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Grasshopper Green · 02-11-2005, 06:34 PM

I felt my first labor pain at 4:30 in the morning when hubby woke up to go to work. I told him I had a feeling that it was going to be "the day". My contractions were irregular until I went to my last scheduled OBGYN appt. that day. The midwife did something that got them going on a regular basis, and I was back at the hospital two hours later at 4:30. I was finally admitted at 7:30 pm ( I had to be 5 cm before they would admit me), at which time they gave me Stadol to "relax" me. I woke up at 10:30; it pretty much just knocked me out, although my mom said I still moaned from the pain. At that point I got an epidural; it completely paralyzed me from the waist down (that is NOT supposed to happen, I am sensitive to medication). I was fully dialated by midnight, and the nurse said we just had to wait until my sons head dropped so I could start pushing. So we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, at 3 am, they told me to start pushing anyway. So I pushed. And pushed. And pushed some more. The epidural was hindering my progress because I couldn't feel the contractions at all and wasn't pushing effectively, so after it was all gone they didn't refill it. Finally, at 6:34 am, my son was born. I was so exhausted that I barely remember the actual birth and what directly preceded it; apparently his heart rate had plummeted and they were on the verge of giving me an emergency C-section seconds before his head popped through. Mine was referred to as the "epic labor" by the labor and delivery staff the rest of the day, and I certainly felt it!! I actually didn't get to see my son until nearly 12 hours after he was born because they had to stabilize his temperature and heart rate, but all the pain and exhaustion were worth it, he was perfect and healthy.

If I were to have another baby, I don't know if I could get another epidural because of what happened with my son, but they aren't as bad as they seem. Sticking a big needle in your back DOES seem kind of scary, but the staff is trained in this and I didn't even feel it. My story isn't that great, I had a pretty difficult birth, but you asked for stories, and that was mine!

02-11-2005, 06:34 PM	#16 (permalink)
Grasshopper Green ...is a comical chap Location: Where morons reign supreme	I felt my first labor pain at 4:30 in the morning when hubby woke up to go to work. I told him I had a feeling that it was going to be "the day". My contractions were irregular until I went to my last scheduled OBGYN appt. that day. The midwife did something that got them going on a regular basis, and I was back at the hospital two hours later at 4:30. I was finally admitted at 7:30 pm ( I had to be 5 cm before they would admit me), at which time they gave me Stadol to "relax" me. I woke up at 10:30; it pretty much just knocked me out, although my mom said I still moaned from the pain. At that point I got an epidural; it completely paralyzed me from the waist down (that is NOT supposed to happen, I am sensitive to medication). I was fully dialated by midnight, and the nurse said we just had to wait until my sons head dropped so I could start pushing. So we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, at 3 am, they told me to start pushing anyway. So I pushed. And pushed. And pushed some more. The epidural was hindering my progress because I couldn't feel the contractions at all and wasn't pushing effectively, so after it was all gone they didn't refill it. Finally, at 6:34 am, my son was born. I was so exhausted that I barely remember the actual birth and what directly preceded it; apparently his heart rate had plummeted and they were on the verge of giving me an emergency C-section seconds before his head popped through. Mine was referred to as the "epic labor" by the labor and delivery staff the rest of the day, and I certainly felt it!! I actually didn't get to see my son until nearly 12 hours after he was born because they had to stabilize his temperature and heart rate, but all the pain and exhaustion were worth it, he was perfect and healthy. If I were to have another baby, I don't know if I could get another epidural because of what happened with my son, but they aren't as bad as they seem. Sticking a big needle in your back DOES seem kind of scary, but the staff is trained in this and I didn't even feel it. My story isn't that great, I had a pretty difficult birth, but you asked for stories, and that was mine!