Good Birth Stories

I had the easiest birth ever...I had a 16-yr-old girl do it for me!

No, really, my son's birthmom announced that she would deliver at 7:30 because she wanted to watch Gray's Anatomy, and damn if he wasn't born at 7:30 on the dot! She didn't have a bit of trouble; he just popped right out.

I had a very long labor, but my doctor, nurse midwife and the hospital nurses were great. I just want to say what I always say now to my friends who are expecting for the first time- just go with it!!!

Lots of people go into this with very specific plans. They get really upset or disappointed if they don't get 'the birth' they had really wanted or planned for.

but the one thing I have come to understand as a mother is that Nature and life are RANDOM- things happen unexpectedly, and the best thing you can do is to allow yourself to adjust your expectations!

Don't get upset if you need an epidural, but planned natural. Don't freak out if you really think you need pain medicine, but the doctor tells you there won't be time- just do what is right IN THAT MOMENT so you have a healthy baby and it will all be just fine!!

When you are in the moment, having strong contractions, pushing, etc- you will be so focused, everything that you are, every fiber of your being is going to be concentrating on just one thing- having that baby!

You will not notice if they march a brass band through the room. Just focus on being strong and that the outcome you want is a healthy baby and healthy mama- how you GET there, doesn't matter as much as that!!

Congratulations and best of luck as a mommy!

My first birth was pretty easy and the second one was even better. My Dr said she wished she could tape it to show how it "should be done" ;-) Childbirth was MUCH easier for me than the pregnancy! I think for most people, if the first one goes well, there is a greater chance that the second one will as well. I just remember that we were so relaxed b/c we knew what was going to happen. And the childbirth itself was very fast and easy (as easy as childbirth can be of course!). I feel very bad for all those women who have such a hard time with it, and have several good friends who did, so I know I am very fortunate. My sisters all had easy births as well, so I wonder if it is soemwhat genetic?

My second birth was fantastic! I started having PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) two weeks before my 2nd was due, so I went in for an induction. After waiting far too long for an epidural with my first, I decided the minute the cramps and contractions got too powerful, I was getting the epidural this time! SO -I did-and it was FANTASTIC! My first time, the epidural took away horrible back labor, but didn't deaden anything. This time I was in heaven -passed out and woke up 5 hours later with the nurse saying -"You need to wake up because it's time to push!" She had called for the doctor, but said, "Give me one push so we can see where we are, " and I did which prompted an "OH -NO MORE -JUST WAIT!!!!" The doctor arrived, gloved up, said "Give me a push," and my 2nd gorgeous son popped right out into his hands. It was a great experience! Good luck with everything!

I can relate to your worry. I had my second daughter five months ago. I had a super experience with our first daughter and being in a new town with new doctors and a different hospital, I was nervous/scared. We are a military family, so the hospital we delivered in was old and I had no idea what doctor would be delivering our baby. One night around ten, my water broke as it had done with my first daughter. I called and the nurses were incredibly nice. My husband drove us in. There was one more room available, a room they don't normally use unless they are full. I tried to hold out pain wise, but I wasn't progressing much and they put me on Pitosin (sp?) immediately. I asked for the epidural and from that moment on, I was more relaxed than I have been since before we had children! I just laid back on the bed, with semi-droopy eyes, thinking about our first daughter and wondering what this new little life was like. My husband and I reminisced about our first daughter. The nursing staff could not have been nicer or more helpful. The doctor and nurse practitioner were so kind. By six am, I was ready to push and two pushed later, we had our second daughter. It was a great experience. I felt more aware the second time around, which made it even more special.
Good luck! Enjoy your epidural! Enjoy the experience. Enjoy your new little one.

I had to get induced, because Pres. Bush was going to be speaking at my hospital the next week and I didnt want to risk not getting to go there and have my doctor because they werent going to be admitting new patients. So I went in at 7, got my IV, and started to feel some crampies around noon. As I was super scared of pain, I asked for my epi, and they checked to make sure I was dilated enough, and gave it to me. I was super hungry, but they wouldnt let me eat anything, so my nurse kept me supplied with orange popsicles until they ran out. :-) I finished the 2 books I had been reading, had a nap, and since my parents had warning, my dad got to be one of the first people to hold my daughter after they got us both cleaned up. It was stress-free and awesome. The only bad part was how hungry I was, but my aunt got me some awesome, yummy pot roast afterwards. :-)

Hi Amy - I had my little guy on 4/11/07 and it was not bad. The only bummer was I went into labor in the evening and had to stay awake all night (Sigh!). Water broke - or should I say "spritzed" around 10pm. Went to the hospital about 10:30-11ish. I wanted to be as drug-free as possible and was freaked out by the concept of an epidural. Also wanted to be more "involved" in the pushing. I decided to go with Stadol if I needed medication to get through the pain. I asked for "help" at 5cm and 7cm. Then got to 9cm after 7 hours of labor, then 2 hours of active labor - had my son at 8:30am :) I would say on the pain scale, I never got higher than 7 out of 10. Very little tearing, no episiotomy. I also found out I'm more of a grunter than a screamer (seems like the TV births are all screamers LOL). My hubby said that the nurses in the birth ward start a pool when a mom comes in saying "no epidural for me" - I think I cost some people some money since I didn't get one :)

Enjoy! Hope it's easy for ya!

I have actually 3 to share all bring great laughs when we talk about it now. We have 5 children (1 is adopted and always told she was my best pregnancy got her at 16).
1. 1st child and husbands weren't allowed the delivery room and I'm scared to death so suddenly they tell my husband(we were Air Force) he had to leave Dad's weren't allowed in the delivery room-- so I start yelling hey this idea is cancelled if he can't be here I'm sure not going in there-- so the doctor starts laughing and said " Son she thinks she means it ya better dress in a gown" so was the 1st offical husband in the Midwest City, Okla. hospital-- sure there were others before us.
2. pregnant once again and the labor was less than fun as the baby was breach and my young husband pats my hand and says " honey Mother Eve went through this and it is the way of all women I talked to some of the men outside" THE NURSE turns and said " Boy, when she can move again she will take you out for that remark-- til then -she hit him up against the side of his head".
3. It was baby #3 and Christmas Eve, was in labor and refused to go into the hospital just sure that I'd be sent home so waited-- so now it's Christmas Day and all the relatives are visiting and I am still about 10 minuets apart andsuddenly the pains were unbearable-- my daughter goes out and says Daddy did you know Mommy is falling to her knees praying-- he rushed me to the hospital and once they got me into the labor room my doctor called about another mom and when they told him I was ready he said to tell me to wait he'll be right there-- My response" Tell Dr. Crockett, Glenda waits for no man" and the baby was born 10 minuets later with the nurse's help---- Dr. Crockett showed up from his son's basketball game with his wife and laughed so hard at my not waiting he wrote us a check for $400.00!!!
I wish you all the best with your baby. Always remember that parenthood is much like the adventure of a theme park ride--- lots of twisits and turns and a surprise around each turn and at the end of the ride you are both quesy and screaming and at the same time saying hey that was fun lets do it again! I know that being a parnet has been the greatest achievement I have ever accomplished and believe me I have done alot of great stuff in my life.

I have had 3 and am awaiting my 4th labor. ;) My first was an epidural birth, my second a natural land birth and my third was a water birth. My favorite? Hands down, the water birth. But, I will tell you about all of them briefly. I am in no way trying to convince you otherwise on your choice.......just simply stating my experiences. ;) None of them were horrible, all were in my list of happy memories!

Epidural Birth......I went in for a prenatal a week before due date. Everything was fine. I walked out and started down the stairs. I was horrified that I had peed my pants in public. Never a thought that my water broke. ;) By the time I got to my car (after 3 flights of stairs), I did it again! Long story short, I was in labor. I was not going to do the epidural, because I wanted to experience birth as nature intended. But, I stalled in my labor from the stress of my mil (who hates my guts) standing at the foot of my bed staring at me (probably judging me and wondering what is taking so long). So, they had to start pit (nightmares were all I had heard about that drug). I opted for an epidural at 4am. Slept until 7a (without mil lol). At 8:30am, I asked for the bedpan (last check was only 6cm). But, nothing came out. I asked the nurse if it was okay to "push the poop out" and she said go ahead. But, still nothing. So, she checked me and the baby was crowning. I tried not to push, but that little baby wanted out! 8:40am, HE was born. Ultrasound said a girl! lol That baby was NOT a girl! Total labor 16.5 hours.

Natural Birth......This time around I had so many Braxton Hicks contractions, I couldn't decide if I was in labor or not. But, sure enough, I was woken in the middle of the night with my answer. My labor this time (sans mil.....lol) went smoothly. But, I was satisfied with the epidural, so I asked for one. They put it in, but it slipped out and just numbed my skin in my back.......so, oh well, here we go! The doctor kept rolling his eyes at me, because he wanted to break my water for me this time. But, my mother had not arrived yet and I knew as soon as he did that.......the baby would come. So, I told him to wait until she got there.......he looked at my hubby, shrugged his shoulders and said, "WOMEN!" Once the water broke, she was born an hour later. A much more satisfying birth experience for me......which was highly unexpected considering I went through so much pain. My little girl's labor was total 8 hours long.

Water Birth.......I am a surgical nurse who occasionally does C-Sections for the L&D department. That Friday for some reason, I did C-Sections almost all day long! But, apparently, my next little girl decided that was her cue to come on out! I went into labor as soon as my shift was over on the way home. But.......the contractions didn't get worse......started at 5 minutes and continued that way that whole night.......the whole next day........until about 4am Sunday morning when my water broke!!!! Who would have thought my 3rd child's labor would have been the longest! So, off to the hospital I went when they got stronger. I walked the halls, ate breakfast......then, resorted to hurrying up the process with a breast pump. VERY effective, by the way. Most of my labor was on the labor ball until 6cm. Then, I got in the tub. It was amazing. The buoyancy of the water supported all my muscles so that I could concentrate on pushing and relaxing. The warmth helped me relax and get more rest between contractions, too. I pushed 8 times (the most I have ever pushed) and my biggest baby 9lbs 3 oz came out of the water! Once I cuddled and kissed and hugged and loved my new baby. The nurses took her and I stood up and was washed off with the shower nozzle and taken back to bed. That was an absolute amazing delivery, regardless of her size (my others were 6lb 4oz and 7lbs 2oz). I will definitely be doing that again this time. :0)

Good luck and happy birthing!

I was in active labor for about 8 hours. I had an epidural after 5 hours and it was AMAZING :) I dilated from 5 to 10 in like 15 minutes! I pushed for about 20 minutes or so and had my perfectly healthy son exactly a week before my due date. 6 pounds 6 ounces 21 inches.

I am due with my second in October and hope I have a similar experience. My mom went really fast with me (I was her second child) and didn't have time for an epidural, I am terrified that will happen to me!! I hope you have another good birth experience, good luck!!! :)

As I walked to the operating room after 19 weeks of bed rest with my husband of 20 years by my side, and a 14 & 18 yo in the waiting room. By the way my 70 yo mom was there too, I was a little nervous. The anesthesiologist asked why, I told and he said "no need to worry, I have it under control" He did and although I had my third C - section that day(the night before Father's Day) I delivered healthy twin girls 6 # 8 oz and 5#11oz. They came home with me without any need for intervention on the 5th day.

Both my precious boys were born in a hospital with an epidural. My first labor was about nine hours with a couple of hours of pushing. My first weighed 7 lbs. and was born with a tiny bit of blond hair on his very well shaped head(for a vaginal birth!). My second was born in the middle of the night after only a couple of hours of labor and a few pushes. He was a huge boy at 9 lbs. 13 oz. and still only weighs a little less than his brother who is 3 years older. Both left me with some physical imperfections, but put more love and joy in my heart than I could have ever imagined. Congratulations and good luck!!

No problem getting birth stories, huh?

First: Stripped membrane on Thursday followed by eggplant parm and hot wings! (They were going to induce b/c of high blood pressure on Tuesday so I was trying to go on my own) Contracted all day Friday at work. Got home, took hot shower and contractions came on strong. Dh was playing golf and I told him to finish his round and get some supper then we would head to the hossy. Got checked in around 8. OB got there around 12:00 am and broke my water. No epidural, but some demerol throughout. Pushed for maybe 20 minutes and at 1:03 am my beautiful 7 lb 5 oz girl was born.

#2: 38 weeks, contractions woke me at 2:30 am. Got up got on the computer an played around thinking they would go away. They were 4-7 min apart, but not 'that' strong. Dh woke up around 6 to go to work. I told him to go ahead and I would call him when I thought we needed to go to the hossy, but he wouldn't listen and made me get ready! He even unloaded the dishwasher b/c I insisted it needed to be done before we left! Took dd to the sitter and realized I forgot the diaper bag...back home to get it. So finally got checked in at 9:45am. I made sure to call in and cancel my 10:30am 39 wk appt! Got checked and I am 8cm and my water sack is bulging! Nurse freaks, calls the midwife. Midwife gets there and says I am ready, just have to wait until everyone can get set up then she will break my water. Broke water pushed maybe 3 or 4 times, soaked everyone in the room and out comes my 9 lb handsome precious son at 10:54am. I was told I was lucky my water did not break or I would have delivered at home!

I think labor and delivery may be the best part of pregancy!

I like that. . . Alrighty then, her's mine!

Actually #1 was a nightmare so I'll spare you the details.

#2 My water broke at home a little after midnight and I immediately went into regular labor pains so we headed to the hospital. I did get an epidural (with both) and can't remember when I dilated to what, but she was born without incident and just about 20 minutes pushing at 4:37 am! So just a little over 4 hours start to finish, easy peasy!

I do remember thinking that I probably could have done it without the epidural the second time because it was so easy and quick. But as a registered nurse (who does believe in alternative/natural medicine too) I do think there are certain things God gives us the technology to use. We all have to make the best decisions at the time with the information and environment we have to work with. Do not make any apologies for your decisions!

My kids are almost 20 and 15 1/2 so details are kinda sketchy after all this time.

Good Luck! It will be great and everyone will be just fine!

I have never seen so many answers to a question. You are so smart in asking for only the good. With my last child, a daughter, I did not plan on a pregnancy. When I was 25 weeks pregnant I was told I had two sons to be grateful for, and this little fetus had spina bifida, a missing right arm and Down's Syndrome so I should abort. I absolutely could not do this. I worked in a psych unit at the time and had tons of support with both family and friends. I will tell you she was scheduled to be delivered on Dec.14 because she was breech, but my co-workers (my cheerleaders) encouraged me to do manual version and wait it out. She was born on Christmas day and was perfect in every way. She is now in college and pursuing a degree in art. She is so talented I cannot imagine the world without her. The really funny thing was that my other 2 labor and deliveries were rough, but hers was like God was giving me a gift. I did it totally natural (because of the fear she may not do well with drugs) and she was so totally awake and responsive after delivery that she seemed like she was older than a newborn. Enjoy your birthing experience. God always grants the most magnificent experience when we are looking for it, and in my case, least expect it. God Bless you and your little one.

hehehe, you make me laugh!

I had two hospital (w/ epi) deliveries. The first was MUCH harder...pushed for 3 hours and tore and the recovery was pretty tough.

Let me tell you...the second is sooooooooooooooo much easier!!! My dr kept telling me that it would be a lot faster, and boy was he right! I was induced, so the laboring part for me took a while but the delivery was a breeze. I literally said "OMG, if that is what it is supposed to be like I can do this many more times"!!! The nurses were laughing so hard, they said they never heard someone say they wanted to do it again minutes after delivery!!

I pushed thru 3 contractions and he was born. 1 stitch and recovery was beautiful! The nurses kept pushing me to take pain medicine, but I truly didn't need it!!!

Best of luck to you! I bet this one will be even easier than your first!

My water broke while I was getting ready for work. Exactly 38 weeks. But then nothing, no contractions, nada. Went to my OB who said go home and if nothing happens come in at 7pm and we'll induce you. This was ideal for me as I am the 11th hour girl and hadn't put the crib together, unboxed the stroller w/ car seat or did baby laundry. I think I was in denial that he was ever coming so I put things off. I washed my last dish and hubby said we gotta roll. I was in a teaching hospital so I got all these young residence coming in and checking on me and they were awesome. There was no TV in the room and my normally chatty hubby was mute. Fear had gotten him and he sort of sat in a corner and watched me. I had music all ready for the birth, I was so into D'Angelo with his silky R & B voice and musicality. After 10 hrs of nothing but mack truck contractions the angel I have been hearing about entered my room, yes the man with the epidural. Ahhhhh, bliss. Even though I was numb from the waist down I felt the need to push and my boy was born 5 hrs after epidural. They swaddeled him up and when they gave him to me I only saw his hair and fat cheeks everything else was under the blanket I felt like they were handing me a giant egg roll. It was an all around awesome birth and I happily recant it to anyone about to go into labor. Best of luck to you and positive energy to you.

My daughter was born after having a scheduled induction at 39 weeks. I had my water broken, started on pitocin and within a few hours was pain free. I remember there was nothing on tv other than Dog the Bounty Hunter so we watched that for a few hours (he'll always have a special place in my heart because of that!). I remember telling the anestheologist that I loved him when he came in! We were in the hospital for 2 days and it was awesome. My daughter didn't latch right away but she eventually caught on.

With my son, start to finish it took 2 hours and 18 minutes from the first contraction. I wanted to stay home and labor for awhile but my husband convinced me we should go to the hospital. Good thing because we were there less than an hour when I had him! I involuntarily started to push him out (couldn't stop it) and my water broke. Someone from admitting was trying to get me to sign paperwork and all I was saying was that I needed meds!! Two pushes and he was out! No meds - and it felt like a freight train ran though my 'areas' but once he was out, the pain was gone. NEVER thought I'd make it through that. I took a shower and healed VERY fast with him. I was only in the hospital for 30 hours with him - I wanted to get home to see my daughter!

I feel like I had more of the 'experience' with my daughter because it took more time to push and 'wait' around and also I was in the hospital for longer. The next time, I'm staying for 2 days...just to get sleep! LOL

I had an awesome labor and delivery. I never thought it would be so easy. My water broke at 11:45pm while I was asleep at home. I wasn't sure what I had felt in my sleep but went to the bathroom. At that point it became clear to me! I told hubby "let's go". They checked me in and I was at 4cm. The put an IV in me for fluids and call for the epidural. The guy had a little hard time getting the epidural in. He was still trying and I told the nurse that I was trying really hard not to push. The epidural went in and they checked me and I was already at 10cm. They called for a doctor and my pushing began. I think I may have pushed a total of eight times. They told me not to push during the next contraction because my doctor was not there yet. As soon as she came in the room I told them I wanted to push and all of a sudden I had my sweet baby girl! 3:16am - total labor & delivery time 4 & 1/2 hours. Not bad... eh?

