It was 9:30 am on a Friday. I was 38 weeks pregnant at my weekly doctor appointment with my OBGYN. I’d had a long pregnancy journey, like many Mommas. And that day when my Doc asked me how I was feeling, for the first time I said tired.
Here’s my labor story and what it was like for me giving birth as a first time Mom. You can check out my pregnancy journey here! First Pregnancy Guide
It’s Finally Time!
I was finally ready to have this baby. My blood pressure was a bit high, 140/90 and it hadn’t gone down during my appointment (she took it twice). My tummy was well past 40 weeks even though I was really 38.
So she sent me and my Husband to the hospital. She said, “no sense in keeping you pregnant, lets go ahead and have a baby. Get yourself some food and your things and I’ll see you later!”
So Hubby and I went home and got our things. I showered, we went to grab food and we headed to the hospital.
When we arrived the nurses had been expecting us, as my Doctor had called ahead. We arrived around twelve noon. We started off in triage so they could check me in and get me and baby hooked up to a monitor.
Pitocin and Labor Induction
By 2pm, since our room wasn’t quite ready yet, one of the Doctors went ahead and started me on Pitocin to induce my labor while we were in Triage. If your water doesn’t break naturally, but your Doctor feels it’s time for baby to come, your labor has to be induced or begun with medication. Pitocin causes the uterus to contract so the process of labor can begin.
They started me with the pill, but then switched to intravenous medication once we moved to our room, which was shortly after that.
Once you’re receiving the Pitocin intravenously, they release small doses every hour or how ever often your Doctor says. To be honest, it’s not fun. Pitocin is what causes your contractions. So every time more is released, more contractions come. As the evening went on, once I received the Epidural, they let up on the Pitocin so I could get some rest for a while. Then the following morning they began it again to push my labor along. But I digress! More on that later.
I knew I wanted certain family with me during my labor process. I really didn’t know what it would be like, so here are a couple things to consider.
Things to consider about your labor
They check your cervix so many times… like, so many.
While you’re in labor, they’re checking your cervix every hour or so to see how far along you are. There is no telling how long you will be in labor before you actually have the baby. You could be in labor 1 hour, and you could be in labor 24 hours, there’s no set time. So this means, they could be checking your cervix once, or they could be checking your cervix 10 – 15 or more times throughout your labor!
If you don’t know what it’s like for a Doctor to check your cervix, just think about what it’s like when you’re at the Gynecologist office for your annual exam. Now try to imagine having that exam done every 2 hours or so for who knows how long until baby comes.
Sorry I know it’s a bit much to think about because I don’t know about you, but to me annual exams suck! So yeah, it’s a really big part of the labor process so, it’s no way to sugar coat that.
Who should be in the delivery room with me?
So with that being said, think about who you would bring with you to sit next to you at the gynecologist office during your annual exam. That should help you decide who you would like to have with you in the room during your labor and delivery. It all happens in the same room, with the same people you want in the room with you during the labor process.
I was comfortable with my Husband, my 2 Moms and sister being there, so that’s who I asked!
There is only one room during your labor
For some reason I thought I would be delivering the baby in a different room than the room I had been in during labor. I have no idea why I thought this, probably from movies and tv shows?? They’re always wheeling the Mother down the hall on the bed while she’s going hee-hee, hoo-hoo and screaming in pain! Well clearly, TV is not real life, hahaha!
The room you’re in during labor is the same room you deliver the baby in. Exact same.
It was pretty peaceful and quiet with just me and my family during labor, but once I was ready to deliver baby, the room magically transformed and began to buzz with people.
How soon do labor pains start after Pitocin?
My labor pains started a few hours after I had the Pitocin. There’s no way to downplay labor pains, it hurts. It feels like the worst menstrual cramps you’ve ever had. Once things got to a point where I was dilated to 4 or 5 cm and my contractions were coming pretty regularly, the Doctor okayed my epidural. I had been in labor all evening before I could get the epidural.
Epidural + Must Have Catheter = Mind Blown
Because you can’t get up and move around with the epidural, they have to insert a urinary catheter first. Once the epidural is inserted, you can’t move from the bed to use the restroom.
I’d never had a catheter before, and when they told me I had to have one I was kind of taken aback because I just wasn’t expecting it.
I mean, literally a nurse comes in the room standing in front of me with a tube in her hand and says, “We have to put this in now.” I’m like, “What’s that???” She’s like, “It’s a urinary catheter, we have to put this in before we give you the epidural.”
In that moment I’m not thinking, “wait I don’t want a catheter!” I’m thinking, “If this will get me to pain relief, and it’s safe for baby, do it!” I just wish I knew ahead of time to be prepared for it.
