are big fans of soap.

My first response when I read your post was, thank god for modern hygiene!

[mnswimmer]

I was due 7/3, at 11:30 on 6/30 my water broke- what the midwife called "Hollywood style ". I called the midwife and they said to wait to see if I felt DD move. If not try to eat or drink something. I didn't feel her move so I called back. Still without contractions. My choice hospital was full, so we had to wait for the midwife to call back with the hospital we were going to. Apparently, they were all full, so we headed to our choice hospital.

We got there around 12:30 am and the ER was empty. I was leaking so much I had to change my pad. We ended up banging on a door to get the security guard's attention. He said there was a situation going on, but he got us to LD. I was hoping for a water birth. The midwife came in, checked me, and tested to make sure it was fluid from my water breaking. She felt my stomach, and as soon as she did, I knew something was wrong. She got the ultrasound machine, and yep - DD was breached.

I had an anterior placenta, and my water had broken so it was an automatic C-section. I had a lot of waiting at that point because I had previously had abdominal surgery, so they wanted me to be in the OR not the C-section room on the OB floor, and a second OB, and brief the general surgeon. At ~3:30 I was brought into the OR I had only had 2-3 contractions at this point. at 4:15 a.m. DD was born.

I was able to heal surprisingly well, but I'm still bummed I had to have a C-Section.

We had her name picked out for probably 7 years. We still haven't found a boy's name we agree on.

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2015 13:18:28 GMT -5 armfruit said:

So many cord issues. Is that more common than I thought?

I was just thinking that! So many wrapped cords.

[trufflefries]

My DD was born 11/19/2013. I was being induced that morning. Woke up at 5 because I couldn't sleep! Had a friend come over and French braid my hair, lol. I wanted it out of the way but pretty for pics... Lol.

Got to the hospital at 7:30. Pitocin was started at 8:30. Labored through those contractions ok... I didn't want anyone to touch me and snapped at my DH for trying to rub my feet. Poor guy ?

Around 1 or so, my OB came in and broke my water. It was like a hot tub in there! So weird to feel it rush out all at once.

After that, shit got real. I lasted about an hour before asking for an epidural. It was magical. My nurse came in and gave me a peanut pillow. It looked like a peanut shaped yoga ball. She placed it between my legs to help my hips open and encourage dilation. I rested for a couple of hours. At one point I told DH to grab some food because I was feeling pretty good. I closed my eyes and dozed at this point.

About 3 hours after getting the peanut ball, my nurse checked me and I had gone from 3-10 cm. GO peanut!! DH came back after she left. When I told him I was complete, he thought I was playing a joke. Haha.

I labored down another couple of hours and started pushing around 7:30. Pushed for 1 hr 20 min. Aurelia was born at 8:50 pm. She was 7 lbs 9 oz and 20.5 in.

My bff was with me during labor and bless her, she left to get me food because I was hangry by that point! My first post meal was a Big Mac from McDonald's and it was glorious.

Overall my induction went very well and I have no regrets! I was overdue and had some protein in my urine so it was decided she needed to come out.

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2015 13:53:44 GMT -5 aluzitano said:

I nursed and did skin to skin while I got stitched up 

I hope to do this next time. Last time they took DD while I was being stitched up, not that it mattered all that much because BFing was fine. I'd rather do it immediately this time.

[feisty]

Fun times! Much more fun reading stories than I had with DS

I was due 6/17, on a friday, I woke up in the morning thinking my water had broken. I also lost my mucous plug, but had other liquid quite a bit every time I got up etc. We went to L & D at the hospital, but when they checked, I was negative for water breaking so they sent me home. I still somewhat had fluid leaking after that. That Tuesday morning I had contractions that started and didn't go away with rest etc and started getting closer together, so we headed back to L & D at 6am. I remember messaging my boss saying I would be late because I was sure they would send me home (I was a little less than 35 weeks at the time). But no, they said my water broke and I was staying.

I had to have IV fluids and antibiotics because I didn't get my group B strep test yet. And was mostly confined to bed with all the monitoring on (exactly what I didn't want). My contractions were strong and kept going, but I was only 1cm dilated when I was admitted. (they gave me something in IV for dilation), but I kept having contractions etc (they said they were quite strong) and close together, but no dilation. At about 8:30pm I got the epidural. Baby's heartbeat went up a few times, and I started getting the shakes and I had a fever (at this point, they said they would have to take baby to NICU for antibiotics in case I had an infection given to him). After the epidural my contractions weakened and once we got baby heartbeat down, we did Pitocin.

At 6am Wednesday morning, the dr came to talk to me and ask if I wanted to do C-Section (safest for baby) or keep trying to progress (safest for me). I was only 2 cm dilated . I told the dr I wasn't sure I would be able to continue for a couple more hours and he said it would be way more than a couple he thought. We decided to do a C-Section. C-Section went well, dr remarked that DS had a lot of coning for a C-section baby (I was feeling pushing urge but trying to hold back). He did have to spend time in the NICU (9 days). He couldn't suck/eat very well, so had to get put on a feeding tube. Now he eats everything in site and is doing well!