I had my son in a hospital and went into labor on my due date. I went all the way to 9 cm without an epidural, so if you know you are getting one, you will be out of pain well before I was. And I still made it!

I had not one problem with anything. No getting sick, no heart rate issues, nothing. My son was just perfect!

My son was born in 7 hours start to finish, even though I had to push for over an hour. I guess since I got my epidural so late, I was really really numb and couldn't feel to push! It was great! I had no tearing, no stitches, nothing.

I had the best birth experience.....I am pregnant with number 2 and I hope all goes well this time around too.

And remember when you hear their cry for the first time? How wonderful!

Ok Here's mine...I woke up at 7, felt a little something. Took my daughter to Target. Pretty sure, I was in labor. Went to my 1pm checkup. Dialated 4cm. Drove myself home. Entered the hospital at 4pm. Spent some time in the bathtub. Screamed my head off. Pushed for 15 minutes. Baby boy Henry arrived at 5:45pm. Then, went to my room and had a nice dinner.

Second baby was SO MUCH EASIER than the first baby.

Good luck!

Below is an excerpt from our birth story, written to my daughter. I hope to give it to her when she is quite a bit older. There are lots of details in here that may or may not be helpful to you, but the overall experience was positive and thrilling. Nothing but warm memories!

During the 38th week, I began to feel more pain with the mild contractions that I had been experiencing for some time. I remember reading and talking to friends, trying to determine whether the discomfort might indeed be labor pains. I worked that week, despite the discomfort, as I was busy trying to wrap up before the scheduled induction. On Tuesday night, I awoke to a strong contraction at about 2am. There was blood with this one. I woke your father up and had him bring me our pregnancy books. We tried to decipher if the blood was normal, pre-labor stuff. We read the pertinent information, called the nurse line, and then we called the doctor. The consensus was to get to the hospital! I dragged my feet a bit, took a shower, packed a few more things, and then we finally got in the car. Your dad had been playing Houseball earlier that evening, then on to the Buffalo Gap for his standard 2 beer and buffalo wings. As we got in the car, I could vaguely smell the beer and asked him whether I should be driving. He assured me he was fit to drive. I remember the speed of that drive. The streets were empty and the lights all green. It felt surreal to be heading to the hospital, so I just kept thinking “this isn’t it.” We had a hard time deciding where to park because we had no idea of how long we would be staying. We checked in at the emergency room desk and they escorted us to the maternity ward. It was a quiet night. We were alone in the triage room.

The nurse was rather abrupt as she quickly checked me then said “4 centimeters! You’re staying!” I started to cry and told your dad that I didn’t “feel ready.” Too late! You were coming and that was that. Our next nurse, Hillary, was kind as we settled in to what would be our home for the next 24 hours. The first part of that day seemed to go quickly. We sent e-mails, played pinochle, and made phone calls between mild contractions. I would like to note that I was winning at pinochle, despite being in labor. When the doctor checked me at noon, I had not progressed much. Only 2 centimeters in 10 hours had the doctor suggesting ways to augment the labor. We decided to wait a bit longer. I remember taking walks up and down the hall, my saline drip accompanying us. After a couple more hours, we agreed to let the doctor break my waters. I thought that labor picked up after that, as the labor pains seemed to increase in intensity and frequency. I remember hanging my hands on the top of the television armoire and pulling all my weight down into those contractions. The nurse said that she had never seen anyone do that in all her years. Between contractions I tried to rest while listening to hypnosis tracks on the IPod. I wanted very much to sleep, but it wasn’t to be. I also remember being very hungry and feeling annoyed with the hospital for not letting me eat or drink what I wanted. I snuck quite a few bites of the food your dad was eating. The curly fries tasted fabulous!

A new doctor came to check my progress. Dr. Stewart realized that the previous doctor had not been successful at breaking the waters. He got it done and things really picked up. The contractions became more difficult and the exhaustion began to kick in. I tried the tub, but it felt too hot and seemed to amplify the contractions. I remember the nurse telling me that “you really look like you are in labor now!” Dr. Stewart, however, when next he checked me, was not happy with the progress. He said I was still “six-ish.” He wanted to start Pitocin, a drug to speed labor. Your dad and I weighed the pros and cons and decided to allow the drug, as I was becoming really exhausted. We knew that the Pitocin would make the labor more painful, so we also agreed to an epidural. We had hoped for a natural childbirth and here we were with multiple interventions. It felt like the right choice, though, as it allowed me to focus.

The pushing stage came fast but lasted a long time. With each contraction, your dad and nurse Hillary would each lift a leg and I would push for all that I was worth. Dr. Stewart asked if we would be willing to have a high school student observe. The student was interested in becoming a labor and delivery nurse. At one point, our nurse stepped out and the high school student took her place, holding a leg. Your dad asked whether she had observed any other deliveries and she replied “yes.” “Well,” he said, “that makes you the most knowledgeable person in the room. You’re in charge!” We all laughed at that. Soon the doctor and nurse were there to stay, as you were getting closer. I surprised myself by answering “yes” when they asked if I wanted to look in a mirror. I could see you crowning. It was thrilling, but I quickly asked them to remove the mirror as I wanted to again turn my focus inward. I could feel you kicking, even after you started down the birth canal. The lights turned low and things became very quiet as you neared. Your heartbeat slowed. Dr. Stewart encouraged me in ways that conveyed urgency. I knew how important it was for things to move quickly at that point. When I gave that final push and felt you slip out, I was immediately overcome with tears. When I heard you cry, I thought my heart would burst. I don’t know if I even looked toward your father in those first few minutes, as I was trying to watch you through my tears, but I remember him touching me, holding my hand. Very soon they laid you on my chest and covered us both. I remember your father touching your back through the blanket while you curled into me. You were sweet and wonderful and finally here.

Both of my labors were really great and really fast. With my first I didn't think or worry about the labor throughout my pregnancy because I knew the baby was going to come whether I worried or not. Everyone always tells you about their horror stories of giving birth so I really didn't know what to expect. I started having slight back pain around 2:00 in the morning but it really wasn't painful at all. I went back to sleep after the contractions started not really knowing whether it was true labor or not. I finally got out of bed around 6:00 to get ready for work. I was still having pains but they weren't painful at all. I went to work and had pains throughout the day. I left work around 3:00 because I was really tired but the pains still weren't that bad. When I got home I relaxed on the couch while timing my contractions which were becoming more regular. I think I decided at that point that I was probably in labor. My husband and I decided to go for a walk around 6:00 to try to speed up the process because I was really anxious to meet the baby. We went for about a mile walk with me stopping along the way for contractions. When we got home I decided to eat something so I could keep up my energy. Around 9:00 I decided to lay down to try and get some rest. At that point I really thought that I wouldn't give birth until the next day. Around 10:00 the contractions were really getting stronger and more painful so I decided to take a shower. That's when the contractions really kicked in and my husband called the Dr. The Dr said to come on in. When we were almost to the hospital, I had a really big contraction and it felt like the baby was going to come out. We got to the hospital around 11:45 and I was fully dilated and there was no time for an epidural. I had the baby almost an hour later at 12:43. Had we waited longer I probably would have had the baby at home or in the car. I really didn't know what to expect and I didn't want to get to the hospital and be told I wasn't in labor or that I had to walk the hallways. When we were on our way to the hospital, I thought they were going to say I was only 5 cm dilated. I was really surprised at how fast the whole process went.

With my second, I was so anxious to see if the labor was going to be as easy as my first and if it was going to be as fast. It was a lot easier and a lot faster. The night I had her, I went to bed at my usual time 10:00 and I woke up at midnight with a pain in my back. I thought it was from the way I was laying. I had to go to the bathroom of course so I got up and went and got back in bed and laid on my other side. I had another pain and thought "that was really weird" because it was so close to the previous pain. About five minutes later I had another pain and five minutes later another. So I thought I am probably in labor. My husband hadn't come to bed yet so I went and told him I thought I was in labor. We didn't want to risk having this baby at home or in the car. My husband called the Dr and he told us to come on into the hospital. We had to wake our daughter up and take her to my sister's which was only 10 minutes away. We got to my sister's around 1:15 and my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. We got to the hospital around 1:45 and my contractions were 2 minutes apart. When they checked me I was 7-8 cm dilated. I had the baby at 2:19. I couldn't believe my labor was only 2 hours and 19 minutes. The next one is probably going to be born at home if it's faster than the 2nd.

Good luck and happy laboring and delivery!

My water broke at 5:30am (my first baby, two weeks late) and my husband was up and dressed before I even stopped leaking! We got in the car, saying hello to my father-in-law who was leaving for a business meeting and would catch up with us later at the hospital. The contractions were strong, about 2 minutes apart. We were pretty excited. We called the hospital on the way there (about a 20 minute drive) and they said they were overbooked and we'd have to go elsewhere, which wasn't in our 'plan'. We told them our family had a history of fast births (under two hours) so they said come in and if I'm far enough along, they won't transfer me. If not, then I'd be transferred in an ambulance (which was much safer than my husabnd driving me the extra hour to the next hospital). When we arrived I walked to the desk, and checked in. We went to the recovery room (make-shift birthing area since they were overbooked) and my doctor arrived about half an hour later to check me - I was at 5cm already - good enough to not be transferred! By about 9am I was at 8cm, then by 10am I was ready - and in a lot of pain so I tried a little nitrous oxide to ease the pain, but found it a nuisance - everything was going so fast anyway and my animated husband was great at distracting me. Another couple had decided that after one day with their new bub they were ready to go home, so a birthing suit opened up for us. How wonderful! Once in there, I spent the time going between sitting and rolling on the exercise ball, leaning over the bed, and the toilet - I remember all of it and though painful, it was pretty easy and I felt surrounded by warmth. When on the toilet for the last time my husband squatted down and said he saw 'hair' so we knew it was imminent! I scurried to the side of the bed where my husabnd held me under the arms, and the doctor laid down and encouraged me and checked for our little guy - he was almost there (with a full head of long hair), so I crept up on the bed, and my doctor said - a few more pushes and he'll be here - and I said "exactly how many?" One long push later he was here - it was blissful once his head and shoulders came out! Tasman was born at 11am. I had to have a couple of stitches, but they weren't really bothersome. By 8pm that night the birthing centre was overbooked again, so we got to return the favour of moving out early for another couple. It was a wonderful first birth experience.

Updated

My water broke at 5:30am (my first baby, two weeks late) and my husband was up and dressed before I even stopped leaking! We got in the car, saying hello to my father-in-law who was leaving for a business meeting and would catch up with us later at the hospital. The contractions were strong, about 2 minutes apart. We were pretty excited. We called the hospital on the way there (about a 20 minute drive) and they said they were overbooked and we'd have to go elsewhere, which wasn't in our 'plan'. We told them our family had a history of fast births (under two hours) so they said come in and if I'm far enough along, they won't transfer me. If not, then I'd be transferred in an ambulance (which was much safer than my husabnd driving me the extra hour to the next hospital). When we arrived I walked to the desk, and checked in. We went to the recovery room (make-shift birthing area since they were overbooked) and my doctor arrived about half an hour later to check me - I was at 5cm already - good enough to not be transferred! By about 9am I was at 8cm, then by 10am I was ready - and in a lot of pain so I tried a little nitrous oxide to ease the pain, but found it a nuisance - everything was going so fast anyway and my animated husband was great at distracting me. Another couple had decided that after one day with their new bub they were ready to go home, so a birthing suit opened up for us. How wonderful! Once in there, I spent the time going between sitting and rolling on the exercise ball, leaning over the bed, and the toilet - I remember all of it and though painful, it was pretty easy and I felt surrounded by warmth. When on the toilet for the last time my husband squatted down and said he saw 'hair' so we knew it was imminent! I scurried to the side of the bed where my husabnd held me under the arms, and the doctor laid down and encouraged me and checked for our little guy - he was almost there (with a full head of long hair), so I crept up on the bed, and my doctor said - a few more pushes and he'll be here - and I said "exactly how many?" One long push later he was here - it was blissful once his head and shoulders came out! Tasman was born at 11am. I had to have a couple of stitches, but they weren't really bothersome. By 8pm that night the birthing centre was overbooked again, so we got to return the favour of moving out early for another couple. It was a wonderful first birth experience.

Hi- Best of luck to you! I will make mine brief. I was finally pregnant with my second child and just had an awful pregnancy with 6 months of bedrest. Due to complications, I was told that I needed a c section and I was a little uneasy because my first child was a vaginal delivery and it was a tough recovery for me. Due to some lab results I was rushed in for an emergency c section 10 days before my scheduled date and I was prepared for the recovery to be awful.
Now for the great part. My c section was great. I was so, so worried and it was a breeze. I was able to enjoy the whole experience. My son was born healthy. After being given only a small chance for him to survive, he was healthy. I had lost pregnancies and went through years of IVF and surgeries.
And even though I wasn't expecting an emergency c section to be such a relaxed and joyful experience, it was. It was awesome.

I'll add mine..... I have four children, and each birth story is unique. I can say though that each one came a little faster, and with each I was more confident in my ability to get myself through the birth. I have never had an epidural so I can't relate there. Honestly, I am more afraid of that needle than I am of birth! lol. But, let's see, my second, since you are on your second...let me remember him.

I went in for my 37 week appt and was 4 cm dialated. (Which is normal for me at the end. I can stay there for weeks!) The Dr stripped my membranes and before I even left the office I began having contractions every 2-5 minutes. I went ahead to the hospital and was monitored. I walked for an hour or so, but contractions did not increase. I probably should have gone home and lied down then and it probably would have gone away, but hey, I was there and impatient for me baby. :) So the Dr. started pit and broke my water. Aidan was born about 2 hours after that. He came quickly, leaving me with a small tear and the great relief of not being pregnant anymore! Looking back there are things I would do so differently, but at the time it was a great birth experience and in the end I had my little guy and that was what ,attered.

I had a great birth experience, and it was in a hospital with an OB-GYN and professional nurses. Around week 41 I still had not delivered yet, even though I had started dilating to 3cm by Week 38 and made no progress since. We decided with my doctor and advice from a relative who is also an OB-GYN that the best option for my health and the baby's health was to induce. When I arrived at the hospital, they found I had already dilated to 4cm (without feeling any contractions!) and they put me on a very low drip of Pitocin. I got the epidural when the pain felt no worse than menstrual cramps, so I didn't feel any pain (only pressure) when I dilated from 4 cm to 10 cm in one and half hours! My total induced labor was about 4 1/2 hours, and the delivery was "normal". The doctor was wonderful, he kept the atmosphere light and humorous but also nurturing, and he placed the baby on my stomach to bond before they cleaned her up and took her measurements. He visited me twice a day while I was recovering in the recovery room where they transferred me after delivery. The nurses were also kind and helpful, and they gave me a phone to page them no matter what I needed from towels to help with breastfeeding/swaddling etc.
I had considered home birth with midwives, and I am sure it can be a wonderful experience too, but we felt it would be more comfortable for US to go the traditional route in case of complications due to a pre-existing health condition. That said, I would like to tell people that despite the reputation of hospital births being "medicalized" it can be a wonderful experience as well.

I have had 6 children. The first four in a hospital, and the last two with a midwife - one at birth center, and one at home. Being comfortable with your birth plan is important. I am glad that you know what you want and are sticking to it. Praying for a smooth labor and delivery.

My first was induced. The rest came on their own time. With the first two I had an intrathecal - a shot of pain meds instead of a line that was delivered same as an epidural. My longest active labor was nine hours, and my shortest was 3.5 hours. The last 4 were natural. With my third, I woke up and went to labor and delivery at 4:30a. They checked me and "nothing" was happening, so they sent me home. They told me to get some rest because I was probably in early labor. I tried to sleep, but it was impossible. I kept telling my friend, my dh was deployed, that I was in labor. She believed me, but the nurses kept insisting that it was still early get some rest. I tried to listen, but I was too restless. Finally about 6:30a my friend and I decided that we should head back to the hospital eventhough the nurses did not agree. We were all very glad that my friend and I made that decision. I got back to the hospital by 7:00a. They finally checked me at 7:30a, and were very glad that they did. My son was born 29 minutes later. The nurse caught him, as the doctor was unable to get there in time. I had given birth to the first two while active duty military, and they archive your record when you get out. According to my new record, as a spouse, my third was my first. We laugh at it now. I was actually very glad for the circumstances, because laboring at home, for me, was the best. My others were uneventful by comparison. I had my fourth at the same hospital with different nurses. I told them the birth story for my third, and things went much differently. I saw the same doctors for my first four children, and truly appreciated them all, as well as their staff. I truly enjoyed the birth center and home birth experiences as well.

Blessings,
H.

Dear L.,

I wanted to share my experiences with you because no matter what happens through this amazing life changing experience of giving birth to a child, I realized that the end result is so overwhelmingly beautiful once you are holding that beautiful being in your arms. I have 2 boys, 12 and 7, one unexpected cesarean and one planned.
I wasn't aware that I had a family history of birth complications until I gave birth to my first.
My experiences were so special. There really isn't word or aren't words to describe it.
I heard so many mothers tell me their stories, some wonderful and some not, but despite not having a vaginal delivery, I had the most amazing experience of the support and love from family and friends.
Now in the field of Postpartum healing, I hear of so many different experiences, that mine is no longer uncommon.
I wish you the best through your delivery....there is nothing like child birthing experiences. ;-)
Best regards,
L. Gilbert

I have two, and they both had issues, but I'm sharing anyways in hopes that you will find them encouraging as I do. With my son, I couldn't even tell I was in labor. A few contractions here and there and I just kind of felt like I should go to the hospital. I called hubby, he came home, we went in, and though I wanted an epidural, my gorgeous son came before it would have worked. In fact, he came about 30 mins after we got to the hospital. The pain wasn't so bad, but with him being my first, I was nervous. I had a contraction in labor & delivery and my water broke, and I had another and he was out. They told me 12 hours later he had a little fluid in his lungs (normal for quick deliveries) so he had to go under a heat lamp for a day. My nurses were so wonderful, and I definately understand where you're coming from about that. I'll always deliver in a hospital (we'd like at least one more). For my second, I felt bad and went to the hospital actually to make sure she was okay. They suprised me by telling me I was in labor. We went to l&d (from triage) and I had a wonderful nurse coach me for my epidural before the anthesiologist got there. About 30 mins after I got the epi, I felt a contraction. I didn't say anything, just took in a breath, and my nurse was right on top of it, asking what was wrong and what she could do to make it better. She called the anesthesiologist and we got it fixed before the next contraction. We had gotten to the hospital around 12am that time, so my epi let me sleep while my nurse monitered my beautiful little girl. There were a few potential issues with her, but the nurses and Dr.s were so wonderful and on top of everything and so after resting and enjoying the hospital (we have a WONDERFUL birth center, and even good food!) we were able to bring her home to start being parents of two children. Hope you have a great delivery!