So they do the catheter way before the epidural because they want to get this procedure out of the way early. Plus, at this point I really didn’t feel like getting up to use the bathroom anyway, so it really was okay.
Having a catheter is definitely weird because you never really feel yourself going, all you see is this icky bag hanging to your left or right, filling up with yellow liquid. Sorry I know it’s kinda gross. But I want you to know what to expect!
What is an Epidural?
I thought I knew what an epidural was, but I really didn’t have a good understanding of it. They say experience makes you wiser, so I guess after experiencing it it’s given me a better understanding.
The epidural is actually a procedure where they insert an epidural catheter into your spine with a needle to relieve SOME of your labor pain. That catheter stays there because the medicine is pumped through a bag during your labor. So you’re bound to your hospital bed once the procedure is done.
An epidural is not just actual medicine, it’s a procedure/mechanism. They use the mechanism (epidural catheter) to inject epidural medications into your spine. They can actually inject different types of medicine into the epidural, and they can also increase the dosage of whatever they give you.
The epidural does remain in your spine during labor and delivery (the catheter, not the needle). It does not relieve ALL the pain, I still felt pain. I thought it would eliminate all the pain, but they can’t eliminate all the pain or else you won’t feel the contractions so you know when to push.
I have read some women say they felt no pain, so I guess it’s different for everyone. But I definitely still felt pain. However the pain was significantly decreased.
Epidural pain medications are actually given for other types of pain in the body as well. So it’s not exclusively for labor pains, it’s just most widely known for that.
What is the Epidural procedure like?
When it’s time for the epidural, everyone has to exit the room, your significant other included. It’s sort of a serious procedure due to the location of the injection being your spine, so there can be no distractions while this is happening. And it is soooo extremely nerve wracking!!
You have to sit up in the bed, legs dangling over the side, hunching over a table, and you must remain extremely still while they inject the needle. I was so relieved when it was done. Like, you’re experiencing all this labor pain, and you have to stay extremely still in order for them to insert a needle into your spine!
So after it was done, my Hubby and family was able to come back into the room. Usually you have pretty instant relief with the epidural, but for me, I had no relief at first! So they sent my family out again, and once again, I had to sit extremely still for them to check the epidural. They said it was inserted properly so they decided to up my dosage of meds. After this, I had relief almost instantly.
Even though it didn’t eliminate ALL the pain, it did give me quite a bit of relief from being in labor all. Night. Long. My doc actually let me sleep for a while after that because she saw how tired I was.
This is also when I had a rest from the Pitocin.
How can you be tired during labor?
You may think, how could you be tired, aren’t you just laying in a bed? Listen, I don’t know how you’re tired, you just are, haha! It’s just exhausting having a baby. And dealing with a high level of non stop pain for hours and hours.
By the next morning I was finally fully dilated to 10cm at around 11am. I was so relieved to see my OB/GYN’s familiar face when she walked in to check on me, and let me know she was there. By the way, I love her!!! She is amazing and I’m so glad I found an awesome OB/GYN Doctor. It was wonderful knowing I was in good hands.
All the things they needed to bring baby into the world were wheeled into the room, and the process began! The room began to buzz with people, and our peaceful, quietness was transformed into a busy, fully staffed operation.
My water never broke on its own, everything kind of happened during delivery.
In my mind I was thinking, “I don’t know if I can do it, I don’t know if I can do it, am I going to need a c-section? I don’t know if I can push this baby out!” BUT I think my bubs was out in about 4 to 5 pushes. Thanks be to God and an amazing Doctor!
If you’re not comfortable with your Doctor, it’s worth it to make the effort to find one you like. I do know someone who was not happy with their Doctor, and it put such a damper on their labor experience. I implore you to do some looking around to find a Doctor you feel comfortable with from the start of your pregnancy (if not before).
Umbilical cord scare
When my baby was making his entrance, my umbilical cord was tangled around his neck. My doctor had to work quickly to remove the cord, and they rushed my baby out quickly to make sure he was okay and breathing. I kept saying “Is he okay? Is he okay?”
But within minutes baby was on my chest and it was such a surreal moment. I’m so glad I didn’t see this process because I was pretty out of it, omg! But from what my Husband tells me, my Doctor worked quickly and all was well.
At 11:52 am, June 23rd, 2018 our little boy was born!
This little person that was inside my tummy all this time, was now right in front of my face. It is the craziest and most amazing feeling ever.
I hope my labor story helps you feel more prepared and informed! In the end it will all be worth it when you’re holding your beautiful bundle of joy.
I hope you have an amazing day today, and every day!