I'm not sure if I want to attempt VBAC etc with this baby, will be something I look into and discuss with my dr

[bluedot]

I was due 2/25.

Had an appointment on a Monday, Dr. Said I had nothing going on when he did my check. That Wednesday night DH and I were laying in bed (2/12) talking about how silly our name choice would sound if we also had a Valentines baby. With nearly 2 weeks to go, we figured it was NBD. 10 minutes later, my water broke. It came without any contractions... just a pop. I had my momentary, omg is this real reaction... called my doc, and headed to the hosptial.

I was only 1cm when I got there so since my water had definitely broke they started pitocin. That kicked up the contractions, and I had my epi. I asked not to see the needle, and they were really nice about making sure I didnt. Once the epi was working I didn't feel any pain. I was completely relaxed. Took a short nap and got checked again.

By 8am I was still only 5cm. I sent DH home to let the dog out, feed her, and shower if he wanted to. The nurse checked again about 30 minutes later, and I was at a 10. DH got back with plenty of time... as my doc had me wait to push until 11ish. At 11:42am my beautiful baby boy was born. There was no pain during labor for me. If I could have the exact scenario again, I'd take it. Not every story is scary ladies!

There was some pain during the initial recovery... but at that point you have a baby in your arms. Best pain killer ever.

Eta I forgot to add he was born 2/13, 12 days early...

[shedreamsincolor]

I was very, very lucky the first go around and here's hoping for another quick L & D.

Due 1/10, went into labor early morning 1/6 (around 230 AM). Labored at home for about 2 hours and then woke up DH and told him things were moving quicker than I expected. Went into the hospital when contractions were the standard 5 min apart.

Craziest part of my story was that we were having a terrible cold snap in MN and the day DS was born it was the coldest day in over a decade. All the local schools were closed, which was lucky since DH is a teacher. It was -60 degrees out when we left for the hospital and even with being in a good amount of pain I still remember my breath being taken away by how cold it was!

Was 6 cm dilated when I got to the hospital. I had planned to do a birthing tub but the nurse wouldn't start filling it "because everyone knows first time moms take awhile." So I labored for another hour and when they rechecked me I was 9 cm. They still wouldn't fill up the damn tub, this time "because by the time we get it filled you'll have already delivered."

Haha I wish. Pushing was the hardest part by far. I had a really difficult time trying to figure out exactly how to push - it sounds weird but it just was not intuitive. They eventually brought in a mirror so I could "see" what was happening when I pushed a certain way - and then I totally got it! After 3 hours of pushing my gorgeous son was born. We were team green and it took DH about 10 seconds to tell me the sex. We laughed after because he was "so worried he was going to tell me the wrong one!"

[Deleted]

shedreamsincolor, as much as I thought it would have been weird the first time, I'm pretty sure I'll ask for a mirror this time. I just really couldn't quite figure out what was happening. I pushed too fast after DD's head and ended up with stitches.

[doodler]

shedreamsincolor please tell me -60 was a typo...

[shedreamsincolor]

Aug 21, 2015 19:27:22 GMT -5 @aest said:

shedreamsincolor, as much as I thought it would have been weird the first time, I'm pretty sure I'll ask for a mirror this time. I just really couldn't quite figure out what was happening. I pushed too fast after DD's head and ended up with stitches.

Seriously - do it! I found it so helpful. It was my midwife's idea after I had "pushed" for like two hours and made very little progress. It's just a bizarre sensation trying to figure out how to use these muscles that we are generally really unaware of. So I would highly recommend - after the mirror he was out in under an hour.

[shedreamsincolor]

Aug 21, 2015 19:38:02 GMT -5 doodler said:

shedreamsincolor please tell me -60 was a typo...

Haha I wish! That was a terrible winter in MN. Google "polar vortex" - you can't make this s*** up!I literally didn't leave the house from Jan to Apr with DS except for Dr appts.

[quietjoy]

This will be long since I have three kids.

DS1: I was 40+2 and barely dilated. I also had no contractions until about 20 hours before he was born. At 6pm, I told my husband I needed to go lay down and I couldn't watch the movie with him (we had rented RV). I wasn't feeling the best and just felt "off". After a little while I had to pee. As soon as I went back to bed, I had to go again. This repeated for a good 90 minutes. It was annoying. But I felt better when I was sitting versus laying down. Husband finally convinced me to call the hospital to see what they thought. So I did and they had me come in to just be monitored. We arrived about 9:30pm and I was officially admitted a little before midnight. Some time between midnight and 2am, they put me on pitocin. By 2am I was asking for drugs and they gave me nubain. NEVER AGAIN. Wow did that stuff make me feel weird. I was able to sleep for a bit though, so that was nice. By 6am, I asked for an epidural. I felt like I needed to push around 8:30am and my nurse said to just try. I did but I realized I had no clue what I was really doing. Two and a half hours later, I was exhausted and was about to throw in the towel and ask for a c-section. The doctor (not mine as he was out sick) came in, took a look, and said nope, you can do this. Thirty more minutes of pushing and L was born. The cord was around his neck a couple times, but other than that, all was good. I had a little bit of tearing to be stitched up. L was 7 pounds 15 ounces and 21.5 inches long.