Let your mom attend if she wants to. It was the best experience of my life..My daughter gave birth 6 weeks ago yesterday. We have a perfect grandson..bb

ok my first was 2 1/2 weeks late so they induced me for 3 1/2 days and that stubborn lil thing still didnt come so they took himand i knew he was going to be a stubborn one cuz hes wasnt even in the birthing canal and yep he is hes 4 now and huge

2 yrs later was time for my 2nd and they said i had to have a c section cuz it was too soon after my first one so was a hospital by 630 and he was here by 830 no big stories sorry

My first son (3 1/2 years old) was suppose to be a scheduled induction (38 wks and 5 days), I got to the hospital at my scheduled time only to find out that I was in labor he was born less than 12 hours later after 2 failed epidurals and 2 hours of pushing (I was way in experienced and he had a big head LOL). My baby boy (8 months old), I was scheduled again for an induction (40 wks and 2 days). We got to the hospital after 5 hours are active labor the day before my scheduled induction, I was diated to a 7 1/2 and opted for no pain meds and he was born an hour and a half later. We left the hospital 33 hours after his birth. My boys are my life and I wouldn't change either birth experience.

Hey Amy!
I will share my first birth experience with you. It was great! My son was due on April 11th back in 2003. Well, when I went to my 38 week appt, I was already three cm dilated. The doc said that was great for having your first baby! We headed to the hospital shortly after the appt. Now the funny part is that the date was April 1st and when we started making calls to friends and family, nobody believed us because it was April Fools!!! :) So when I got to the hospital, I got some pitocin, they broke my water, I got my epidural, did not feel a thing, and had my beautiful baby boy at 11:55pm April 1, 2003!

Good Luck with everything!!!!!

Always a great question, though not asked enough! Our society and media does paint such a negative picture of birth because the archetype of the strong, empowered female is overshadowed by the notion that the doctors, hospitals, and pretty much everything and everyone else is in control except for the woman in labor. Unfortunately, much of the time this is the case and that is why I think so many proponents of home births and non-hospital births look down upon the medicated hospital birth--because many women do not know what their options are, let others control their decisions and haven't been presented with accurate information to make informed choices on how and where they would prefer to give birth. I preface my story with this because I have had both a hospital birth and a home birth, both were amazing and I love love loved the experiences, and I felt completely empowered in both decisions, as I think that is the only thing that matters when a woman has a baby--that it is HER choice for how she would like to labor and birth--hospital, home, natural, drugs, scheduled induction, c-section, whatever--as long as she is informed of her options and she gets to call the shots! And that is why I appreciate and respect your post--you are completely certain that you want to deliver in the fashion that you chose, and that is great. And I completely agree with you that mental attitude towards birth is a contributing factor in the progress and outcome of childbirth, so hearing the positive stories is a great way to start things!
So now that I have babbled on, my birth story is pretty short--my daughter was born Feb. 19th, at home in a hasty one hour from start to finish. It was fantastic! She was about a week late, which was no big deal other than the fact that my husband had to leave town and of course like everyone I thought for sure the baby would've been born early, not late, so it never even crossed my mind that I would have to worry about him not being there! So all of a sudden I am in "induction mode" doing all kinds of things to start contractions. I knew I was already dilated, as every time I had seen my midwife in the couple weeks prior to my birth, I was ripening more and more. As of the day of the birth, I was still having no contractions, but I was walking around at 6 cm! I knew once things started, they would go fast. Aside from being dilated that much already, my first daughter was born in a little over 2 hours, so I was glad that I was going to be doing this at home. I had done all kinds of things to get labor going that week--acupuncture, nipple stimulation, sex, lots of walking, jumping around, sweeping my membranes twice, and then finally, castor oil. It was castor oil that did the trick, though I had to take it two times that day--a whopping 2 oz. at a time! Yuuuck! Once that went through me, I wanted to die because I still wasn't having contractions but now everything was going through me and I kept running to the bathroom. Finally, as my husband was putting my daughter to sleep, I laid down and started focusing on having some contractions instead of stomach pains. It wasn't until around 11pm that I all of a sudden felt a contraction! I was so excited to feel that sensation, I whispered "keep it comin, keep it comin!" and then another one came. After timing them at around 5 minutes apart, I got my husband from my daughter's room, made the motion to him that things were starting and he ran out and filled up the birthing tub (yes, I do have one in my scenario, my first was not born in a tub, and I was totally open to it going either way--just wanted it there as an option if that was where i felt I wanted to be). I had maybe one more contraction at 5 minutes apart, then they started coming full force about every 2 minutes. Called my midwife and said "I think you need to get over here" and she was on her way. In that time, I did my labor dance around my room, made sure I had lit my candles like I had wanted : ), and worked through more very intense, on top of each other contractions. My midwife arrived at 11:50pm. Within a minute or two of her arrival, I had to get in the tub. There really wasn't much anyone could do, as I was just doin my thing, thinking how each howl was going to wake my daughter sleeping in the next room. I was in the water now, which wasn't warm enough, but I couldn't get out at that point--I was transitioning fast, and then I got the urge to push. I thought it seemed way to soon, but my midwife assured me that I should listen to my body and do as it said, so I began pushing. I remember making these crazy, high pitched screams each time I pushed, but it was so intense, and the harder I pushed actually the better it felt. So I probably pushed 8 times and the baby was crowning. A couple more pushes and she was out! From first contraction at a little after 11pm, to the time my baby daughter was born at 12:26am, it was not even an hour and a half! It was so fast and furious that my water never broke and she came out with the bag of water still in tact, around her. Apparently some cultures consider this an auspicious sign, so I'll take it! My beautiful little girl was a pound bigger than we had thought she would be (8lb. 6oz.) with a head of hair and she had also come out with what is called a "nuchal hand" meaning that her hand was on her face, as you see in utero ultrasound pics--and typically prolongs and could complicate labors. I found the whole thing quite miraculous, as all childbirth is...I just couldn't get over how quickly it all happened! My older daughter slept through the whole thing (which was great because she didn't want to be there for it--she's ultra sensitive and she would've been pretty freaked out seeing mama in that state!) Considering how loud I was, I can only thank divine intervention for that one! She did wake up around 4 am, right after my midwife left and it was just me, my husband and the new baby in the bedroom--my daughter had gone to sleep and woke in the middle of the night to a new baby sister! She was kind of shocked at first, but totally elated and instantly in love...
however you choose to birth your baby, it should be on your terms and only your terms, and never lose sight of the wonder of it all, the sheer power of it all, and the beauty of being a woman and having the opportunity to experience truly the most miraculous thing any of us mere mortals can do--create and bring forth unto this earth another living being! WOW! Best of luck to you and hope you will share your story when it is all done! Blessings mama!

I stayed home until my contractions were a minute apart, I went in, and got an epidural which only worked on about a cenimeter of left side of my stomach, I got petosine (spelled that wrong) because M. water never broke, they did it for M., but even so it was fine, the pain let M. know when to push, I laughed the whole time through pain and all making jokes, even though I could feel the insane pain, but the pain subsided when I pushed so it bearable....when she came out we were both in laughter as they said its a girl, b/c we thought the doctor told us by accident it was a boy, I hugged her. then they cleaned her up in the room, and even with the insane pain of the stitches we were still laughing, I refused to be a girl in agony....also I would like to add....no matter how bad it is, its easier because you know it won't last forever, my total labor was 26 hours and compared to the horrible pregnancy I had it was easy....don't get M. wrong it hurt like hell, but I mean there is a time frame, an end game to look forward to, you know it won't last until the end of days, and that it will be over in a matter of hours so it makes it bearable, keep it light, keep it fun, laugh at the pain, laugh at the grossness, laugh at the fact you may want to rip your husbands head off...and remember it all=)

Here is a little funny thing to put you in a good frame of mind. I gave birth to our gorgeous baby girl 8 weeks premature, she weighted 3lbs 10 ounces (she's a stunning 5'4" 12 year old already!) My husband is in construction and had to leave a job site when the doctor told me I was delivering. He showed up in mud up to his knees and the nurse threw a pair of scrubs to him and told him to hurry! They were wheeling me out to the operating room (c-section) and he walks out in pristine scrubs...with his muddy boots on and the little blue slippers over the boots! The nurse did a double take and the look on her face was precious - she was done being nice and barked at him to loose the boots and meet us down the hall! It was so funny and we still get a laugh every time we think about it. Of course he was scared to death. I left the house for a routine appointment and call him 3 hours later and tell him were having a baby!

I wish you nothing but peace and light during your delivery!

I had a wonderful birth with both of my children. I was a 39-year old first time mom with my daughter and a confirmed pain wimp so I was open to having an epidural if it came to that. However, thanks to some wonderful pre-natal education classes I attended with my midwife, I became so empowered in the understanding of my own body's capability to birth a baby that I just rode the contractions like waves and kept saying to myself, "I can do it." And... I did it! The pain never got to the point that I considered needing an epidural. My daughter began nursing within the first 15 minutes and we (my husband, newborn daughter and I) were all able to rest together in the big 4-poster bed I was in. I was so elated after the birth, I looked at my husband and said "That was fun, let's do that again!"
Three years later my son was born. We had hoped for the same kind of birth however he wasn't descending due to the cord being wrapped around his neck and arm so we transferred to a hospital. I kept the intention "Healthy baby, no c-section" in that order. The first doctor on call said to prep me for a c-section but she called back to say she was too far away and to call the second doctor on call who, fortunately, was not so c-section happy. He came in and had me push, two minutes later my son was born. Sure enough the cord was around his arm and neck but he too was able to nurse shortly after birth and we were home by midnight. All of us (hubby, daughter, son and I) slept peacefully together.
I wish you the best of luck with your birth!

so hard NOT to respond. =)

Frist baby - was suppose to be at home, landed in the hospital, induced ... but all went well.

Second baby - husband said "to the hospital ... none of that other business." - And so, baby #2 was in the hospital, induced (again) and epidural.

With both of my boys, my water broke, and then nothing happened. The second one came nearly 4weeks early. It was a Friday night, I was so NOT prepared, and my husband was flying out of town on business that weekend.
It all worked out. By the time they had me all settled, an IV in, anbiotics in and were ready to start the pitocin it was nearly 1am. - That had given my husband time to coordinate with his family to come to the hosptial and get our nearly 2yr old and watch over him through the night, and me a chance to call my folks and get them working on plane tickets.
At one point the doc had come in and assurred me I'd have that baby "sometime" on Saturday, not what I wanted to hear. I told him that if he wasn't busy now, to go get some sleep because the baby was coming out before his shift ended.
The epidural went in (easily) at 3am and that baby was out by5:30am. Once that epidural went in things went quick. The baby was healthy even for being early.
My Mom got in Saturday afternoon, I went home Sunday morning and my husband flew out Sunday afternoon. And I was so happy with my new little bundle.
We remain a happy little family of 4. I love my "3" boys!

I just gave birth 6 days ago to our fourth baby. I have delivered all four of them vaginally, without any medications, though I've always said I would be open to an epidural if I felt I needed it. I tend to have long early labors, so when I began having contractions on Tuesday, I timed some of them and finally packed my bag for the hospital, but I didn't get too worked up about them. They were about 5 minutes apart for a good bit of the afternoon and evening, but they slowed down late that night, and then all of that was repeated on Wednesday. I went in for my weekly check-up Thursday morning, still having contractions 5-7 minutes apart, and was dilated at 3+ cm. I talked with my doctor about when to head to the hospital, partly because I don't feel like a very good judge about how strong the contractions are since the contractions have gotten easier with each delivery (I haven't even used the third level of breathing exercises with my 3rd and 4th deliveries). My doctor said to go when the contractions broke the 5-minute threshold for more than 30 minutes.

From my second baby, I knew that I could be dilated at 3 for weeks before active labor would really start, and since I was still 10 days from my due date, I was prepared to wait. It turns out I wouldn't have to, though! That night the contractions picked up in intensity, and by 9 p.m. they were coming about 4 minutes apart. I had to call a friend to come stay with our other kids while my husband and I went to the hospital, so we finally got to the hospital around 10.

I was still able to walk comfortably up to the L&D wing and even talk through some of the contractions. I was at a 5 when we arrived, and about 11:40 (yes, less than 2 hours after arriving there!), after about three really intense contractions right on top of one another, I called the nurse in to check me again. I was fully dilated and almost ready to push. My water finally broke with the first pushing contraction, and my sweet baby girl was born with the next one at 11:51 p.m., weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces.

All 3 of my babies were born vaginally in the hospital with an epdiural. With the third one, when I went into labor, I hopped into the bathtub to relax while things were starting out, which was great and helped with contractions. I even snoozed a little, I think. After a while, my water broke, so I got up and got everyone moving (5 am or so) and the contractions got pretty intense. I started asking for the epidural immediately upon arrival :-). Took a while to get it. Basically as soon as they got it in, I wanted to push. The doctor was still getting ready and one push and there he was. My mom said I looked stunned by the whole thing, cause man, it was not like the others, which were much slower. I am not sure if that helps, though. Just be ready for anything!

My first son was born a little over four hours after I got to the hospital. My contractions were so light in the beginning, that I didn't realize I was in labor. It felt like very mild menstrual cramps. I called the hospital and the nurse said she thought I should come in and let them check me. We were overseas in the military and were coming back to the states in 5 weeks so our car had already been shipped to the states. We called a friend to take us to hospital, I got there around 10 pm and they checked me and were going to send me home until they realized we had no vehicle. They put me in the bed and said get some rest, tomorrow will be a long day. I woke up a couple of hours later feeling the need to go the bathroom, my husband got the nurse, she checked me and said I was ready to deliver. They called the doctor and my son was born at 2:25am, without any pain meds or epidural. My second son was born even faster. At eleven a.m. i lost the mucus plug. I called the hospital, and they said wait until the contractions started before coming in. I explained that I had my first child really fast, so they had me come in to be checked. I was having some mild contractions by the time I got there at noon. They wanted to break my water and put me in the bed. I said no, I want to walk. I walked the halls for about 45 minutes, started having labor pains in my back, nothing major. I went back to my room, the nurse came in and checked me and said I was ready to deliver. I had not even been in my yet! My son was born at 1:26pm without any pain med or epidural. I didn't even have an IV. I stayed one night in the hospital and was released when my son was 24 hours old. It was awesome. I hope you have as easy a time as I did.

I had two WONDERFUL deliveries. It helped that both of my babies obliged by coming pretty quickly. I had an epidural and think anyone who would intentionally have a baby without is crazy. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now. Seriously, though, the epidural helped me conserve my energy for taking care of my baby afterwards. Childbirth is exhausting, but pain is even more exhausting.

With my first son, I was about 39 weeks pregnant when my water broke while I was at work at about 10:00 a.m.. My co-workers still laugh about that. My boss drove me to my husband's office, and he and I went on to the hospital. I felt my first real contraction at 12:15 as I was walking into the maternity triage room. Because my water had broken, they didn't even check me until I got into my room. By that time I was already 7 cm., so I was able to get my epidural as soon as they got the fluids in. I had enough contractions before I got the epidural that I know what it's all about, so I don't want to hear anyone say that I don't really know what labor is like. I KNOW. At 2:00 p.m., the doctor told me I could start pushing any time. My in-laws were two hours away and on the wrong side of Atlanta's rush hour traffic. Having the epidural in place allowed me to wait for them to arrive so that my MIL could be in the delivery room with us in case my husband fainted. There's no way I could have waited for them to arrive if I hadn't had the epidural. They arrived at 5:25, and my son was born at 6:04. Afterwards, I was able to bounce back pretty quickly because I wasn't so worn out by the pain of a "natural" delivery. And let me tell you how much I loved the nurses!!! The were WONDERFUL. After they were satisfied that I knew how to change a diaper and burp my son, they took over all of that so I could focus on nursing (or trying to) and getting to know my little man. They coached me through trying to nurse and brought formula to supplement when it became clear that my milk wasn't in yet and my boy was very hungry. While they encouraged me to keep trying to nurse, they didn't lecture or lay down a guilt trip for supplementing with formula.

As calm as things were with my first son's birth, it was even calmer with my second son's birth. I was 38 weeks pregnant, and we already knew he would be big (he was 8 lbs 15 oz at birth). I had been having mild "real" contractions for several days when I went to the doctor's office to be checked. I was 5 cm., but my contractions, which were more annoying than painful, just refused to settle into a regular pattern. The doctor on call that day was very busy, so she said I should wait it out. I was seeing my regular doctor that day, and she told me she would be on call the next day. She said that if I had another rough night I should call the office the next day, and she would have me come in to have my water broken. Because we knew a day ahead of time, my in-laws were able to make the drive with plenty of time to spare. My water was broken at around 1:45 in the afternoon. The Pitocin drip started at around 2:00. Almost immediately the contractions became more intense. Once again, I had enough contractions before the epidural took effect to know what it's all about. Why make myself suffer? By 5:00 p.m, I was ready to start pushing, but the doctor had an emergency C-section. Because of the epidural, I was able to wait for her to finish up there. If I had been doing it without the epidural, I would have had to have a stranger deliver my baby because I just couldn't have waited. He was born at 6:54 p.m. As before, the nurses were wonderful. Because this wasn't my first, they took care of all of the diapers so that I could just focus on my baby. Because I already had a 3 y/o at home, I was determined to go home as quickly as possible. The nurses really helped me get everything in order so that we were able to leave the hospital 25 hours after my second baby was born. They made sure the circumcision and final weigh-in were scheduled in time for us to check out at 8:00 p.m. the day after delivery.

If your delievery goes even half as well as both of mine did, you'll have one of the sweetest memories of your life. Congratulations and God Bless you and your growing family!

You have so many answers, but you said to keep them coming, so here's mine. It took till #3 to have one worth sharing with you. The first two have their interesting points, but not good. :) I really wanted to have my baby on October 18th. I don't know why, but I did. I went to the dr. that morning and low and behold, my PB was slightly elevated. Dr. said, well let's send you to L&D. No emergency, but why wait? YEP! I called my mom and had her prepared to take the other two. We got to the hospital and I sat down on the bed around 1:30 pm. I was given the epidural around 4, and there I sat pain-free (it's the ONLY way to go. I've had one where I could feel pain and one I was too numb and couldn't lift my leg~ thankfully my husband and sister were there to each grab a leg). This was perfect. About 7:50 pm I felt like I need to push. They said "Don't push the dr isn't here yet, but she lives close". What?? Anyway, she was there by 8. I started to push and 8:22 there was by beautiful Annie!! My son's labor was 24 hrs., daughter #1 12 hrs and #3 was about 6! Nice! No pain, but knowing when I needed to push, 20 minutes of pushing. Because I was so much more relaxed, I was able to just love up that baby in the hospital. I felt so much better that I was able to focus on her and not my own pain.

