Tumbleweeds and Snowflakes: Welcome To The World!

It all started Thursday afternoon. I went to my 39 week check-up and my doctor did nothing out of the ordinary. I was 100% effaced and 1cm dilated just like the previous week. However, after my appointment I was having some cramping, which I know is normal, but just for fun I decided to time how far apart each cramp was. They were pretty regular, 5-7 minutes apart for 4-6 hours., meaning they were contractions. We went and registered at the hospital and went home. These weren't bothersome for me so I was in no hurry. After a while they were 2-3 minutes apart, then 1-2 minutes apart and had increased in pain enough for me to practice my breathing exercises. At about 6pm I called my husband at work and told him we should head to the hospital.

When we got there the Triage nurse said I was the same exact effacement and dilation as at my appointment and that I wasn't actually in labor. She said I "didn't look like I was in enough pain" and sent me home. Seriously lady?! How do you know how much pain I'm in just by looking at me? My pain tolerance is unique to me. She also told me I was wrong for timing my contractions because its not an accurate way to tell you're in labor. Say what?? To say I was confused and angry is a understatement. I was sent home with contractions every couple of minutes, my only knowledge of 'its time to go to the hospital' shattered, and in too much pain to sleep or walk.

I tried to sleep between contractions with very little success. At about 1:30am I was in too much pain to sleep, lay down, or sit down so I began leaning over our bed, rocking my breaths and deep breathing. There was some 'bloody show' and more pain. I woke my husband up and said we should go to the hospital. He loves his sleep and told me, half asleep, that he didn't think we needed to go. So, I impatiently waited until 2am and told him I want to go to the hospital. At 2:30am we were on our way to the hospital. Yay!!
This time, a different nurse in Triage told me I was 4cm and 100 percent. About two hours after getting into a labor and delivery room and maybe 30 minutes of pushing we had our little girl!

I'm very proud to say I had absolutely no pain medication! People make labor out to be this terrible monster that is scary, long, painful, and dangerous. It was scary at first, could have been long, it was very painful but not like the media depicts, and was not dangerous in any way. Keep in mind that this is my personal experience. I focused on breathing like we learned in my childbirth class. Especially since they made me lay down (which was far more painful than standing) because they couldn't get a good read on the baby's heartbeat. It was a truly great experience for me. I had a wonderful nurse, husband, best friend, and doctor (my OB wasn't able to be there) supporting me! I'm convinced that the only reason my labor went so well and quick was because I went unmedicated. My body knows how to give birth even if I don't. I feel that had I gone medicated I would have caused my labor to go much slower and be far more painful. I was even able to get up and walk after I got my stitches. She was beautiful! My husband cried when he saw her, so sweet!

Epidurals can cause you to relax, which can cause you to either continue in labor (if you were tensing your muscles instead of letting them to their job) or prohibit labor from continuing. If it doesn't continue, you get Pitocin which causes stronger contractions that you may or may not feel (but your baby does). If you feel more pain you get another epidural, then labor slows, so you get more Pitocin, then your baby could go into fetal distress. Because even though you're not feeling these much stronger contractions, your baby is. This can result in a c-section. Remember this is my opinion. I'm not wrong or right. Every woman's pain tolerance is different as is their birth experience. If you get an epidural, good for you, if you don't, good for you.