Some of you have wanted to know what my labor and delivery experience was this time, so here it is! Beware; if you do not want to know details, stop reading this post!
As you probably know, we were hoping and praying for labor to start on its own so I wouldn’t have to go through an induction again. Luckily labor started on its own! It all started Wednesday morning. I had gotten up with Shaun in the 5am hour a couple of times after Bill had gone to the gym, with no symptoms. Then when I got up at 6am, I started to have slight pains. I took a shower and by the time I got out of the shower, I new that this was labor because the pains were going and coming pretty regularly, even though they weren’t super painful. I didn’t bother to dry my hair, and just put on my sweats instead of work clothes. By this time, Bill would be home from the gym soon. As soon as he got home, I told him to come upstairs right away (instead of checking email, etc first). It was 7am, and since the contractions were still there and getting stronger we packed up the rest of our bags and I called work to tell them that I wouldn’t be in. Then we realized we should time them, and they were 3-4 minutes apart! Weren’t they supposed to start farther apart and then get closer, not this time!
It was then about 8am, we called Serina to tell her we would be coming by to drop off Shaun (she was our daytime “on call” person, until my parents could take over). The drive to drop Shaun off and then to the hospital seemed to take forever! The contractions were getting much stronger by this time and still just as close together.
We got to the hospital about 9am. I was then evaluated in triage. I was at 5cm with a bulging bag of water. The nurse asked if I wanted an epidural, and of coarse I said “YES!” She said I could get it as soon as possible. I was “jumping” for joy. Another nurse then came and got me to take me to my room. By this time it was about 9:30. I had to stop in the hall before getting on the elevator to get through a contraction. After the nurse got my IV hooked up and a bag of water in me, the anesthesiologist came and started the epidural process. By 10:30 it was kicking in and I was feeling good. They really did get me the epidural as soon as possible!
At around this time I was checked again and was about 7cm. The doc said it probably wouldn’t be that long before baby arrives. The nurse requested that someone bring in the sterile cart and baby station already since things may go fast. I loved what I was hearing! I couldn’t help but remember back to the labor with Shaun and them saying that it was going to be a long night. One of the times that the doc was in the room he broke my water. He explained what he was going to do and the risks involved, and then he had to literally leap out of the way to not get wet. It was the loudest gushing sound I had ever heard! My right sock got soaked. Luckily the doc was quick enough that he stayed dry, but there was a ton of water! It was pretty funny!
I was able to relax until12:15. The nurse had to experiment with me in different positions because Logan’s heartbeat would go down periodically. So, then at 12:15 she said it was time to start pushing; a lot of the reason being that baby was going to be better on the outside then stressed on the inside. When I first started pushing, it seemed like I was getting no leverage and would make no progress. However, soon the nurse said that I was doing really well, and by a little before 1:30 the doc was summoned, and baby was going to be born on the next push or 2! Then at 1:40, Logan was born. They put him up on my chest where Bill then cut the chord. It seemed like it took forever for him to cry, but he did and I couldn’t help but have tears in my eyes. Our precious Logan was here!
The whole labor and delivery process this time lasted from about 6am-1:30pm; 7.5 hours. That is almost exactly half the time of the process with Shaun, 7pm-9:30am, which is what is typical for 2nd births. I’m glad I was typical!
In comparing my 2 labor/delivery experiences, I liked the non induction labor much better. Each contraction was shorter and less intense. The breathing methods actually helped me get through the contractions, unlike with the contractions with Shaun. They were so hard and long that I was crying and wanted to die during each one; not so this time. So my advice to anyone considering induction: try to avoid it like my doctor recommended for that reason and the other increased risks (like c-sections, etc.).