I wish you the BEST of luck! Enjoy that baby!

I totally agree that the majority of labor and delivery is frame of mind!!! I had an awesome experience and I believe it is due to the POSITIVE birth stories and experiences I focused on right up until it was time. I remember thinking that I could not let fear have any part of me. If I gave into fear then pain was sure to follow.

The contractions were never unbearable and I was conversating and laughing in between them. I only had to be quiet and breathe through them. I remember when the resident told me I was dilated to 7, I turned to the nurse (who was a mom) and said, "I can expect it to get tough now, right?". She replied, "This is it! You're doing it, and this is as tough as it gets." She was my chearleader. Just as I was about to let fear creep up, she knocked it out of me.

I decieded to get up and go for a walk. When my husband and I got back, we were going to get in a warm shower after they checked the baby on the monitors. The baby was in a little distress so a shower was out of the question. I remember feeling calm as can be while my husband looked a little worried as they flipped me around in different positions to monitor which the baby was best in. While on my hands and knees, rocking back and forth, doctors and nurses were busy around me. I heard someone say, "she's at an 8 or a 9." I was postive they were talking about another woman in labor, because surely I wasn't feeling any change. I asked the nurse to clarify, but she informed me that it was me they spoke of and that I would probably be pushing any time. I was in disbelief! I did not have an epidural and I was in no pain at all!!!!

When it came time to push I was ready to go! I used the squatting bar to push and laid back in between to rest. I tried pushing while on my back and my side, but couldn't do it right. The squatting bar for me, was the way to go. I pushed for a little over 1 1/2 hours (first child) and there was the greatest gift of all. No one would believe me if I said it was a piece of cake.....that, it was not. It was definitely hard work at the end, but MORE THAN WORTH IT!!!

Best of luck to you and I commend you for seeking out the positive stories! Our society all too often focuses on the negative. Who needs that energy????

Hera
Hera is a 30-year-old woman of African American descent. She was born in New
York and moved to California as a child, settling in the greater Los Angeles Area by the
time she was seven. She is a stay-at-home mom, working her own small business in the
cosmetics industry from home on a minimal, part-time basis. She is a curvy woman
appearing to be in very good physical condition. She has a Bachelor’s degree in business.
She has been married to the same man, father of her two children, for seven years.
I met Hera at her home, in the late evening so her husband would be available to
tend to their children. We sat at a large table in her dining room, which could be closed
off from the rest of their home, allowing the children to continue playing, while we had
some quiet. Hera spoke freely. She was very friendly, smiling and laughing often.
Hera took The Bradley Method® childbirth education course to prepare for her
first pregnancy. She originally thought she would need to have medication for childbirth.
Her husband convinced her to look into The Bradley Method® course. The more she
learned from the class the more she believed a medication-free labor and delivery were
best for her and the baby. She also experienced having others, outside of the class, tell her
she would not be able to give birth without medication. She explained that when someone
challenges her, she does anything she can to prove him or her wrong.
Hera’s insurance dictated her choice in care providers. She received prenatal care
throughout, but did not establish a rapport with any obstetrician, as she saw whoever was
available. She said the prenatal appointments were rushed, and she and her husband
relied a great deal on her Bradley Method® instructor for support and information. She
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said the consent she gave was informed, because she asked her instructor about the
routine tests and procedures that were offered.
Hera’s friend, who is a nurse, stayed with her and her husband throughout labor
and delivery. Her friend helped explain anything that was unclear. Hera did have a
birthplan written out. She and her husband made multiple copies and brought in goodies,
“…so [staff] wouldn’t be bugged,” by her expressing her wishes and preferences for her
birth.
Hera’s blood pressure went up in the hospital. She ended up having an IV and
magnesium sulfate to bring the blood pressure back down. Staff insisted she stay lying
down to keep her blood pressure down. She described she and her husband begging for
her to be allowed to sit up. They tried negotiating saying that if her blood pressure went
back up that she would certainly be compliant and lie back down.
Hera had envisioned herself moving around throughout labor. She described
engaging in self-talk to keep herself calm, even though things were not going as she
preferred.
She believes being made to stay on her back contributed to her perineal tear,
requiring 30 stitches. In retrospect, Hera believes that the stress of the procedures and
being at the hospital were what caused the increase in her blood pressure. She expressed
having been disappointed with herself because she felt she let herself, “…get all worked
up.” Hera’s Bradley Method® instructor and other childbirth professionals tried
reassuring her, telling her it was out of her control and that there was no real way to
pinpoint what it was that lead to the increased blood pressure.
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Hera pushed for two hours. The obstetrician that came in when Hera was pushing
left after 30 minutes expressing something to the effect of, “call when she’s ready.” After
the birth, the same obstetrician who walked out did the perineal repair. Hera refused
Pitocin, even though she had some bleeding. The obstetrician yelled, “I can’t work like
this!” However, she continued and finished. On a scale of 1 to 10, Hera’s overall
satisfaction with her hospital birth experience was a 7. She said it was minus three for the
doctor.
If Hera had it to do over again, she says she would have switched insurance
carriers and tried to find a care provider with whom she would have been able to establish
rapport. She feels that having one familiar professional in the room would have made a
big difference for her. She believes she would have been more comfortable, and may
never have had the problem with her blood pressure.
Hera ended up not using pain medication for the hospital birth, so she decided she
might as well do a homebirth. She believed the main reason to go to the hospital was for
medication, and since she did not need it, she did not need to go.
The Bradley Method® course and a particular video she saw during those classes
had the greatest impact on her having a homebirth with her second child. She said after
seeing the video of a water birth she thought to herself, “that is crazy...I am crazy…I
think I can do it!”
When she became pregnant with the baby she gave birth to at home, she was
excited, partly because she had experienced a miscarriage a few months previously. The
same midwife, who helped her through the pregnancy that she miscarried, helped her
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through the one that she ultimately carried to term. Though she says the child from her
second birth was not planned the way her first child was, she said that baby was a
“blessing.” She lost the one baby in January and was pregnant by the end of that same
year.
Hera took a refresher course with her Bradley Method® instructor. She said if she
had it to do over again she would have taken the entire course over. She said she felt it
would have been beneficial to mentally prepare herself in that intensive way again. She
did exercise by walking more frequently with her second pregnancy, as she was
encouraged to do so by her midwife. She said she had less swelling with that pregnancy,
and feels the walking was beneficial.
Hera describes her prenatal experience with her midwife for her homebirth as
“100% different” than her experience with the obstetricians for her hospital birth. She
says her appointments with her midwife were private, not rushed, and she was able to
establish a very comfortable rapport. Her midwife helped her determine what foods she
should eat, which she points to as having a permanent positive change on her diet. Her
midwife also inquired about her stress level and encouraged her commitment to all areas
of her health.
Her midwife had an assistant, whom Hera had met on a few occasions. The
assistant also attended Hera’s homebirth. Hera described the midwife and her assistant as
a “great tag team.” She did not have a specifically written birthplan, but had expressed
her wishes and preferences for herself and her baby, which were respected and followed.
One of her most important wishes was to have a birthing tub.
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Hera did have a shot of Pitocin after her homebirth, as there was some concern
about the placenta coming out. She described the physical recovery of the homebirth
being “like Christmas” in comparison to the hospital birth, because she had only 6
stitches versus 30. On a scale of 1 to 10, her overall satisfaction with her homebirth was a
10.
When asked if her hospital birth affected her transition into her role as a mother,
Hera said, “…it empowered me to know I can do anything I set my mind to.” She came
out of her homebirth experience feeling more empowered and proud of herself. Hera
says, “Homebirth is the most natural, heaven-like setting to deliver your baby in.”

Not sure if it's a great story but how about funny?

For both births I had a c-section because I had big babies. I also found out that when I was getting prepped and hooked up to the monitors...I was already in labor. Nice huh?

So my first daughter I'm on the table, strapped down and they have oh about 3000 students (ok 3). As they open me up, the middle student's eyes roll into the back of her head and she sways like she's going to faint and says "oh boy"! Really honey cause if blood makes you queezy maybe you should find another major. lol

Baby #2, same hospital, same doctor, again in labor and 3 tries of the epi later (student trying to give it to me) I'm again strapped to the table. I start feeling sick so they hand my husband a little piece of gauze with something smelly that makes me feel better. After a few minutes my dear husband says his arm hurts and balances the gauze on my nose! Thank goodness I was strapped to a table. Then when they hand our daughter to my husband he looks at my OB and says, "How much do you think I can get for her on EBAY, I just don't trust Craigslist"! Luckily my OB knows us and laughed, the students in the room just about tackled my husband.

Best of luck, may it be an easy birth with a story to tell!

~Kristal

Oh i just had a baby girl 3 weeks ago and it was great! My first girl is 24 months. I thought my water broke with her so i went to the hospital at 2am only to be sent home! By 1030 am i was in HARD labor out of nowhere and was sooo scared to be sent home again. When i got back i was only 4 cm and screaming for the epidural, before labor started i had BIG plans to deliver natually...ha! Ahhhh bliss after the epidural. Layed around dreaming about my baby and after a few hours, was ready to push. She came out in 13 minutes and was 5 lbs 10 oz, full term.

With this one it was even better. Water broke around the same time also on Friday nite/saturday morn. Waited a couple hours to see what else would happen cuz didn't want to get sent home again. Got there praying that my water had for sure broke because had to call me neighbor at 1 am to come stay with first baby. After check in around 230 am it was confirmed!! Waited until 9am to see if labor would start on its own but didn't so started pitocin. Having my water break was great bc i didn't have to be in horrible pain before being admitted. I was hooked up to the iv and ready for epidural whenever i gave the word. By 1pm had another precious girl after maybe 15 min of pushing. 6 lbs 5 oz and precious! There's more to my story but don't want to bore you anymore. You are going to have a great labor and delivery!! Good luck : )

Hi, well first of all congratulations on your second. I'm sure you can't wait for your little one to make his/her big debut!

I just had my second baby (3 1/2 months now) after 17 years (yes, my kids are 17 years apart!) Well, I had my first baby 100% natural, and goodness was it painful. Anyway, natural wasn't by choice. The hospital said I was dialating too quickly and would not give me any medication believing it would harm the baby. Okay, I'm just setting the stage and promise this will be a nice birthing story.... :)

This time around I spoke with my OB in advance, whom I absolutely love, about all my options. I asked what she would consider to be too late for an epidural etc. and told her about my first experience. She basically said she would give me one anytime because it is safe etc... so here is my story:

I woke up around 5:30 a.m. Monday morning on Feb. 1, 2010 and realized I was experiencing signs of pre-term labor (using the restroom often). At 6a.m. my pain spiked significantly and I woke my husband and told him it was time. My contractions were pretty strong and were about 7-10 minutes apart (I've found that I jump straight into hard labor, I bypass all the steps). Anyway, we rented a carpet cleaner from Home Depot on Sunday for $40.00/per day and so my husband rushed to return it once they opened (8a.m.) (funny huh - he likes to watch his dollars LOL). My daughter hung out with me and timed my contractions. I showered and by the time I was done with my shower, my pain was excruciating. My husband got home and we immediately left for the hospital.

Arriving to the hospital at 9a.m., once I completed the intake, they handed me over to my nurse and I immediately asked for pain meds :) she laughed and said they needed to set my ivy up first etc... then when they began hooking my ivy up, I asked if that was the pain meds. At that time, the nurse laughed again and said she is going to assume that I want an epidural. I responded in a strong Affirmative :) She said she was going to leave me to request the epidural before the anesthesiologist got busy... wanted to make sure I was first on the list (Bless Her). Well, he was in with a C-Secion and finally made it to me an hour later.

When he got to my room, I was 8 cm dialted and they asked if I still wanted it. I said Yes (knowing I had 2 cm left and I was in pain). Immediately then my water broke and they said they would do it quickly... YES!!! The epidural was painless, honestly didn't feel anything. I immediately felt the meds kick in! Loved It! I knew I was having contractions because I could feel the pressure, but not bad at all!!!

Then next thing you know an hour later my OB arrives and tells me its time and to push. I said "Already?" I seriously did not want to push because I was actually enjoying the fact that I was having a baby pain free. Weird huh. Well, I pushed about 8 times and my little Christian Brennan was born 6 lbs 7oz, 19.5 inches. at 11:17 a.m. I was at the hospital for a whole 2 hours!!! It was surreal because everything happened so quickly. (my daughter was 4 hours and my OB told me in advance that this baby will come even faster). I dialated early with both babies in my 3rd trimester, prior to labor.

All the Best to you and your family. Enjoy your new bundle - they are so very Precious!

Well I ha a c-section 15 years ago. I wanted this time to be a vag birth. Had an epidural, it wore off when it was time to push. I pushed for 30min and out came my son. It was the best experience ever.

First of all I loved the movie the business of bring born. There were some awesome strong mommies in that movie. I had an awesome experience with my son. I had my first contraction at 10:30 pm. I couldn't sleep obviously so I went out to the couch and labored all night. I had very manageable contractions that were easy to breathe through. At 6:30 my DH got up to go to work and started getting ready and I had to tell him that I was in labor and he didn't believe me. I called my midwife and she said that I should probably be checked so we got loaded up in the car and got to the birthcenter around 8:30. I was 4 cm and they let me rest for about 2 hours when they checked my again I was at 6cm. Then I started walking around. There is no way I could have laid down in a bed at that point. We are really made so that gravity can help bring the baby down and that is hard to do strapped up to monitors. I moved around for a 2 hours or so and then I asked to get into the shower. I stayed in there for about 2 hours with my husband moving the shower head over my back and belly. I started to go into transition in the shower and wouldn't have known except that I threw up. Contractions were still manageable b/c I just kept moving around. Eventually I asked to be checked and I was at 9 cm. At that point I got into the tub and had 30 minutes of strong contractions. That was the only point where I was a little uncomfortable but still not in pain and I never felt like I couldn't take it anymore. At that point I felt the urge to push and it was wonderful that I was able to tell the midwife that it was time and be able to feel my baby moving down the birth canal. I was still not in pain and actually pushing felt wonderful. After 2 pushes the midwife told me to feel and I was able to insert my finger about 1 inch inside myself but his head was right there. After 2-3 more contractions he was out. I only felt 30 seconds of true pain but it was totally worth it. The rush of natural endorphins that I felt was more than anything a pharmaceutical company coule give me. I have nothing against epidurals I think that they serve a purpose. I feel for myself though that the experience I had was perfect and I wouldn't have wanted anything to come between me and my baby. Also he started to breastfeed by himself about an hour after the birth and we never had any problems with him latching on in part b/c he was fully present.

I had two great experiences, even though my son had a little drama right after delivery, but everything turned out ok with both my son and daughter. I would do it again in a heartbeat if my husband would be up for having a third child!
My pregnancy with my son was textbook perfect. No morning sickness, passed all tests with flying colors, etc. I didn't really have any major contractions. My water broke about 8:30AM so we went to the hospital. They gave me petocin (sp?) to get my contractions going. They also gave me staydol to help with the pain. I don't have a problem with taking meds during labor. My doctor assured me that they could not harm my children in any way (and they are perfectly smart, healthy, vibrant children to this day) so I was all for it. I also had an epidural. To me, natural childbirth is NO MAKEUP! lol
I was cruising along nicely and dilated to 8 when my son seemed to get stuck, so it was decided I would have a c-section. My son was born at 9:46PM. Upon taking his first breath he must have taken a huge gulp of air which caused a double phneumothorax. (two small holes in his lungs which caused them to collapse) It is a spontaneous thing, but pretty dramatic at the time. We were both taken to another hospital with a more advanced NICU just as a precaution. They basically put my son under an oxygen for about 24 hours and it healed the holes completely. He did stay in the NICU for several days for observation, but they were so wonderful. I would never wish for anyone to have a child in the NICU, but hindsight I am very grateful for everything they taught my husband and me as first time parents. Lots of blessings in disguise even though it was a mildly stressful situation!

My second pregnancy was with my daughter. I had horrible morning sickness for 5 long months. Again, I am fine with meds that my doctor said was perfectly safe. That got me through a lot while I was chasing after my toddler son. (My kids are 17 months apart) One of the results of a test (that tests for down syndrome) came back a bit on the "iffy" side. My doctor said there was a margin of error to consider, but we could elect to do an amniocentsis test to be 100% sure. We chose to do nothing. There was a time my husband and I didn't think we could have any babies (we were both in our late 30's when we started trying and had some failed attempts with fertility treatments) so we weren't going to disturb what was growing in my tummy. We would love our child despite any challenges we would have to face. Since I had to have a c-section with the last pregnancy, I chose to go that route again. Again, I didn't have any major contractions before going into labor (although I could recognize them easier this time around) and my water broke around 3:30AM. I got to the hospital an hour later and my daughter was born at about 5:56AM. She is perfectly healthy, smart and as sweet as can be! She is now 13 months old and my son is 2 and a half.
Good luck with your delivery! I agree with you-going into it with a positive attitude just breeds a positive environment! You will do great!
HTH,
A.

Hi L.,
LMAO about delivering in the backyard. Ok, so I am totally on the same page as you - deliver in a hospital with an epidural and turn it up baby - I don't want to feel a thing! Just had my second last September and let me tell you I could not have asked for a better delivery. Went to see the doctor after I could tell my cervical stitch came out - baby was ready to go. They wheel chaired me over to the hospital across the street, gave me the epidural, broke my water, baby arrived on first push. Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Couldn't ask for anything better!!

Best of luck!!! It will be great no matter what happens!
Cyndi

Actually I have 2 for you My daughter is the first one I arrived at the hospital around 1030 in the morning after being checked in and examined they decided to see when they thought I would deliver and decided it would be around dinner time well as time passed she decided that wasn't so. Around 330 the pressure was getting there and I tried to use my button it didn't work one thing we failed to check when we got in room so I not caring who delivered her yelled out doctor nurse janitor anyone and in came the nurse asking me what was wrong I told her I was about to deliver and she said no not for awhile I threw back the blankets and showed her my daughter's head crowning it was a fast birth she was born at 356pm.

My son decided to play games with me he fooled me a month ahead of time so when time came I called the doctor and let him know and waited for my husband to come home from work and hour later he ate dinner when he got home and showered this was about 3 hours after I had called the doctor I told my daughter she had 2 babies and gave her her dolls we got her and told her mommy was going to the hospital now to get her brother and I would be back in a couple of days. We got to the hospital at 1030 pm and they asked where we had been I told them the story of all that happened they checked me in and had me go right down to the labor room. At 1133 pm my son came out "walking" facing me and ready to nurse Both were beautiful experiences

I had 2 really great deliveries. I used hypnosis rather than drugs, and it was great. At the first delivery, when I got to the hospital everyone left -- I was so quiet they thought I would be hours, tee hee. When my husband went and got them back, I was fully dilated. The nurses were surprised. The hypnosis really worked.

