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I hope this article reaches you in enough time to prepare yourself mentally for having
your sweet babe.
And may I say Congratulations!
Whether you have been trying for months or years, or this baby was a complete surprise.
I promise this is going to be a love you could have never imagined.
There is not much you can do physically to prepare yourself for labor, but you can prepare mentally about the journey you have ahead.
And knowing what to expect is one of the ways to do this.
When I was approaching the end of my pregnancy, I was terrified.
I even bought a life insurance policy so my husband and son would be taken care of, that’s how scared I was.
Looking back, I feel silly.
Yes, don’t get me wrong. Labor, Delivery, and Postpartum was completely traumatic. But I would do it all over again, a 100 times if it meant I would have my son.
I'm not here to scare you, because believe me, you can 100% do this mama!
I just want to tell you how my story went, how you yourself can have a positive labor experience, and some of the things I wish I could have changed at the time.
Inducing
Whether you choose to let your baby come naturally, or you choose to induce that is completely up to you.
But if you choose to induce, trust that the doctors know what is safe and best for your baby and you. They would not lead you astray.
They give you the option to induce to lower the chances of emergency C-Sections, or any other problems that are a risk during your personal pregnancy.
If you would like to check out our article on the process of inducing, please press that link!
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I was scheduled to be Induced on a Sunday, at 39 weeks and 1 day. I had my baby that Monday, the next day.
We had to be there at 5pm to check in, we signed lots of papers, then they walked us
to our room.
The process was very relaxed and not all rushed, which I really enjoyed.
I changed into a gown, the hooked me up with an IV, lots of wires to monitor mine and the baby levels, and my husband and I got comfy.
A nurse brought me some snacks, and I relaxed for a little while so the nurses could get everything paper wise filled out and
ready to begin.
Around 6:30 or a little after, they placed the vaginal depository cytotec in me.
Then I had to lay down in bed for 2 hours, to let the medicine work.
Now people say being induced makes labor way more painful, but there’s actually no legitimate studies to back this up.
However, the means they go to induce you can give you very painful harsh contractions very quickly. So if you are not prepared, it can be pretty rough.
I was having minor non painful contractions the whole day that I was planned to be induced, and when we finally got to the hospital my contractions were about 9 minutes apart anyways. So my body was already in the mode of “we are having a baby”, which I truly believe made the process easier.
Around 7:30 I started having pretty medium contractions not far apart at all. Then around 8pm, the contractions got very rough.
At 8:30 my time to be able to move around finally came, the 2 hours seemed very long.
The nurse suggested for her to bring in what they call “the peanut”, which is basically a yoga ball in a peanut shape. I was up for anything to try and help the pain.
And it helped a little bit honestly, and I sat and watched television while bouncing and rocking. The pain was still pretty heavy,
but not unbearable.
Water Breaking
After bouncing on the ball for about 45mins-1 hour, I felt the sudden urge to go to the bathroom. Like I felt I needed to go really bad!
Secret for you: The baby’s head dropping will feel just like the sudden urge of having to poop because there is so much weight
down there!
Just as my husband was getting to sleep,
(I know.. like they’re having to do so much right now? But take it easy on them, they did not have 9 months of pregnancy that prepared them for sleepless nights.)
I starting yanking out all my wires from the machine and grabbing the cords I needed to go to the bathroom.
My husband was awaken by the machines beeping, and he quickly got up asking
what I was doing.
I told him I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom, I took a step, and there was a rush of liquid falling out of me, down my leg and onto the floor.
I paused, I looked at my husband, and I said “I think my water just broke.”
My husband immediately pushed the nurses button and a Nurse came in our room.
After we explained, she told me to immediately get in bed and that she would needed to test to make sure it was for sure my water breaking or if i just peed myself.
Not that peeing yourself during pregnancy is bad, because it is completely normal!
But it never happened to me once during pregnancy, so i was quick to say that I really think it was my water breaking.
However, they still needed to check because of how little liquid came out of me.
But after the test came back, It was completely positive that I did in fact, break my water.
Bedridden
After your water breaks you are then confined to the hospital bed to prevent the risk
of abruptions.
This was one of the things I wish I had power over during my pregnancy.
Because If you can get up to bounce on a ball or get up to walk around the room or the halls, it can help take the pain away so much easier than anything you can do
lying in a bed.
So as long as your water hasn’t broken, get up and move around while you can!
Unfortunately this was not the case for me, and I wish I had gotten the chance to relieve my pain more easily.
Dilation Checks
After my water broke, they came in to see how much I had dilated.
They lay you back in bed, tell you to frog spread your legs to make it less painful and easier, they fill around for a few seconds and the immediately know.