DD: At 32 weeks I went in for a routine appointment. My blood pressure was elevated but not worrisome. At 34 weeks (a Friday) I went into my appointment and my blood pressure was elevated again, I had a horrible headache at the base of my skull, and I was swollen like crazy. Doctor monitored me for a bit in the office and said that I needed to go into the hospital for additional monitoring. I drove home, told my husband the news, we quickly arranged childcare for DS1, dropped him off, and then arrived to the hospital. I was there for about 2 hours and my blood pressure never went down. It stayed elevated. I then had the joy of a 24 hour urine collection and was instructed to follow up with my doctor on Monday. I was told that I was on bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy and was diagnosed with pre-e. Monday came around, I met with my OB, once again my BP was elevated. I was sent for a BPP ultrasound, and told to come back to my OB in a couple days. Thursday was my next appointment and I was 35 weeks. I had my BPP ultrasound, DD passed that without issue. The nurse had me go into the NST room, took my blood pressure, and then left the room. My OB came in a few minutes later and said I was being sent across the parking lot to the hospital. I was being induced as my BP was 181/113. I was admitted and shortly there after I was put on mag-sulfate and confined to bed. Around 9pm they began the induction and the first round of cytotec was inserted. This was repeated two more times. By 9am, they started pitocin (and the strep-b antibiotic) and it made my contractions miserable. At 1pm, the doctor broke my water. By 2pm, I was begging for an epidural but I had to have labs done first. Talk about torture. By 3:30, my epidural was placed and DD's heart rate began to drop. At that point I started pushing, some where in there I was given an episiotomy, and because I wasn't progressing as they wanted they had the OR ready to go. Apparently that was all the encouragement I needed and at 4:30pm, she was born. DD was 4 pounds 7 ounces and 18.5 inches long. I briefly was able to hold her before they whisked her over to the special care nursery. I finally was able to hold her for a significant amount of time the next morning. One of the SCN nurses brought her to me and I was able to do skin to skin for an hour. It was wonderful. DD spent 6 days in the special care nursery before she was released. When she was released she weighed 4 pounds 4 ounces. I ended up being on blood pressure medicine for 6 months before my numbers finally returned to normal.

DS2: Being AMA and now having the history of pre-e, I began weekly appointments at 32 weeks. At that point I was given BPPs and NSTs, in addition to my regular appointment. At my 35 week appointment, I had a growth scan and it was estimated that DS2 was already 6 1/2 pounds. My jaw dropped. Also at my 35 week appointment, I noticed that my water level had dropped and I mentioned that to my OB. At each appointment that number continued to drop. My OB told me that they would induce if the number fell below 5. All was fine until 39+4 when my water fell below 5. Thankfully I was already 3cm dilated and I was close to my due date. My OB sent me over and told me she was on call that night. For which I was thankful because I really wanted her to be the one to deliver the baby. I expressed my concern over being put on pitocin again as I had a horrible time with it during my labor with DD. She made sure I had a nurse who knew how to handle pit. I was admitted to the hospital at 4pm. A little before 5 my OB came over and broke my water (very little came out). The contractions kicked in pretty quickly. My nurse started fluids and the pit shortly there after. By 6:30pm I asked for my epidural. It took 3 pokes for the doctor to get it placed and I felt it immediately take effect. It was neat how I could feel my body change like that and was able to describe to the doctor what I was feeling. He assured me that was all good. After that my nurse noticed that the baby wasn't in the right position, so she put me on my side and placed a large inflatable peanut between my knees. She told me that this would encourage baby to turn. After 30 minutes or so, I flipped to the other side. By 8pm, the epidural had shifted. I was starting to feel the contractions in certain spots (my nurse called them "hot spots"). She had me press the button to get an extra dose. That did nothing. By 8:45pm, I was in pain and struggling to breathe through the contractions. My nurse checked me at 9pm and I was complete. I started pushing around 9:15 and at 9:27, DS2 was born. He was 7 pounds 9 ounces and 20.5 inches long.

My labor and delivery with DS2 was definitely my best out of the three.

[quietjoy]

As for names, with DS1 we were team green so we went to the hospital with two names. We had picked out the names before I was even pregnant. With DD and DS2, we decided the names after the anatomy scans. It took a few weeks each time to finalize the names but once we did, we never switched.