You can take classes if you have time, or you can just get a relaxation CD. http://www.hypnosis4birth.com.

Anything you can do to relax and stay calm will help you with your birthing. What you're doing right now is great: looking for the good stories so you can relax. If birthing were as horrible as Hollywood made it out to be, the population would be much smaller. :-)

So much good luck to you.

My birthing experience was wonderful! My labor started at 12:30 AM on Thanksgiving and I was just trying to sleep through them. I felt the contractions in my back and they were taking my breath away a little bit but I would just close my eyes and breathe. They seemed to be a little sporadic. By 7:00 AM they were about 7 minutes apart. My husband called the midwife and she said that I could still have a while since it's my first and to just relax at home until the contractions were 5 minutes apart. By 9:30 they were 3.5-5 minutes apart and my water broke like a big balloon emerging. My husband contacted the midwife again and said to get to the birthing center right away. I felt I needed to take a quick shower before we went and ended up on my hands and knees feeling like I needed to push. As soon as a contracton let up I threw a dress on and rushed out the door with no shoes or anything. Thankfully there was no traffice since it was a holiday and we made it there in record time. When we got there I was fully dialated and I got into the bathtub. The water took the pressure and pain away from the contractions and all I had to do was focus on pushing. 2 hours later my perfect baby girl was born. The midwives said that the birthing process doesn't get any easier than that!

Dear L.:

Well, my baby is 14 now. I checked into the hospital at midnight and had my daughter right before lunch the next day. My second nurse, the day shift, was a midwife from England and she just about had to deliver my baby herself without the doctor! There was a miscommunication with the doctor's office, so he arrived in time pretty much to catch the baby. The nurse was incredible. She offered to make tea for my mother and husband, but they both declined. I said I'd like some, and she said, "You're having a baby in the next 15-20 minutes, then I'd be happy to bring you some tea." She brought me two cups of tea right after my daughter was born. That was some of the best tea I've ever had!

#1 - I was 4 1/2 weeks early and on bed rest. I don't remember for sure but I think it was because of my blood pressure. I had a midwife appointment in the afternoon and everything looked good. The nurse who checked me said she thought I was having a contraction but I didn't feel anything. Since I was already out and dressed I decided to go to a work meeting (I had been working from home). There was another pregnant girl at the meeting and we were talking about much longer we had. About 45 minutes into the meeting I felt my belly get really tight and uncomfortable (not pain though) and then I felt wet. Thank goodness I had been wearing pads for months!

I excused myself and went to the bathroom, wondering if I had just peed or if my water broke. I couldn't tell! In the bathroom I could tell that it wasn't pee so I called my husband to pick me up and then called my midwife. It was almost 6 pm.

We got to the hospital and they immediately gave me an IV to get fluids. That's the only part that sucked. They wouldn't even give me ice to chew on and I was stuck on my back with all the contractions in my back.

The anesthesiologist finally got there at 9 pm (he had been in surgery) and the epidural was perfect. A little over an hour later and my babe was born - 10 whole minutes of pushing and a total of 4 hours of active labor. Crazy for a first baby.

#2 - even crazier. I had some complications and my midwife finally decided to transfer me at 7 1/2 months to the care of a hospital and doctor (too high risk). Since I was scheduled for a non-stress test on the baby I went from my appointment with her straight to the hospital with all my paperwork. My midwife was amazing and I LOVE her and would recommend her to anyone (still wish I could have all my babies with her). I even drove 45 minutes to her office (the hospital was only about 5 minutes from my house though).

I spent about 3 1/2 hours in the hospital trying to get that non-stress test but I had been contracting and baby had been moving (still the most wiggly kid I've ever met) so they couldn't get the 20 minutes of heartbeat they needed. And all my contractions were in my back again - yuck!

Finally at 4 pm when the nurse came in to check on me I asked if she was even going to check me. I was dilated to a 3. She finally did an iv and put in some demoral to help with the pain, saying she would check on me again in an hour. I called my husband who was working from home and told him I wanted him there "now". But since I had the car and he had the toddler, he had to find a babysitter and a ride. 5 minutes later I had a contraction that I had to push through and it broke my water. My mom called asking how I was and I told her my water broke. She said, "H., HANG UP!"

I elbowed the nurse call button and the nurse came in and started checking the printouts from the non-stress test. I told her my water broke and she said, "OH!" and started rushing. Two more nurses ran in and they used a speculum to check me then saying, "the head is RIGHT THERE!" They were shocked but I wasn't. I knew my baby was on her way any second. In fact, about a minute later and she was out on the bed. Yep, not even time for a delivery bed - I was still in a regular observation room.

I didn't even have time to raise my head to see my baby before the nurses ran her from the room but at least I could hear her screaming the whole way. The doctor got there a few minutes later and my husband and mom got there a few minutes after that. First thing I said to my husband was, "You're too late. We have a baby!"

That's right, I was dilated to a 3, 5 minutes later my water broke, and 10 minutes after that my baby was out. When the nurse had finally checked me I told her I wanted an epidural. Way too quick for that. The nurses called her the giraffe baby because she kind of just fell out. hehe

Even though she spent 3 1/2 weeks in the hospital, she's perfectly healthy and 18 months old. And a crazy active little girl.

#3 - I'm 5 months along and taking weekly progesterone shots to keep me from pre-term labor so I have no idea how this one will go. Now that I know I can do it without drugs or with, I'm good either way. I'm just hoping to go full term this time. Good luck!

I will say that both of my delivery's went quite well. Although the second time was worlds more relaxing because I knew what to expect. I did deliver both of my children without any intervention, but I think that the most important thing is in fact that you stay in a good frame of mind. I clearly remember laughing during the end stages of labor with my second. I was super calm and relaxed. Keep yourself in a peaceful happy state of mind and enjoy the experience. Congratulations!

I have 3 kids; 10yrs, 6yrs and 4yrs..all delivered vaginally and w/ an epidural. The most comforting thing was that all 3 deliveries progressed exactly the same!! Only a little faster each time..it was like my body knew exactly what to expect, I did have to have petocin w/each one and my only advice is to get the epidural as SOON as you possibly can, you already know what to expect and so does your body so this time just relax and enjoy (as much as could possibly be expected). Also, each time my recovery seemed to progress more quickly as well...women have been doing this since the beginning of time and your body now knows what's going on, why not take advantage of medical technology in pain relief..good luck and congrats!

Well my mom still fusses at me because I had little pain for the birth of both of me children. I am a teacher and was pregnant with both from August to March and worked up to the day I delivered. All of my coworkers were more anxious and worried than I was. lol. My first: I left work for my 36 week checkup with my OB. My hubby usually went with me but I went from work this day and told him not to bother. My doc proceeded to check my progress and became silent. I was a little worried cause my dr is very bold and not a silent type. She asked me, "are you in any pain?" I said, "a little uncomfortable from laying on this table is all". She said, "that's it!!! You are 100% effaced and 3cm! you need to get to the hospital you are in active labor!!" Yes I was in shock because my monthly cramps were more painful than what I was feeling now. I proceeded to drive myself to the hospital and call my husband and work, my husband dropped the phone. I walked into the labor and they asked if I was here to visit. I was 5cm by the time they hooked me up. They advised an epidural but i was leary cause I was not in pain yet, my water had not yet broken. They broke my water and I had an epidural within 20 min. The epidural worked wonders and I had absolutely no pain during my labor and my daughter was out in half an hour. For being early, mydaughter was very healthy.

My second: Due to so many hospitals closing their maternity wards I was delivering my second a half an hour away from home. The dr induced me a week early because he (different dr) was afraid I would not make it to the hospital in time due to my first experience. I was induced and received an epidural within a half hour and all the pain went away. My left leg actually went completely numb. My son was born shortly after and with no episiotomy. My second dr massaged the birth area with oil and did not require an episiotomy or any stitches.

Both of my births were pretty good but I had rough pregnancies, like big as a house by three months.
Good luck to you
A.

I love my birth story with my son. My daughter's birth was a true emergency so for his birth I wanted to do whatever it took to not have a repeat c-section. That said, I do know that emergencies happen so wanted the birth to take place in the hospital. I had become close to a doula/ child birth educator at the hospital so asked her to be at my son's birth. She told me she would love to, assuming she didn't have a class, which it turns out she did! I spoke with my OB about wanting to have a vbac and since my daughter’s emergency was a fluke and specific to her birth he was fine with me attempting it, he just wanted to make sure that I remembered that emergencies happened and asked me to have the IV in, not hooked up to anything, for a "just in case." I was totally fine with that. So the day after my due date I started having contractions in the afternoon. At 3:30pm I couldn't talk so arranged for my daughter to go to my in-laws and at 5:00pm we went to the hospital. My contractions were sooo strong and 2 1/2 minutes apart, but I was only 1 1/2CM dilated!! They don't admit until you are 4CM dilated so they had me walk around and checked me an hour later and I was 2. Well I couldn't walk very well because the contractions were so intense so at one point I was on my hands & knees and another childbirth educator was walking by with her class and she told them how well I was doing w/ my labor. I looked up to give her a dirty look because I really wasn't into being "exhibit A" and it turns out my daughter had taken a big sister class from her in preparation of her being a big sister for this baby. Anyway, when I looked up and glared at the lady she said, "Hey, I know you!" So after the contraction was over we chatted for a moment and she went back to her class. Well, her class was ending so she came back to me was basically my doula for the rest of the birth. She rubbed my back at each contraction, got me ice chips, and had me humming at one point during contractions. At 7:00 I was only dilated to 3. They checked me again at 8:00 and I was at 4. YAAY!!! I got up to my room at 8:20 and they put the IV line in my hand like we agreed to, didn't hook it up to anything. They did ask if I wanted an epidural or any pain meds and I kept declining because I was sooo focused and felt like I didn't need it. It really hurt but in my research I found the epidural would increase my chances of a repeat c-section. I think around 9:15 or so I finally told them that I would take the epidural so they checked me and told me that it probably was too late, so I didn't take it. Around 5 minutes later I told them that I had to push. They checked me and sure enough I was at 10. I asked if I could push and they said yes, but the Dr. wasn't there yet. They were thinking I would be pushing for a while. Well, I flipped over on my bed and had my arms & head hanging over the top of my bed and was on my knees and started pushing. As I was pushing I saw the Dr. run in and wash his hands. Second push he was putting on gloves, 3rd push he caught my son!! My son was born at 9:34pm, which means I went from 2cm to delivery in 4 1/2 hours!! I had wanted my husband to cut the cord for him to tell me the sex of the baby. He did that, he cut the cord and then handed our son. It was so funny because he said, "we have a son" and I was so out of it with me pushing this baby out and all that I said, "ya." So he repeated it and then I heard him and said something like we have a son. It was sooo cool!! So I had him at 9:34, and at 9:35 my friend the child birth educator/doula that I wanted to be at my birth came running in, a little late though!! Anyway, it was a great experience, and was just what I wanted. My son is now 11 and I still think about how cool it all was!!

I know you already have sooo many answers but I love sharing my birth stories. :-)

For my 1st pregnancy, I actually went into labor at around 1-4AM. I didn't know it at the time though lol. I went to bed around 4:30am, and woke up to contractions around 10:30am. After talking to my mom and my boyfriend, we went to the hospital around 12-1pm. I was extremely afraid of the pain and wanted to be in the hospital and get an epidural more than anything. Unfortunately, we were sent home. the nurse told me I wasn't really in labor that maybe I was dehydrated. So I stayed home until around 6:30-7pm because I didn't want to be sent home again. But during this time, I was laying in bed screaming my lungs out during contractions and falling asleep inbetween them. Finally on the way to the hospital my body was making me push during contractions. As we pulled up to the ER entrance, I was midcontraction yelling with the windows up and people outside the ER turned to look. I thought it was funny even then. Lol. Well, needless to say I did not get an epidural and had my daughter less than 30 minutes from arriving at the hospital.

My 2nd pregnancy, was less scary and less dramatic.

I labored all throughout the night again knowing I was in labor this time. I really thought I had left in time to make it to the hospital in time for an epidural. I was worried about having all the pain again. As soon as I got to the hospital I was 4CM and they called for my epidural, but I swear...as soon as my body heard the word epidural, my labor got extremely rough. I progressed to 10CM in 30minutes. I gave birth to my son before I was at the hospital for an hour. Oh and the killer part is...as I was pushing, in walked my epidural...ha ha ha.

But I wouldn't change a thing. I love my birth stories no matter how bad they may seem to other women. They are real! I plan on having 2 more children down the road. I also plan to have them without an epidural, only because I have done it twice now and am pretty sure I can handle it. :-)

Thank you for letting me tell my stories.

I've delivered two babies, both in the hospital, both epidural free (though I respect a person's right to make that decision for herself and her baby). I took Hypnobirthing classes before each birth and that really helped me manage the contractions.

I think giving birth is the most amazing experience a woman can have. It's such a wonderful way to connect with your partner, your baby and whoever else you have in your support network. My births were powerful experiences, big in terms of physical sensation and in terms of emotions.
If you think about it, giving birth is one of the few times in life when every fiber of your being is completely focused on one task: bringing a baby into the world. It's intense and exhausting, but so fulfilling in a way that nothing else in life is.
And when it's over, you feel like you can do anything, because now, you've done the most important thing.

It's funny, I don't actually want any more children (I'm perfectly happy with the two I have), but I'm a little sad that I'll never get to give birth again. So I envy you that you're heading into this amazing experience. Good luck! Have fun! And hug that baby for the rest of us! <g>

Delivering my son was such a spiritual experience, as you already understand...even my OB cried!! He had a large head, but my doc kept his promise for no tearing & no episiotomy! Contractions work at expanding the birth canal for safety & baby/mom comfort, but my doc worked simultaneously to increase their effect...by massaging open the birth canal w/each contraction! He was amazing, and now my sisters have both used him for the births of their little ones. He NEVER misses the birth of one of his pt's and he has been very effective at providing for speedy recoveries!! I wish you this kind of wonderful, spriritual experience, with all the expertise of a doc that cares about your recovery process, too!!! Have fun meeting your new little one:)

I had two wonderful birthing experiences - both in a hospital, with an epidural (despite my reluctance at first).

For my first child I was concerned about having an epidural because I have a disease that effects the spinal column. The nurse had someone from anesteshia come down and talk to me. By noon they were putting it in! They had to break my water though, but it was a lot smoother than I thought it would be. By 5:00 however, I had yet to dilate past 6 (had been there since noon). The delivering doctor was going to go home and get some supper (he lived 2 blocks away - so no concerns), but on his way he was booking the C-Section room for 7:30. I had 2.5 hours to progress, or it was surgery. He didn't even get his fish fried before the hospital was calling him back. He was in my room, scrubed and ready to deliver in 20 minutes. Less than an hour later I was holding a beautiful baby girl. Not a lot of pain, a little fuss - and no C-Secton!!

My second child was in much more of a hurry though. I had been in labor for about 12 hours, with an epidural (right of the bat) when I felt like I had to push. I got the nurse and doctor and I was at 8 or 9 so they said probably 45 minutes to an hour. They both left to get things ready, my husband stepped out for a cigarette (I know not good for you) and I called my mom to let her know (she was at home with our oldest). While I was on the phone I told my mom the sensation was only getting stronger. She told me not to push, but get someone in there NOW. Fortunately, my husband walked in at that moment and saw our nurse down the hall with the bassinet. She came running (literally), paged the doctor and before the doctor was fully gowned, but gloved, I had to push. In two pushes a second daughter was in my arms.

All in all, I couldn't have asked for anything better. I hope that you have equally as great of an experience (although maybe not the speed). Good Luck!

Baby #3 was a scheduled C Section for Monday 7/27 because Baby #2 was a Section. On Friday 7/24 at 2:15 am, my water broke. I called my mom, who lives about 40 minutes away and told her to come over to stay with the other 2. Figured I had plenty of time. By 3 am, my contraxs were less then a minute apart. My hubby ran up and down the block and knocked on everyones door until my neighbor answered and he came and stayed with the older 2 until my mom get to my house. Hospital is about 15 minutes or so away. Husband slowed down for every red night and then went through. (remember it was 3 in the morning) Still about a minute apart or so. Got to the hospital, went through emergency doors (I will never forget the guards face. He just waved us thru! lol) Got to L and D. Put me in a room. Gave me a gown. I asked if everyone in the room was medical. Yup. Stripped down right there. I didn't even care!! Asked for my Section. Asked for epidural. The on call doc checks me. I was already 7 cms!! No Section. No epidural. I got in a bed at L and D at 3:15 am. Had her at 3:35 am. My OB was on the phone in her car on the way to deliver me. Didn't get there in time. She could hear me screaming on the phone! I think the whole hospital heard me! lol My husband told me he never heard me scream so loud in his life. Ya think so?? And they never got the IV into me! tee hee No time.

I had a completely unplanned successful VBAC with no epidural. I did get a few stitches but nothing major. Recovery time afterwards was lovely. Very little pain. Although I must admit, there is something to be said for pain killers!

My first baby was rough, she was a week overdue and showed no signs of wanting to come. The day I went into labor I was scheduled to take my stress and non stress test and schedule and induction. I started having contractions and was sent to the hospital. I was started on pit and had the epidural. When i was finally ready to rock she still didin't want to come. I was in labor for 12 hours and it took suction and forcepts to get her out. I had to get 12 stiches. She is now 11, her head is still a little crooked(lol)and is such a procrastinator.
My second baby was a breeze. She was ready to see the world.
She was 3 days early.
I went into labor around 2:30am
I didn't have any serious contractions but I lost my plug
When I go to the hospital my midwife asked could she break my water.
After that it went pretty fast.
the contractions increased in frequency and intensity.
I was fully effaced and 7 cm dialated.
I was begging my midwife for and epi.
She tried to talk me out of it ,but said that the anesthesiologist was right in the room next door and she will go check to see how long he would be.
As soon as she walked out the door I had a sudden urge to push.
I threw the empty bed pan at my sister who was asleep in the chair next to me and told her to go find the midwife. By the time they came back the head was all the way out. My midwife said "well just wait a minute until i get my gown on. I said "Are you serious, by the time she got her gown on half of my daughter's body was out. I was in labor for 2 hours and only had to get 1 stitch. She's 8 now and still very impatient.

I had the BEST nurses and the most amazing doctors from start to finish throughout my pregnancy and delivery. I fell in love with those nurses - so much so that I have photos of my little one and/or me with them! Be nice to the nurses and they will take care of you!