I had dilated to a 3 after this, after coming in to be induced and not being dilated at all!
This was around 10pm.
So the process can start quickly or slow, it just depends on how your body adjusts and takes in everything!
Rounds of Cytotec
They had told me at the beginning they would do rounds of cytotec, and this is how they send your body into labor.
However, do to my water breaking and my contractions being so close apart, they decided that I did not need another round of cytotec.
When your body takes the medicine well and is ready, it is pretty much just a
waiting game.
I believe around midnight, they came into do another dilation check and I had them dilated
to a 5!
Epidural
My contractions were unbearable for me at this point, and I asked for an epidural and my nurse suggested it as well.
Due to me having spinal surgery from scoliosis when I was 17, I was placed with 2 rods and around 23 pins in my back.
So this made the anesthesiologist on duty double check to make sure everything would be safe and have the best possible
chance of working.
Not many people at all are in this boat, but if you are, make sure you have your surgery xrays handy on your phone to show the anesthesiologist.
I know so many people are scared to get an epidural, but it’s not bad at all!
If I can do it, you can do it!
As long as you wait for the right time to ask them for one, you are not going to be focusing on the epidural. You are only focusing on getting through the next painful contraction.
You have a nurse that will stand in front of you to help you stay stable and still, and I suggest to use them as much as you have to, that is what they are there for and they do not
mind one bit!
To be completely honest, after the nurse said she was done, I said “really?”. Because I did not feel a thing. No pokes, sticks, or burning.
The anesthesiologist knows what she or he is doing, so trust them!
Now the epidural helped me a lot stomach contractions wise. However, I’m not sure if it was because I have back problems or just my genetics but the epidural did not help my back contractions. And these were the most painful.
They think that I probably waited too long to get the epidural, so it wasn't able to catch up. So my advice is that as soon as you are in a lot of major pain is to ask for the epidural, if you want one.
Waiting Game
After the epidural, just like any body else, it was a waiting game from there on out.
It felt like forever, and I felt very discouraged that I wouldn't be able to do it.
However, my husband was there to make sure I was breathing through every contraction and told me how great of a job I was doing.
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Because of covid, I wasn’t allowed to have any other family members in my room, so if it wasn't for him I’m not sure if I would have been able to happily make it through.
Check out our article on How Dads can help Mom during labor!
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Around possibly 3am, they came in to do another dilation test and I had dilated to a 7.
The time after this until I was ready to have my baby, felt like forever.
I was in so much pain, and nothing they did helped me in anyway. But again, I’d do it all again to have my son.
Time to Push
At 6:50 am, they came to do my dilation check again, not knowing that it would be my last.
I was physically ready for the pain to be over but not mentally ready to deliver.
So once they checked me and asked if I was ready to push, notifying me that I was at a 10,
I specifically remember saying “no..”
My OB didn’t start his shift until 7am. So they called him letting him know I was ready to deliver, and he said he was right down the road about to turn into the hospital.
Sometimes there is no waiting even 10 minutes for a baby though, sometimes for moms they are coming right that second and you will not be able to wait.
Thankfully, I sat and mentally prepared myself holding my husbands hand, while the nurses got everything prepared for as soon as my OB got there, we would be ready to go.
Delivering Your Baby
When your OB gets to your room, they will immediately explain to you how and
when to push.
You will need to push as soon as a contraction starts, and it is actually not that hard to learn the proper weigh of pushing.
As long as your epidural worked, you will not be able to feel a thing from your hips down. So you will be having to let nurses hole your legs up for you, due to you not having any feeling in your bottom half.
It depends on your body again, sometimes you might only have to push a few times and others might be hours of pushing.
My baby was in a low enough position that after 5 pushes he was out, and then they were handing him to me to hold on my chest at 7:21am.
Right after Baby is Delivered
They use to take your baby away and immediately wash them and gave them to you after, not even being able to see them.
Now after a lot of research, it is actually proven that is healthier for the baby and mom for the baby to have 1 whole hour of skin contact.
So they will now immediately hand you your baby to lay on your chest, while a nurse stimulates their skin with a blanket.
While you are holding your precious babe for the first time, your husband will cut the umbilical cord if they want to.
And after this, you will deliver the placenta and they will give you any stitches if needed!
Because of my epidural, I did not feel any of this after either.
Pregnancy and Labor are considered a miracle, because even Science is stumped on how women can endure as much pain as we go through during labor!
If you are going to have your baby soon, I wish you nothing but the best of luck and encouragement. You got this Mama!
If you have already had your baby, you are amazing and never forget that!