A Positive Labor Story from a First Time Mom
Hello! My name’s Claire and I’m a planner. I’m controlling, I’m anxious, I’m never late, and I’m constantly over-analyzing every aspect of my life. Now, when I say that I was beyond terrified of going into labor and giving birth, that is a complete understatement. I spent countless nights shaking and crying with the anticipation of going into an unplanned and uncontrolled labor at any second. But I’m here to tell you that labor and delivery can be an incredibly positive experience. I might even go as far to say that I had fun on the day my daughter was born! I’m here to share my positive labor and delivery story in the hopes of putting your mind at ease. These last few days, weeks, or months should be spent cherishing the time you have left with that beautiful baby bump and not anxiously awaiting something you simply can’t control Mama!
Now, when I say that I’m a planner I’m not kidding! I basically had my birth plan written up and ready to review with my OB by the time I hit 20 weeks pregnant. I knew I wanted the lights dim, peppermint essential oils defusing, my husband applying counter pressure during contractions, and a big, fat juicy epidural by the time I hit 4cm dilated! I wanted to go into labor naturally and I wanted to avoid a c-section at all costs. I was anxiously waiting to go over my birth plan for the second time with my OB at my 37-week appointment when I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. Due to my abnormally high blood pressure and the elevated amounts of protein found in my urine, I would have to be induced immediately! To say that I was terrified would be the understatement of the century. I left the OB shaking and on the verge of tears. I had my induction scheduled for 9/27 at 6am.
I spent the days leading up to my induction doing everything I possibly could to prepare my body for labor. I was drinking upwards of 60oz of red raspberry leaf tea per day and spent most of my time bouncing on my big blue yoga ball. The day of my induction I was up by 4am after a night of anxious sleep and called the hospital to make sure they were ready for me. The check-in process was smooth and by 6am I was changing into my hospital gown and hooked up to my IV. Now, I know every induction is different but let me share how it went from my perspective.
At 6am I had blood drawn and I was quickly hooked up to an IV providing me with nothing more than fluids. My OB came in at 6:30 am to do a cervical check and we discovered I was at 3cm dilated and 90% effaced (this was incredible news!). The plan was to start me on Pitocin to get my contractions started, but first my OB wanted to conduct a membrane sweep to see if my body wanted to start labor on its own. I’m going to stop the story right here and tell you that the membrane sweep is not fun. I would say it was one of the most uncomfortable parts of labor. The sweep takes a total of 10 seconds but there was pain, pressure, and intense cramping during and immediately afterwards. After the membrane sweep, we played the waiting game to see if my body would take over and get things started naturally.
No such luck! By 8am it was time to start the Pitocin. My body reacted well to the Pitocin and started contracting within the hour. I went from 3cm to 4cm dilated by 9am. To me, contractions at this point felt like intense pressure but no pain. I was easily talking through them and had no need for breathing exercises. My OB let me know that she planned on breaking my water around lunch time and advised me to get the epidural beforehand because things can sometimes intensify afterwards.
My incredible anesthesiologist, Evan, gave me my epidural around 11:30am. Obviously, I had heard about epidurals gone wrong or not working. Some women claimed they were horrendously painful and caused lasting side-effects. Well, I’m here to tell you that mine didn’t hurt one bit! The only part of the epidural placement I felt was the small needle used to numb the area beforehand, and that was equivalent to a mild bee sting. The part that genuinely freaked me out was that I could still completely feel my legs. I had no numbness or heaviness like I was expecting so I assumed the epidural wasn’t working. It wasn’t until I glanced over at the monitors and saw that my contractions were intensifying that I praised my lucky stars that my epidural was working…and working well!
My OB came in around 12:30pm and broke my water. I felt nothing but the intense gush of liquid leaving my body. I was quickly cleaned up and left to progress on my own. My OB would be at the hospital until 6pm that evening, but I knew that inductions could take up to 72 hours so I wasn’t hopeful that she would be the one delivering my baby.
I took an incredible 3-hour, epidural induced nap. If you’re in your third trimester of pregnancy, then you know how rare sleep is. I couldn’t believe I was napping my way through labor! When I woke up it was around 4:30pm and my contraction monitors had slid off my belly so I could no longer tell how intense my contractions had become. I started to panic because I believed my labor had stalled and it would still be at least another full day until we met our baby girl. I was on the verge of tears when my nurse came in to check on how I was doing. She readjusted my monitors and saw that I was still contracting at a rapid pace. Suddenly, I felt the pressure I had been feeling move from my abdomen to my butt. This is when things started to get uncomfortable. Although my epidural was working well to keep me from feeling pressure and pain in and around my uterus, it was not prepared to help me as the pressure moved south.
My OB came to check on me around 5pm and I was at a whopping 9cm dilated and 100% effaced! I was stunned. My OB was going to give me 1 hour to get to 10cm and then it would be time to push. I was in a lot of discomfort with the pressure rapidly increasing, but I can say that it wasn’t painful. I asked the nurse to bring in a peanut ball to help me progress that final centimeter. I had heard that these peanuts were miracle workers, and I didn’t want to go my entire labor without trying one out. I kid you not, I was turned on my side with the peanut ball in-between my legs for less than 20 minutes before I was at 10cm!
At 5:30pm we practiced pushing! I was able to bear down and push for 10 seconds without breathing and the OB and nurse said I was doing so well and that they could see the top of my baby’s head! I was over the moon because I was laughing and smiling at this point and thought pushing was going to be an absolute breeze…but I should have paid attention to the word “practice”. Soon the bottom half of my hospital bed was taken down and my legs were thrown into stirrups. A large light came down from the ceiling and my OB had put on hospital scrubs and about 15 nurses had entered the room. It was time!
The pressure intensified and this is the only part of my story where I can say I felt PAIN. As my daughter made her way down the pressure only intensified and my epidural no longer protected me from the sensations of labor. I pushed for a whopping 34 minutes, and my baby girl was here! The immediate relief that I expected after giving birth wasn’t there quite yet. My OB gave a small tug, and my placenta was delivered the minute after my baby. That’s when the relief came, and my body suddenly felt incredibly empty.
My baby girl was placed on my chest, and she looked directly into my eyes for the most incredible moment of my life. She didn’t cry, she just stared, and I was in complete awe of this tiny little creature who could be so calm amongst all the chaos of labor. I’m not going to lie, I felt every stitch while the OB was tending to my 2nddegree tear, but I didn’t care. My eyes followed my baby.
My induction started at 6am and my baby girl was born at 6:08pm. My OB was there to deliver my baby right before she went home for the evening, and I had the most incredible nurses tending to my every need. My husband was by my side, and we shared the most incredible moment of our lives. Nothing went as I had planned, and that somehow made it absolutely perfect.
I’m here to say you’ve got this Mama! Your story will be uniquely yours and amazingly beautiful. This I can promise you!