Oh Boy! My birth with my second was quite an adventure, and the best birth I had between both. Don't get me wrong- my first wasn't horrible, but it wasn't how I envisioned it. But then again- neither was my second! :-)

I woke up at 12;20am with small contrax about 10 minutes apart. I remembered from my first that I had gone too quickly to the hospital, and wanted to stay at home a little longer, just to stay comfy before heading in for my epi. I quickly discovered that I LOVED sitting on the ball, and before long I was rocking away, having a great time. I continuously relaxed with each contrax, and even though my MIL was timing them and seeing how close together they were- I still felt pretty good; no where near what I felt when i got my epi the first time. So I was not ready to go yet. By about 3am I agreed that we could at least call the babysitter to come sit with DS1 while we get ready to go. By the time I got into the car- it was 3:30am, and the hospital is usually about 20 minutes away. One more contrax and my body said "PUSH"! What? how did that happen! My poor hubby drove about 110mph with horns blazing, and hazards on to get there. By the way- when you want a cop- there are none to be found! :-)
About an exit before we got off the freeway I felt my water break and the head start to crown. Hubby ran every light and screeched into the ER (while hitting a BMW I think!). I don't think they believed I was really that far as they had me sit in a wheelchair for a leisurely stroll back to L&D, all the while I was propping myself up to NOT sit on my son. once back there, they got me on the bed- took off my shorts, flipped me over, and two pushes later my DS2 was born- 3 1/2 hours after labor began.
Well- not how I planned it but wouldn't change any of it for the world. :-)

I guess every labor and birth is different for a reason- just like parenthood, expect the un-expected, and the un-expected can be a wonderful journey. :-)

Hi there! I just recently had my second boy and had an awesome experience! I actually had a very tramautic first delivery by emergency c-section and he was about 6 weeks early. So, I was really nervous about the second delivery and really hoped to do a VBAC. I wanted to erase the tramautic experience of the first birth that was burned in my memory with something beautiful, that I had wanted the first time. Well, I got my wish!

I had issues with high blood pressure in my 3rd trimester, just like my first, but I never developed pre-clampsyia like my first. I had been seeing a homeopathic doctor during my second pregnancy and I credit them for contributing to my easy delivery. I was being monitored by my OB three times a week from about 32 weeks. After a false labor scare at 34 weeks, I was put on bed rest. My baby was measuring big for his age, so I wasn't worried about having the tiny preemie I did the first time, but I had a feeling he was coming early. I was taken off bed rest at 35 weeks and 4 days, but when I went back to work, I knew it was going to be my last day. I went into real labor that next day.

Because I wanted a VBAC, I waited until my contractions were 4 minutes apart and a minute long. I didn't want to be hooked up to stuff until I absolutely had to. Once I got to triage, the nurse had to call my doctor to make sure I could deliver because I was only 35 weeks and 6 days. I was at that time 4 centimeters and fully effaced. They gave the go ahead and I got into a room right away. My doctor was fine with me getting an epidural whenever I wanted, even with the VBAC. I waited about 45 minutes once I was in the room and couldn't take the contractions any longer before I got the epidural. Once they adminstered it, I was 6 centimeters dialated.

I then settled in for a nap--the epidural was awesome! I thought I was going to have hours to go, especially after having the epidural. Boy was I wrong. A few minutes later I started feeling intense pressure and told my best friend to get the nurse (hubby was out of the room). They checked and I was fully dialated and ready to go! I didn't even have time to be scared about things going wrong. I pushed for about a half and hour and out he came!

He was a beautiful healthy boy (born at 35 weeks and 6 days!) and 7 lbs, 1 oz and 20 inches. He did not go to the NICU as with my first and we were able to take him home within 3 days. My recovery was 10 times better than my first and now I have a wonderful experience to remember instead of a bad one. Good luck with your birth!

I wish I had seen this post the first time around! My delivery was great..being my first they said prepare for something long and exhausting, first labors are slow and you can be in labor for 24+ hours..So that is what I was prepared for..I went to ER at 6am very concerned due to bleeding..well when the dr came to check on me, he lifted my leg and my water broke! he said it looks like someone is having a baby today..After the stress of that was over I could relax. Minor nausea and an epidural came shortly after, then I went to sleep, YES to sleep in bed with my husband next to me wondering what in the world is wrong with me.. I woke up when the nurses said mam you have to wake up, your babies head is out..that was at 1225..at 1228, I was mother to a wonderfully healthy baby boy!!!

I had 4 great births, all in the style of Dr. Leboyer, author of "Birth Without Violence" . Our kids were born in back in 1977, 81, 87 and 90. Thie hospital room light was dim. We had music every time. (Moody Blues, of course) . People thought it was some kind of hippy birth , but it was with a nurse mid wife in a birthing room, and anything we needed in case of an emergency was right down the hall. I am NOT a fan of home births.
My husband got to "help" with the delivery and cut the cord.
Then after we spent time bonding and nursing, a tub of lovely warm water was brought in next to my bedside, and my husband got to "float" our babies in the water . They loved the warmth and the feeling of floating , but without being confined. The "birth bath" was always my favorite time.
Each consecutive birth, our kids came along. We kept things modest, but each kid got to be there when his/her new sibling came into the world. We never really had issues with sibling jealousy later either.
Each birth was filmed, (again modestly), so we have a record of their births. Mind you , the first were on old super eight film !
I say "modestly" because really, no one wants to see that which is usually private . We even kept the nursing modest. No one was ever embarrased or uncomfortable viewing our birth movies.
I loved our births. Even though the oldest is 33 and the youngest just turned 20, I can re experience it as if it was yesterday.
I hope you can find this book, Birth Without Violence. Good luck !

I had a doula, who is a friend on mine, and man was she a livesaver!!!!!!! I started having contractions and went in around 12:30 p.m with my husband. I was only dialated 1 cm, so they were going to send me home but gave me about 40 minutes to see if I was progressing. My water broke during that time and so I was admitted. I was having contractions and my doula came in the door just as I vomitted. She reassured me that, that was totally normal. She kept saying it was "good." She was saying my body was doing what it was supposed to and preparing. I tried to go natural, but then opted for the epidural. It was so great! I was able to rest and wasn't in pain until the pushing part. My pushing was long but that is normal for a first birth. It was all by the book. My son was born Adler Willian Blackmun was born June 22, 2008 at 2 in the morning!
Congrats to you and good luck! I also say go for the epidural early on. I makes a world of difference as I'm sure you know.

First, Kudos to you for doing what you are comfortable with for your birth! Second, my birth experience was positive, but will be quite different than yours because we have different comfort zones - that being said, my story is not mean to demean your goals, it is just a different positive experience.

I started having contractions around 1 am on a monday morning. I was thankful that sunday was the last day of my work week, and I could relax on monday, having got little to no sleep. I called my midwife and she had me time my contractions. I also called my birth partner and gave her the heads up that we were getting close as she had a 2 hour drive to get to me (husband was deployed, so my best friend stepped up to be my birthpartner). While my contractions were very regular, they were still spaced about 4-5 minutes apart. My midwife told me to take it easy and she would continue to check in with me through out the day. I went swimming, walked my dog, and took 2 of my midterm exams (college midterm week is a fun time to have your first baby!). My birth parner came over that evening and we stocked up on food and dog treats as my birth partner eats very differntly than I do, and we didn't want my dog to feel left out. I checked in with my midwife around 10 pm, and I was still having regular contractions every 3 minutes or so now. She told me to call her if the interval shortened at all during the night, but otherwise she would check me in the morning. With another night of no sleep, my birth partner drove me to my midwife's home for a pelvic exam as the interval had not shortened. THe midwife monitored my daughter, and said she was doing great, checked her position and said that was great too. During my pelvic exam, she said I was at 2 cm, and right as she was saying this, my water broke!! This seemed to be the catalyst my body had been waiting for - my contractions became much harder, longer, and about 30 seconds apart right away. With no female products on hand, I got a newborn diaper to wear home in my panties :D We went home, and ate some spaghetti, while I sat on my yoga ball in my livingroom. THe midwife came by about an hour later, and she then remained with us until several hours after the birth. I spent part of my labor in the shower and part in my livingroom. My birth partner was fantastic and very intuative with helping me assume less painful positions and the midwife was great about monitoring the baby. After 11 hours of hard labor, I was dilated in an oval shape - I was at 10 cm front to back and 8 cm side to side. My midwife and birth partner helped me assume a side laying position for several contrations on each side, to allow the pressure of the baby to encourage me to finish the dilation process. This worked and it was time to push. Pushing was the most painful part, but also the most empowering part. I listened to my body and after the first 2 hesitant pushes, I was pushing so strongly that my midwife had to slow my down so that I could stretch rather than rip. My daughter came into this world with her left fist by her ear, nice and pink after a slow 46 hour labor and 1 hour of tedious pushing. She was born on my livingroom floor, with my dog, my birth partner, and my midwife team there to greet her. My birth partner helped me shift out of the half knee, half squat position I gave birth in, to a sitting position while my midwife moved my daughter underneath me, so I could see her for the first time. Her gender was a surprise, so I got to announce to the world that she was a girl. I craddled her on my abdomen and the midwife's assistance helped us as we attempted to breastfeed for the first time. Meanwhile, I was experiencing uterine inertia, and was not passing her placenta. My midwife gave me an injection of senthetic oxytocin to help me pass the placenta and it passed shortly. I was then able to cut my daughter's umbilical cord, and continue to try to feed her. After doing the initial infant assessment and care, my midwife team left for the morning (as it was now 2 am) and my birth partner when to bed. I called my husband and told him our news, and introduced my child to my dog, before placing her in her bassinet to sleep and then falling asleep my self.

My daughter's birth was a unique, and special experience. I hope you follow your instinces and birth in the way that feels right to you and I hope your birth brings you special memories, and a special, healthy child.

Best of luck!!!!!!!!!

You go girl! I truly believe that God gave us epidurals...

I've never heard a more amazing story than this, I knew this lady 15 years ago, so even though it's not my story, you have to read this one. (It's a feel good.)

http://lucywoolston.blogspot.com/2008/10/gory-details.html

Here's mine... if things don't go as planned and you end up with a C-Section. :) My body wasn't doing anything to get ready for my sweet boy to come into this world and the doctor suggested a C-section. I had my baby at 7:45 at night and they had me up and walking the next morning. The nurse thought I didn't understand the pain meds pump because I wasn't giving myself booster doses. (OK, so that part was irritating when she tried to explain how it worked like I had the IQ of a cucumber.)

When I went home, I was tackling stairs without any issues. Got out to a store to pick things up when he was 5 days old and was itching to drive at my 2 week check up. There was some pain, but I'm not convinced it was much worse than people who deliver vaginally.

I had 2 really great births - both in a hospital, with an epidural. Both were induced too - apparently my belly is a really great place to hang out, and neither kid wanted to leave!

I got there early in the morning, got set up in a comfy bed, with a TV and a stereo in the room, and spent the day waiting for my body to do its thing (since I was induced, it took longer).

My doctor is fantastic and I trusted her completely! I also had a really great nurse with my first baby. She was wonderful about explaining everything to me, so I would know what to expect.

The epidural was my best friend! Since I was induced, I had contractions that were off the monitor - even the nurses were surprised by how strong they were. I had some control over how much of the epidural stuff I wanted. I had a button I could push, if the pain became bad, and it would release more of the stuff (can't remember the name of the drug they give you). That way, I could choose if I wanted to really feel the pain of the contractions or not. I am a big wimp, who was terrified of giving birth, so I kept that button handy! With the really big contractions, I did feel intense pressure, and I could feel the baby being born, so I wasn't a complete zombie from the waist down!

I loved my epidural! I chose to have one with both kids and I have no regrets at all. I trusted my doctor to help me make the best choices for my births, and I never doubted that I was doing the right thing. I am an older mom, so I wanted to give birth in a hospital with lots of doctors and nurses handy, in case there were any problems. I had 2 relatively easy births and I have 2 beautiful, healthy girls!

I have two wonderful birth stories to share!

The setting (for both) was Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ.
My support team was my caring loving hubby and my amazing doula, Roseanne.
My choice of labor/pain management was the Bradley method.

With my daughter, my water broke in the office at about 3pm, although I wasn't sure. I contacted the Doctor and was asked to come to the office for an exam. As the doctor went to check me, I had a second flood of fluid and she casually indicated "I guess I don't need that" as she tossed the speculum back into a drawer. I was already 5 cms. She announced that I was having a baby that nite and walked out of the room. I was left with my pants around the ankles! I was in a state of shock until a nurse asked if I was ok and then informed me I should go to the hospital. I arrived at about 5:30pm. After a quick bathroom break, I started getting high level contractions and had to ask my Hubby to help me wash my hands. At that moment I gripped the sink and remember uttering "I can't do this". Based on our Bradley training, we both knew I had hit transition. I spent the next 2 hours or so on my hands and knees, rocking and laboring. I was focused and felt secure and fully supported by Hubby and Roseanne. In fact, it felt like there was a spot light right over the bed - things were that focused. LOL. I finally indicated I needed to push. Unfortunately, when the doc asked me to get into the "typical" pushing position, our little lady slipped backwards and I regressed. I had a moment of panic as I was told I could not push and Roseanne started counting with me as "anyone can do anything for 10 seconds". Once I got past the panic, I started counting the contractions out loud and I was going a lot further than 10! LOL. At about 8:45pm, a little over 5 hours later, our beautiful baby girl made her entrance. We were suddenly a family!! She crawled her way towards my waiting breast and she attempted to suckle. It was the most amazing experience ever (or so I thought).

I became a Mom again when our little prince arrived. This birth experience began early in the morning, at home. I had the chance to move freely, take a really long hot shower and sit on my exercise ball. I had the additional support of my loving church community - a few of the folks came to care for our daughter while we drove to Jersey. When we left for the hospital, I was having pretty heavy contractions, the whole ride down. Hubby looked over at me at one point and asked why I couldn't have gone into labor on a day when the roads were dry. It was drizzling and if he could have gone 100mph down the NY thruway, he would have! Lol. I remember listening to Sugar Land. Despite all this seeming chaos, I did not feel out of control. I arrived at about 10AM at 6 cms and after some dancing, laboring on my hands and knees again, I stopped making progress. The doctor asked if she could break my water since I had stalled at about 8 cm and I said yes. Shortly there after, I needed to push. I closed my eyes, centered down and pushed. This time things were quieter and there was no counting that I recall; however, I was again fully supported and cared for. Our prince arrived at about 1pm. Again, the baby crawled to my breast and snuggled in close. He was less interested in suckling but wanted to be close and tight and warm. Due to shift changes, I got to spend extra time with him, skin to skin, for an extended period of time. It was so magical.

I wish you the best of luck on your birth experience. Each event is so individual and we each need to make the best choices for ourselves and our children. And you are right, that positive attitude is a huge factor in ensuring you get the best experience!!

~C.

My first one was a little difficult, but all worked out in the end so. But my second one... WONDERFUL!! My husband is on the road a lot, truck driver, so we didnt want him hundreds of miles away from home when I went into labor, plus we needed family around to watch our then 2 year old first daughter. So it was a planned induction. It was really nice knowing, like a c-sect mom would, the day my child would likely be born, I have to say! I knew the risks though, of an induction, my doctor was good about that. It was an informed decision based on our individual situation.

I went to the hospital at 7am. I was on almost no sleep because I knew I would have a baby the next morning and also my first decided to do the whole jealous first born thing on me and have a horrendous night. But I had adrenaline to keep me going, lol. By 7:30 I was checked into my room, doc came in and broke my water, started pitocin. He said because it was my second there was no need to put off the epidural and since I'd gone through 20 hours natural with my first, I was quite gung-ho for it this time around. Had that going by 8ish. I had great epi's both times. I got two 7cm but her head was stuck up high. They up'd the pitocin but for almost 2 hours I was at 7. Doc hadnt said c-sect but I knew that it wasnt normal to be stuck like that with a second baby.

I was so exhausted by this point, it was about 2pm. So I asked for a bump up on my epi and the nurse kicked my husband and mom out so I could rest. The second I turned over on my side to try to sleep, I felt something I cant put into words exactly, but it was the baby going from stuck way up high in my pelvis to COMING OUT NOW in about two seconds flat. The funny thing is, I totally tried to ignore her head coming out. I didnt beep the nurse. I just kept my eyes shut and tried to will her away. How silly is that??! rofl Then the pressure started mounting and I reached down and yep, thats a head coming out. I'm pretty sure I swore some under my breath and pressed the button for the nurse.

She came in, I, for some stupid reason, just said I was feeling a little bit of pressure. I did not mention already knowing the baby had hair. lol She said fine she'd check me but I'd just been checked 5 min prior. She lifts up the sheet, pops out her eyes, and looks at me and says "DONT DO ANYTHING!!!!!", whips out her walkie talkie and pages the doctor, runs out of the room to grab my mom and husband. The next 5 minutes I spent holding the baby in. Then about three pushes and she was out. Screaming like a banshee and with a huge lump on one side of her head where she'd been stuck on my pelvis until I turned over on my side.

I felt basically no pain, but felt everything. I felt the ripples of her cord as she was lifted up and away from me, felt every inch of her body come out. But it didnt hurt. It was amazing, kind of surreal.

There's my story. It took 7 hours, with two of that being stuck. Since my first took more than a full day I couldnt believe I was holding her. I literally jogged out of the hospital 24 hours later, by my own request, because I felt so good, like it had all never happened.

I would do that 20 more times, it was beyond awesome. :-)

My birth story....

Backstory first: My due date was Dec 1st. He was born on November 20. My mom came up to visit that Friday (the 19th) because my friends were throwing me a shower the next day.

So Friday night, my mom and I go out to dinner and go to bed kinda late that night. At about 5 AM my bladder wakes me up same as it has every morning for the past 3-4 weeks, so I relieve myself and get back in bed. Only this time I feel something wet, so I shift in the bed and more liquid. My first thought was, "Am I peeing on myself?" So I go back to the bathroom as this liquid continues to run out of me. It wasn't a gush, just a constant flow. So I called to my mom, who comes in the bathroom where I'm standing with a growing puddle at my feet, and she says, "Yep, that's your water. Call the doctor." BTW, I'm not contracting at all.

So, the phone call to the doc goes something like this:

"Hi, this is M.. I think my water broke."
"You sound too calm. How are your contractions?"
"Haven't had any other than Braxton Hicks."
"Okay. Meet me at the hospital."

I must admit I am a procrastinator, so you know I didn't have a bag packed nor any of my baby's new clothes washed. I didn't even have my car seat yet! In my defense though, he wasn't supposed to show his face for another two weeks. And since he was my first, everyone kept telling me he would be late anyway.

So I shower (yes, I showered..was not going to the hospital funky), and then I packed a bag and we left for the hospital....err, make that starbucks, mcdonalds and then to the hospital. Hey, I was hungry and my mom can't function without her morning coffee. Mind you, I still wasn't having any contractions.

