Birth Story: Just Breathing Through the Contractions
An epidural at eight centimeters finally eases the pain
Posted by Katie_Mom365
Name: Ashley 
Age at Birth: 19
Date of This Birth: 2/22/2012
Location: Chattanooga,TN
Place: Hospital
Hours of Labor: 6-12
Birth Attendant: OB/GYN
Type of Birth: Vaginal, medication
Birthing Style: nada!
Overall vibe: Easier than I thought
Story: My birthing experience was amazing! Before I went into the hospital, Feb. 21st 2012 at 8 p.m., I was terrified that I wasn’t going to be able to handle it. They let me sleep the first night in the hospital while my cervix prepared for what was to come.
At 8 a.m. the doctor came in and broke my water. They also put me on Pitocin. I thought, OK, so far so good. Fifteen minutes later it hit me! Contraction after contraction after contraction! I thought I might die! The nurse came in and said if you don’t breathe right you are going to pass out! So I got my breathing under control and just tried to bear through the pain. I kept asking if I could get the epidural and the nurses kept telling me “You have to wait a little bit longer.” My husband was pacing the floors and my mom was trying to rub out the pain in my back.
Finally, I can get my epidural. I’m not really sure of who all was in the room. All I can remember is them poking my back and me feeling crunching noises. That was the worst part of my whole birthing process. The nurse came in to check how dilated I was. She said “I don’t think you will be dilated too much but we can at least check—oh you’re eight centimeters dilated!” My husband walks into the room and hears this and passes out and almost falls out the window! (we are on the second floor). My mom caught him before he hit the window. He wakes up and just started throwing up. I looked at him and said “I DON’T THINK YOU HAVE TO PUSH A BABY OUT OF YOUR VAGINA SO GET OVER HERE NOW!” I was very unhappy at this point, LOL.
My mom had one foot and my husband had the other. I started to push but I couldn’t feel anything at all. They had to turn off my epidural so I could feel to push! After I got a little bit of feeling back we started to push again. The nurse said “OK, we see the head. This baby has a ton of hair!” I’m looking around and my doctor is no where to be found. I can feel the baby almost out and I’m wondering when the doc will come to catch him? I look over and here he comes running down the hall in through the door. He pretty much walked into his gloves and apron and caught my son.
All I wanted to do was hold him but he had some kidney problems so I couldn’t right away. The nurses said “Here’s the menu; order now or you probably won’t be able to eat tonight.” So here I am looking at a menu right after birth! Lol, crazy.
Wisdom for New Mom-to-Be: Make the birth your own experience! It's all about you and your baby, no one else!
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