So, we get to the hospital about 7:30 AM. The nurse confirms that it was my water that broke and they put me in a room. I'm still not contracting. So about 10am the doc gives me pitocin to get things going. Why in the heck did he do that?? I went from having zero contractions to having 60 second contractions every 2-3 minutes in a span of about 15 minutes..seriously!

I had a natural birth plan mapped out. I attended lamaze classes and I pictured myself playing cards/board games and watching TV while I awaited my son. I'm laboring. Contractions are intense. During a contraction I moan that I want the epidural and to please get the nurse. The contraction subsides just as she walks in. The exchange goes like this:

Nurse: "Hey, mom. You want the epidural?"
Me: "No, I'm okay. I'm doing it natural."

Nurse walks out. Another contraction a few minutes later.

Me: "I want the epidural. Go get the nurse."

Mom goes to get nurse. Contraction subsides before they get back to the room.

Nurse: "You ready for the epidural?"
Me: "No, I'm okay."

Another contraction.

Me: "I WANT THE EPIDURAL!"

Mom goes to get the nurse. Contraction subsides.

Nurse: "Do you want the epidural?"
Me: "No, I'm okay."

This continued to happen for about the next 4-5 contractions. I'm sure that nurse thought I was crazy, but she was great about it.

So I get the epidural. What, you thought this was gonna be about how I used some mind-over-matter trick to refuse the epidural?? Yeah, right! :o) Right before I got the epidural, the nurse checked me and I was at 4cm, and I decided that I didn't have 6 more cm of pain tolerance in me.

It's about 1:00 PM, and I'm smooth sailing now. I can only feel very light pressure when they TELL me I'm having a contraction. I liked being told I'm having a contraction instead of me anouncing it...lol. About 2:30 PM, I fall asleep.

5:30 PM. I wake up from my nap. I'm laughing and joking with my mom and my BFF's husband. (My BFF had to work, so she sent her representative.) I feel some movement down below. So I ask my mom to get the nurse so she can check me. Nurse comes in and nonchalantly says, "You probably have about 2 more hours before you'll need to push." She opens my legs and exclaims, "Oh my!" She pushes my legs together and says, "The baby is crowning. Keep your legs closed. I'll go get the doctor!" Seriously...like some closed legs are gonna keep him from entering the world. I guess. BFF's husband says, "And that's my cue" as he exits the room right behind the nurse. Gotta love that guy!

The doctor comes in and gets things ready. Remember, my epidural is still going strong so I can't really feel anything below the waist. The doctor tells me to push. I try, but can't tell if I'm doing anything. She says push again. Again, I think I do. And at 6:34 PM, my son is born.

The end. :o)

Good luck with your birth! I pray that both you and your baby are healthy...and that you walk away with a great birth story to share.

With my son, I was blessed with a very quick delivery. I woke up and I was leaking and I figured he was probably pressing on my bladder and they would send us home. Then around 1pm, I started to feel a lot of pressure. My husband was at work and couldn't get anyone to come in to cover him till about 4. We got to the hospital (after stopping at Tim Hortons cause I was starving) at just after 5pm. They had me in triage for not even a half hour when the nurse checked me and said I was 8cm and that she'd get me a wheelchair the delivery room. Five mintues went by and my water broke and I had to rip off the monitor because of all the pressure. When the nurse came back in and was helping me into the chair. I said I couldn't sit, and she was pushing me into the chair and I said again "You don't understand I can't sit down". The moment I said that his head popped out onto the chair. After a moment she recovered from her shock and screamed at my husband to scream out the door for another nurse and a kit. All they did was put him in my arms and wheeled me to the delivery room leaving a trail of blood.

Here's mine: water broke in the middle of the night, but no contractions. So they put me on petocin around 7:30 am or so. Son #1 was born by 7:40 that evening. In between I slept (cause they gave me a sleeping pill) then woke up with really bad period cramps. Turns out those were contractions!!!

So, they hooked me up with an epidural which was good. Then later, after suffering through some more "cramps", my friend who was attending with me said I could dial up more medicine if I felt them too badly. So I cranked it up and all was OK!

Around 7 pm the nurse said I was totally dilated and it was time to push. I could really feel the baby coming down with each push - I focused on the nurses guidance - she was really great and told me exactly how to push. Sure enough, out popped a little guy who was healthy and great!

Then, I was hungry since I hadn't eaten since breakfast, so I ate a steak sub sandwich that a friend brought in for me!! It was a great day and so will yours be!! Enjoy every minute this time cause my 2nd son was born as I slept (seriously, Ambien is some strong stuff.)

I had twins so I had been told C-section from the get-go and my cousin had one and comforted me about having one so I was totally okay with it. What I didn't want was to have one vaginally and then the other via c-section. Who wants to hurt from both areas? Anyways my doctor knew I wanted to deliver vaginal if possible. I made it to 36 weeks and both babies were in the correct position so now it was just up to me pushing them out. Granted this was my first pregnancy too so they broke my water at 1:00 p.m. and after a little while I asked for my epi.
My parents were there, my sister and her husband, my cousin and her husband, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, my in-laws as well as my husbands grandmother that just flew in from Florida! Everyone was in my room and all of a sudden I started to feel my pain again. My mother swooshed everyone out and they had to come back in and re-do the epi. This time around I didn't feel nothing and it was wonderful!
At 9:30 p.m. I began to push and after quite some time my doctor explained that we could use a vacuum to help assist in getting baby A out. He explained that I would still have to push but that the vacuum would help get the baby here. Finally at 11:43 p.m. December 14th my first baby girl arrived. The second however was not dropping down into the birth canal and I overheard the "word" C-section. Somewhere in the depths I found every ounce of strength I had left and my doctor was finally able to push her down into the birth canal and she came out with no assist with the vacuum because I pushed so darn hard because I was afriad of my worst fear coming about. My second baby girl was born at 12:21 a.m. on December 15th and out of ALL the pain and the trials and tribulations I went through -it was ALL so worth it and it wouldn't have really mattered how they arrived. They were here alive, healthy, and thriving little babies and they were the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my entire life! I still look at them today at 7 years old and think they are the most wonderful and beautiful thing God and my husband has ever given to me no matter what card I am dealt with life.
I don't even remember the exact pain-I do remember it being present but I can't explain to someone else how the pain compared because I don't remember it because once those babies arrived there was nothing else in the world that could have kept me from holding those two precious beings and I was so happy that I got hold them without them being rushed over to NICU. They were so healthy! Their skin was so beautiful and they were just all around beautiful and I will remember that day till the day that I take my last breath and remember when my two girls took their first and keep it close to my heart because no one can ever take that memory away from me. Good luck with your next birth you have already done it once before so you know you CAN and WILL do it! I'm sure others had horrible experiences but in the end ask them that one question...Was it worth it? I bet their answer would be an absolute YES and I woould do it ALL over again!

My second child who everbody understood was going to be a boy just as my first child because in my husbands family, only boys are born. It was understood and accepted. My doctor knew the history, the anethesiologist was told prior to my c-section and of course the nurses in delivery all heard the discussion so my medical team was ready to deliver my second son. I got my saddle block, had my oxygen mask put on and my doc began my c-section chattering about names I had selected, this and that. Then he said ahhh your baby doesn't look like a boy. My reaction was "huh, are you sure there are no jewels on that baby?" "Nope no jewels." The whole medical group was completely surprised as was I and they all were elated, everyone was truly surprised. The nurses took Katrina, cleaned her up and wrapped her in an aqua baby blanket as that was all they had in supply. The nurse brought her over to me and she rubbed Katrina's nose against mine and let me look at her for a quick moment then she headed out to the Fathers Viewing Area. My husband acknowledged his baby boy then the nurse opened the blanket - SURPRISE. The nurse said my husband's eyes got big and round as did his mouth. Yep he was totally surprised and very pleased. My daughter was absolutely a perfect child, no kidding. When she turned 15, she did begin to express her opinion but she never was in trouble or got into attitude issues at all, just a pure delight. When she was pregnant, she was blown away by caring twins. She had two boys, identical. They just turned 7 yrs a couple days ago. They are the cutest, funniest, very intelligent, and just the best to spend time with. I guess surprises run in our family. They sure have been fun. You have a great delivery, you certainly have the perfect mindset. You go girl.

Hi L., you have probably stopped reading these by now...there are so many! But I have one if you're interested. Pregnancy #1...not good & rough birth experience so I won't tell about that one! But BECAUSE of that one I decided to try Bradley method with the 2nd. I ate tons of protein, listened to those relaxation tapes, etc....throughout pregnancy. Well, went to bed one night at 10:20 & had a pain, adjusted to get comfy, woke at 10:27 w/another pain. I had a friend who was a night owl, so called to get her opinion. She suggested a warm bath. I got in the bath and stayed on the phone with my friend until about 1:30 am! I would tell her when contractions started and stopped and she was tracking it. Finally she said she thought I should call the doula. She arrived about 2:30 am. Kept me comfy and I had lots of contractions sitting backwards on toilet (facing the wall), that took the pressure off my back and contractions were MUCH less painful....more manageable than with my son when I had an epidural! But anyway, suddenly I felt the urge to push (no, we weren't trying to have a baby at home! Just didn't want to be told to walk the halls or come back later!) Doula said "uh-oh, better get you to the hospital", so I told her we had to call my husband to come home (he was on night shift). While we waited I got really dizzy and threw up (realized later that had been my transition stage). Once he got home, we realized we needed to call my mother in law to come watch my 18 mo old son! Can you tell I wasn't thinking really clearly? Anyway, my mother in law gets there and we head to hospital. My husband took the curvy road shortcut - and believe me he heard about it :) - got to hospital at 4:09am. As I climbed out of the car my water broke. They wheeled me upstairs, put me on table to examine me and said "you're ready to push!"...asked my Dr.'s name and I told them. They said "he's not here, did you call him?" OOPS! Forgot to call him too!!! So they grabbed a Dr. that was in the hall, I pushed and my daughter was born at 4:16 am (yep, 7 min from the time I ARRIVED at the emergency entrance! Think wheelchair time, elevator wait time, sit on table, etc...) It was VERY FAST! The speed shocked everyone, including me, but ESPECIALLY my hubby. The man was at work, didn't even know I was in labor (assembly line & emergency calls only), then less than 1 hour later he was holding his new baby girl! (Oh, did I mention I was also a couple weeks early?) :)

I guess mine was more a comedy of errors story! But everything went GREAT! Total time start to finish 5 hrs 50 min! Much better than the 18 hrs w/ my first!

Just a reminder...CALL the people you need!!!! Best of luck to you! J.

Hooray for you! It already sounds like you are in the right frame of mind and you know what you want. Just having the confidence of having been through the process before will make this a great experience for you. I always wish that there was a way to transplant the confidence that you have with your second child to those worried moms going through thier first experience.
I am a Certified Nurse Midwife in Washington and unfortunately I ended up having both my babies by cesarean- so I don't have a great personal birth story to share- sorry. But I am happy that both my children were both born safely and healthy-- the main goal of all moms! Good luck- enjoy the process and your amazing new baby!

Sounds like you already have a great frame of mind. I delivered my babies the same way and agree that is was ideal for me to do this pain free so I could be at my best for my baby.
My first delivery was twins so it was alittle more hectic and done in the surgery roomin case a c-section was necessary (it wasn't).
My second baby was delivered in the same room i labored in and although I had an epidural she was delivered by a midwife. I appreciated her approach to childbirth and I know it was because of her,I only required 1 stitch.
Once my girl was almost completely out she told me to reach down, and pull her the rest of the way. It was an amazing moment. I was the first to hold her and was relieving the pain of childbirth by bringing my gift to me. I was able to hole her for several minutes before she was cleaned up etc. As i type this I am still moved by my experience.
I like your attitude and am sure you will have an amazing experience:)

I had my first baby in 1997 and was having my second in 2007. I thought things would go the same way it did the first time around. Boy was I wrong! We decided to leave for the hosptital around 5:45pm, I was determined to finish my dinner because I didn't get to eat for a very long time the first time! We arrived at the hospital about 6:00pm, and my water broke. They tell me which room to go to and it takes forever due to contractions coming back to back. I finally get in a room and they check me. I'm only 3 cm dialated! Sigh... I'm thinking I should have ate more dinner! I get in bed and get hooked up to the monitors. I have already informed them that yes indeed, I WILL be wanting an epideral, and the nurse said that I could get one when I was at 4cml! By this time my mom and dad arrived with my daughter. She's 10 at this time and is handling the situation MUCH better than me. She held my hand through every contraction and talked me through them. It's now about 6:30 and I asked the nurse to please check me, I was sure I was a 4 by now! She checked me and I wasn't at 4, I was at 5!! Yeehaw, a sigh of relief, I was getting my epideral!! We all know how long it takes for them to get the anesthesiologist!! I just took comfort in knowing he'd be coming soon! He arrived about 6:55 and they cleared out the room so they could give me my epideral! Here's where everything goes nuts! They sit me up and he starts prepping my back for the needle. All of a sudden I start pushing... trust me, I didn't do this on my own! My body had other plans! The nurse tells me to stop pushing and just breathe! I told her the same thing... I'M NOT DOING IT! Then all of a sudden, I feel a burning sensation! I yelled, "IT BURNS"! She said, "the needle"? I said, "NO... DOWN THERE"!! So she said to lay me down, and they took a look... I was fulling dialated and my son's head was showing! No epideral today!! They weren't ready for a baby to be born yet. The doctor wasn't there yet, they didn't have the cart out, none of the delivery instruments, nothing!!! I barely remember them yelling for any nurses passing by to come help! Three pushes later, my son was born at 7:03pm! I had done it. Completely natural! Something I never thought I could do! The pain was gone once he was born and then the doctor arrived! Ha ha! My family came in expecting to see me hooked up with the epideral, but was pleasantly surprised to see Braden laying there getting washed up! :) Everything happened so quickly!! Nothing like the first time, that was an all day event! I now know how so many babies are born on the freeways! If we would have waited much longer, I would have been on the news. "Woman has her son on 405 today!" Ugh!!
I sure hope you have a safe and memorable birth! :)

I have had two babies. both vaginally and with epidurals. The storys on tlc babie storys are so silly. I was sooo scared to have a baby...untill I had our 9lbs 1 oz son. I was also endused both times. Right after I gave birth to our son I told my husband that wasnt so bad at all!! Now if your wanting to know what labor pain was like keep reading, ok are you ready? its the same feeling you get when you stub your toe or hit yourself with a hammer and the shooting pain that travels threw your body. it lasts for a min or less and then your ok then every time you have a contraction it happens..

done with that pain biz. my legs went numb with the second child and i really know what the epidural should have felt like with the first child. but like i said before after i had my son...it really wasnt so bad after all. good luck. God bless you new family. you can do this and you will do the best thing for you and your baby.

I delivered our little girl five months ago at the hospital and both the labor and birth were incredible. My water broke at about 2 a.m. and so I called the nurse advice line to see what they wanted me to do. I wasn't convinced that I was in labor. The reason I woke up is because I thought that the tacos we had for dinner weren't agreeing with me. Boy was I wrong! Upon calling the advice nurse she told me that we were to go to the hospital after having spoken with the doctor. The hospital is only a few minutes away from our house and I wasn't sure that they were going to keep me so I had my husband park in the parking lot and we walked in. I was in great spirits and all the nurses looked at me like I had six heads because I don't think they thought I was in labor either. The nurse took me back to check me and sure enough I was 4 cm dilated and my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart so they kept me. I remember thinking, "If this is what labor is like then I am all set!"

After about 5 hours of labor I had only progressed to 5 cm and so they wanted to give me Pitosin (sp?). Even though I had originally wanted to go natural, I had heard from other mothers that Pitosin makes your contractions stronger than they are naturally and right on top of one another so at this point I decided to get an epidural. While receiving the epidural I started feeling an incredible amount of pressure (still not bad pain or anything just pressure) and so after giving me the epidural the nurse laid me back to check me and in 30 minutes I had dilated to 7 cm.

Anyway, at 11 a.m. I was complete, but they didn't have me start to push until about 11:55. Our daughter was born at 12:35. All this to say that, particularly after I delivered I was so thankful that I had chosen to get the epidural. It's not for everyone and I realize that. They never ended up giving me the Pitosin because of my progression, but none the less, I was so grateful for the experience as a whole. I do believe that I could have made it naturally, but I don't know that I would have been able to enjoy or take in the experience the way I was with the epidural. I could still feel my contractions so it wasn't complete, which was good. It was the most beautiful experience of my life. The doctor who delivered me was not the doctor that I had seen at the practice, but honestly, I was never really worried about having the same person deliver me.

My birth was vaginal obviously. I was not given an epesiotomy nor did I have any real tearing. They put degrees on them I guess and mine was so incredibly minor that they didn't even give it a degree. Our baby was 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. She was absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way.

I truly love telling my labor and delivery story for the purpose that so many women try and scare you with theirs. Giving birth is NOTHING to be afraid. It is so incredibly beautiful and amazing and wonderful. My husband and I both could not believe that this little person had come from inside me. I should also mention that this was my first baby. It was incredible. I hope that your experience is just as wonderful if not more!

Baby #1 - I was in denial. It was my last day at work and I had taken a half a day just to wrap up odds and ends. My boss at the time pushed for one last project to be finished so I didn't get to leave the office until 2PM. As I pressed the button for the elevator, I had this overwhelming desperate need to eat a large italian sub with hots and pickles and everything on it. I couldn't explain it, but I knew I had to have it so as soon as the elevator doors opened, I walked straight into the sub shop at the bottom of our building and ordered it up. I'm pretty confident I ate the large sub in about 3 bites because it was gone before I walked out the door. I then proceeded to the bus stop where I started to think "hmm, my stomach hurts. i don't feel so good" but of course I blamed that damn italian sub I just wolfed down. When the bus came, I went immediately to the back and put my feet up on some of the seats. I then started having Braxton hicks. They were extremely mild but I still had a belly ache so I wasn't feeling the greatest. I decided to get rid of the Braxton hicks I would get off the bus a few stops early and walk home (a little over a mile). As I walked home, the contractions continued but my belly ache was improving. Once I got in the door, I thought well the walking didn't kick the contractions so maybe if I lay down they'll just disipate. I laid in my bed watching my alarm clock and noticing that the contractions were coming every six minutes. I started to get impatient so I finally decided to take a shower "just in case" these things didn't go away. After showering, I called my husband to tell him that he didn't need to come home from work but that I thought "tonight might be the night". The second I clicked Off on the telephone, my water broke. Standing there in my towel, I was completely dumbfounded. It wasn't a gallon of water like in the movies but enough that I was certain of what just happened. When I looked down I realized that the fluid was not clear, but more murkey and just didn't look exactly right. I called my mom who was food shopping with my grandmother about 10 minutes away and called my husband. In the meantime I tried to move around the house collecting my last minute items (tooth brush, hair brush, etc) for the hopital. It was then I realized that you don't actually stop leaking when your water breaks. I have no idea why people don't tell you this, but I think it's a pretty important thing to know. So I returned back to the bathroom, called my husband back and waited for my mom to come help. She showed up, finished packing my bag, got me fresh clothes, put a cheap plastic shower curtain over the seat of my car so I wouldn't ruin my seat, just in case and wait for my husband to arrive. Thankfully, the contractions continued but still weren't bad. My husband came home, we drove to the hospital and arrived around 5PM. Because the fluid was not clear, the medical staff were eager for me to move labor along. I tried pitocin, but it got me nowhere. I was 4cm when I arrived at the hospital, I was about 5cm 3 hours later and feeling good because I had my epidural. Still, nothing was happening. I know it was boring for my husband too because he was taking pictures of the boston skyline out the window. I had to remind him to save some camera battery for his new baby! LOL Finally around 11:30pm they prepped me for the OR and my daugther was born at 12:02am. At that point, I really didn't care how she came out. I just wanted her out already! I have to admit though that I was quite tuned up from the extra drugs for the Emergency C-section and emotionally exhausted from the day. Once out of the OR, I snuggled her a bit, nursed her and then konked out for several hours. It was nice to deliver in the middle of the night because then you have time to sleep before visitors start floating in and you feel the need to be moderately social.
Baby #2 - scheduled C section at 10:00am in the morning. He was born at 10:01. The drug situation was better controled this time but recovery was about the same. If I have any more babies, I'll schedule them for as late in the day as possible and tell people not to come until the following day.

Breanna June Drinkard was born on 09/11/2009 at 10:46pm, weighing in at 6lb 2oz and 19 inches long. I went to see my midwife for my checkup at 1pm that day and told her I noticed some irregular contractions earlier that week. I was curious to see if I had dilated any more since the last time we checked. I was 1cm dilated earlier in the week. My midwife leaned down to check and she looked stunned. She said that I was pretty much 3cm dilated and I was really thinned out. When I asked her what that meant, she said there was a possibility that I could have my daughter in the next few days...maybe even that evening. I thought she was kidding but boy was I wrong!

That afternoon I picked up my son and a friend's son from school. It was about 3pm and I started to notice some pressure-like cramps, but I didn't think much of it. I was still spotting a bit from the exam earlier and thought that might have had something to do with it. I didn't take much notice until my friend returned from work around 5pm. I was cramping a bit more and wondered if maybe I was just having more irregular contractions. Wrong! 6pm rolls around and I start to notice the contractions becoming more regular. I knew I was in labor, but was completely unsure of how to handle it all. (When I was pregnant with my son, I never went into labor on my own...I had to be induced when he was a week overdue.) All of this was a bit new to me. By 7:30pm, my contractions were about 10 minutes apart. Since I was determined to have her med free, I did the only thing that I knew to do...say "Oooooooooooh!" The vibrations from saying it helped so much with the pain. I called my midwife to let her know what was going on. She told me to call her back when the contractions were about 4-5 min apart.

By 9pm, I decided to take a shower to help dull some of the pain...it didn't work. In fact, my contractions got closer together...about 5 min apart! I came out of the shower, got dressed and headed to the living room. I leaned on the arm of the couch with my legs spread and started swaying from side to side, moaning to the pain. By this time, my friend's husband was home from work and he started timing my contractions, which were now 3 minutes apart. I was panicking by this time...worried I would pop out my mini-me in the living room of my friend's home! I called my midwife again and told her I thought the contractions were about 3 minutes apart. She talked me through a few of the contractions and noticed that they were closer than that...about 1 min apart! I was really starting to freak out. She told me that she'd meet me at the hospital at 10:30pm (it was 10pm).

Off to the hospital

We gathered my hospital bag and hopped (well...I wobbled) into the truck. My friends drove me to the hospital and the whole way there I arched my back in pain while screaming profanities. When we reached the hospital, I slowly made my way to the registration counter of the ER. Since I was already registered, they notified Labor and Delivery of my arrival. They asked me if I wanted to be wheeled upstairs, but because I was having such back labor, I wanted to walk off the pain. (Oh...I wish I had taken up that offer.) Halfway to the elevator entrance, I stopped and swayed, moaning about how close the contractions were. When we entered the elevator, the contractions were so close together that I couldn't move out when we reached our stop. Everyone had to lift me out and flag a nurse to help.

When I got to the double doors of Labor and Delivery, I found out my room was all the way at the end of the hallway. I called it the “Green Mile”. Halfway down the hallway, the pain was so unbearable that I crouched down and started to sob. I started begging for pain meds even though I knew it was too late for that. Next thing I knew, I felt like I had to push and I was overly nauseated. I looked at my friend and told her I how I felt. The nurse next to her was quick thinking and with a flash of confidence, reached over and tore the plastic off of a clean wash bucket and tossed it under my chin. I started upchucking immediately. Knowing we had to get me to my room NOW, the nurse gave up trying to locate a wheel chair and instead had me hop on for a ride on a rolling office chair. All the way to the room, I threw up in my "special" bucket.

Here comes Breanna!

When we made it to my room, they rushed me to the bed and tore my underwear off. I was screaming about the pain and how I wanted pain meds. I leaned to my right and grabbed the railing as though I was going to fly away somehow. I saw my midwife make it into the room and head over to wash her hands. All the while she's telling me to hold on until she finished washing her hands. My midwife turned to me and asked me if I wanted to push and I told her yes. She said to stop pushing when she tells me. This whole time, I'm screaming "RING OF FIRRREEE! RING OF FIRRREEE!" "I want pain meds!" My midwife turned to me, smiled and said..."Sorry hon, it's a bit too late for that...her head is pretty much there." All I could do was scream "NOOOOOOOO!" She stood at the end of the bed and moved my left leg to expose it all. That's when my water broke...ALL over her. I thought for sure she was going to freak out, but instead she threw her hands up and chuckled.

She told me to push when I was ready and in two good pushes, my daughter's head was out. (I noticed the Ring of Fire was gone!) I was told to stop and hold. She guided out the rest of my daughter and as soon as she came out, immediately placed her on my naked chest. I had the wonderful opportunity to hold my daughter on my chest, close to me, for a whole hour before they removed her to clean her up and give her the necessary checkup. Breanna had a hematoma on the top of her head (from when she was inside and pressing on my pelvis) but she was beautiful. She had a full head of dark hair and beautiful blue-gray eyes.

The delivery was so fast...no one made it to the hospital in time. Geez, the friends that drove me there would have missed it all if they didn't turn around in the room in time! I found out later that the hospital had timed me from my arrival all the way until I gave birth to Breanna...it was 7 min. Just imagine: I could have had her in my friend's truck! It was the most wonderful and unusual experience. I wouldn't change it for anything.

Well, I had two wonderful births. While they were at home (the first in Brooklyn NY, the second in western MA), they were with incredibly qualified people and I always felt safe. Julien delivered after 24 hrs and 3 1/2 hrs of pushing. He was beautiful and healthy and we were delighted if totally overwhelmed with our first baby! Our second was born after 2 days of my water being broken, and labor slow to begin. When contractions really began, it was intense for 4 hrs, and then I got into a tub to relieve the pain. After about 2 contractions I felt like I had to push and looked around saying "someone tell me to stop!" (the first time, I had to wait a while to finish dilating...) and when it was clear this was it, there was only 15 minutes of pushing and our came our second son Luca. He swam up to meet me and then stared into my eyes (the midwives time this...) for a whole minute before he took his first breath. It was really beautiful. I watched the moon rise while I was pushing out the window, and we had Bachs goldberg variations for piano playing. We named our son Luca Glen, for two different musicians. The second labor was easier (shorter, and so less tiring), but very intense and magical. Both my sons are beautiful people, if challenging in their own unique ways. I wish you much joy on your second birth and hope my story inspires you to much confidence and strength which you surely have. Best of luck! Ana

I have two little girls... BOTH births were in the hospital, and both were "good" but I thought the comparison might be fun for you to hear.

My first daughter, I had decided I didn't want any medication because, as you say, of the dangers of an epidural and all that, if I didn't have to have it. I went into the Hospital about midnight, and labored through the night. By the time I decided I really did want something, it was too late. They say I was sleeping between contractions towards the end, but it went smoothly, and my baby came out in about 5 minutes of pushing, and it was worth it.

However, the second time around, that whole "no medication" thing just wasn't convincing me anymore. I went into it planning to just get that "dangerous" epidural up front and be done with the pain! So about a week before I was due, my contractions heated up to about 5 minutes apart and it felt like time. So I went to the hospital, and got checked out... only then the contractions all but stopped, and the baby fell asleep, and the nurse said I had to go home. I asked when to come back, and she answered "next week, when you're due." I was SO mad! So a few hours later, my water broke... and then they had to keep me! I went back in again about midnight, and I got that epidural in within an hour, when it didn't really hurt at all, and I had them adjust it (never be afraid to ask for more/less medicine in there!)... and then I fell asleep. Remember that first time, where I'd been awake and uncomfortable all night? Sure, with an epidural you have to hold still, but I slept through the night. I woke up near 6 AM, because I felt like I needed to push. My support people were asleep, so I paged the nurse and asked if she'd check me. She said "Oh no! Cross your legs or something, and DON'T PUSH!" and ran to get the doctor. Within minutes, everything was set up, and in about 5 pushes, out came a baby, no pain at all. I'd been awake maybe ten minutes, and here, I had a baby and it was all done.

From my experience... do the epidural! The risk is minimal, and the gain is insanely much. I was RESTED for having a newborn! I was comfortable, I had basically no pain at all, and our recovery was smooth as butter. In thinking about it that day, I realized that giving birth had actually been FUN for me! I hope your experience is as good as mine was!

Birth #1: I had written my birth plan and everyone knew I wanted an epidural the minute I walked in the hospital door. I was to have a simple vaginal delivery like every othe woman in my family. Not!

My mucus plug came out at home around midnight and the contractions started up. By 8 am they were 5 minutes apart so I announced to my husband that we were having a baby that day. I took a shower got dressed up for the adventure that awaited...then the contractions stopped. I wasn't sure what to do, we had already informed our jobs that the baby was coming. So, we laid on the couch and both fell asleep. Not long after that I felt a water balloon explode inside me and water came gushing out. I got cleaned up again and waited for the contractions to start, but they did not, so after an hour we went to the hospital. I was given pitosen to start the contractions and was only dialated to 1 so an epidural was out of the question. This was not in my birth plan! After several hours of hard labor I told the nurse I was done "give me an epidural or cut her out" I said. The nurse did a vaginal exam and seemed purplexed that after so much labor I was still only at 1 cm. Then she said "I think I feel a tushy and not a head" and with a quick ultrasound it was confirmed my daughter was breech and the Pit was turned off. Yes, my daughter was breech, always had been, and my doctor failed to recognize it. I was rushed to the ER where we delivered promplty at 8:00 pm.

Birth #2: I made an appointment, went to the ER, got my baby, that simple.

welcome,as for me i had twin girls so it was either vaginal or c-section but the c-section win one of the babies was turn so girl mine was ok i just prayed and my doctor was wondeffull.my hubby was great he held my hand all through it all eventhough he scared off blood but he did it for me and his cuties.hope all will work out just dont stress uourself out the baby can feel it trust me i was carrying 2and i am a 1-20 pound before so just smile a lot.. xox.

Updated

welcome,as for me i had twin girls so it was either vaginal or c-section but the c-section win one of the babies was turn so girl mine was ok i just prayed and my doctor was wondeffull.my hubby was great he held my hand all through it all eventhough he scared off blood but he did it for me and his cuties.hope all will work out just dont stress uourself out the baby can feel it trust me i was carrying 2and i am a 1-20 pound before so just smile a lot.. xox.

Good for you! Love your attitude. My first and only delivery is my son (soon to be 2 yrs. old). I didn't have any contractions at all. Around 3 p.m., I was at work sitting behind a desk on the phone, when I felt the trickle of water - my water had broken. He was a week early. I called my secretary in, she panicked and ran and got me her sweater to wrap around my waist. Still no contractions. I called the hospital and asked how much time I had before I delivered b/c I wanted to drive home, pick up my overnight bag and my husband - I was afraid that without me, he would panic and get into an accident, what a mess, huh? I live 20-25 minutes from my home and another 30 minutes from the hospital I had picked (there were other closer hospitals), I got the OK from the doctor that I could arrive at the hospital in an hour. Because I didn't have any contractions, I really didn't think that I would be delivering soon - that's how naive I was.

When I got home, my husband didn't let me drive, I could have though, still no contractions. So, I finally got to the hospital an hour later, checked myself in, while he parked the car and waited. Someone called my 2 good friends and well, I really wasn't expecting them, but they showed up. They are really funny, so we had a good time in the room..still no contractions. At one point, the nurse was a little mean and came in and told me "you better enjoy your good time b/c it's not going to last long". That scared the heck out of me!!!! I was around 2-3 cm dilated. The nurse came in and gave me meds (can't think of name) but anyway, it was supposed to give me contractions. I got 2, which were like regular cramps. The 3rd one was a tiny bit more painful, kind of like bad gas. lol. One of my friends told me to get the epidural b/c there was a short time frame, which I did. So, I had a total of THREE contractions. At this point, I'm still waiting for the worst. The nurse came in and told my friends to leave, so that my husband and I could get some rest. She continued to check me. At 2:20 a.m., she woke me up to check me and said "are you ready for your baby? I was SHOCKED b/c I had heard so many horrible stories!!! Yes, I'm ready, how long will it take? "around 20 minutes" she responded. "WHAT?!" At this time, I'm still waiting for the worst part, thankfully, it never came. FOUR painless pushes later and into the world came my beautiful baby boy Ethan.

Up to that point, I had been so AFRAID and obsessed over the delivery party that I had asked my doctor to do a scheduled cessarian, which she agreed to do. Crazy, huh? I know that now. The good thing was that she was out of town the day I delivered and the doctor on staff refused to do the C-section. Thanks to devine intervention. I still believe I had the best delivery ever. I prayed so hard and God knew how afraid I was and blessed me w/the best delivery any woman could have hoped for. Good luck to you, god bless you and your family and here's wishing for the smoothest delivery ever...

I had been walking around at 3 cm. dilated for over 2 weeks and I was determined that I wasn’t going past my due date of November 17th. My pregnancy had been relatively trouble free (aside from sciatic pain, carpel tunnel syndrome, sleeplessness, to name a few), but in these last two weeks I was done! With my due date fast approaching I was willing to try anything, even sex, which at 39 plus weeks is always an adventure. I finally made an appointment with Mary Lou (the ultimate prenatal massage therapist) so she could work her “mojo” on me. When she got me on the table and starting working on my pressure points I felt she was priming me for labor because I had to breathe through my discomfort, especially the points on my ankles. Well, she must have done something right because at 3:30 in the morning I started having mild contractions every 5 minutes. I got up at 5:30 to take a shower and the contractions spaced out. Noooooooooooo! I did laps around my neighborhood, rolled around on my birthing ball, and tried various yoga positions (especially the ones involving squats). At around 12:00 p.m I was back on track with mild contractions coming about 5 minutes apart. My husband met me at the house and we went to my Dr.’s office for him to access me. We got there at 3:00 p.m. and when he checked me I was already at 6 cm. (yipeeeeeee)! My contractions at this point were still fairly mild. They plopped me in a wheelchair and wheeled me next door to the hospital. I walked into the labor & delivery room at 4:00 and the nurse started doing her paperwork, very quickly I might add. My doctor walked in to check me again and I was at 7-8 cm. He went ahead and broke my bag of waters in a huge warm gush, and then went across the hall to do a C-section, much to the disbelief of my husband who said “where are you going”! My doctor said it would take 20 minutes tops and he would be right across the way. At this point my husband is still asking every 5 minutes where my epidural is. The nurse proceeds to tell him that there probably is not going to be enough time to give me one, to which he answers “how about giving it to me”. He was still remembering the labor with our first daughter where I about squeezed his hand off. Those contractions had been much more intense and close together. I couldn’t get over how manageable the contractions were with this labor and I was able to breathe through them fairly easily. The nurse kept asking me to please tell her if I felt the urge to push and with the next contraction I did, just as my doctor walked back in. Four pushes later, Chaya Rae was born on her actual due date, 1 hour and 54 minutes after getting to the hospital. The placed her on my belly where she promptly peed on me. After a while, my husband cut the cord and they took her to wipe her down and she weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz. They brought her back to me and my husband handed me my trusty Bobby pillow which I placed her on and she latched on immediately. Now the fun begins.
I wish you good luck and a good birth!

I won't share my first b/c it wasn't the greatest experience. My second, I started contracting at 6 am on a Saturday. I labored at home for 7 hours b/c the contractions still weren't painful, so I knew I didn't need to go in yet. My husband was about to have a heart attack begging me to go to the hospital lol. When I finally did go in and they checked me, I was at 4 cm, but they wouldn't admit me b/c I hadn't been checked before so they didn't know if 4 cm was progress for me. So we had to walk around the hospital complex for two hours and then go back to get checked again. The contractions got more painful as we were walking and by the time we got back I was at 6 cm. They admitted me and got things going for my epidural. I got the epidural 30 to 45 minutes later (I couldn't see the clock so I'm guessing on times) and continued to labor peacefully. I started feeling a lot of pressure with contractions but didn't want to push yet b/c I'd pushed over an hour and a half with my first and didn't want to be pushing that long again. The dr assured me that second babies usually come quicker so I started pushing. Pushed for 37 minutes and our little boy was born at 1113 pm weighing 9 lb 5 oz (our first was 9 lb 4 oz).

Third baby, my water broke at 1130 pm Sunday night but I didn't know it. It was barely trickling out. It took me five hours to fill a pad. Hubby and I were supposed to go on a date that night (his mom was babysitting) so we decided to go in to the hospital first just to check and see what was going on. Sure enough, my water had broken, but I was only at 2 cm. I was already starting the very early stages of labor with contractions but they wanted me to deliver faster to make that all-important 24-hour window after water breaking. So they started me on pitocin at 5 pm. I labored for seven hours like this, with the contractions getting so incredibly much more painful than with my first two, and even after all that time and pain I was still at 4 cm. But now I could get my epidural. I got it at midnight and promptly passed out and slept for two hours. I started feeling a lot of pressure after a while. I started pushing at 410 or so and she was born at 432 am weighing 8 lbs even. We couldn't believe how small she was after our first two.

Fourth baby (who was just born May 1st) was very different. Contracted all week long with no progress. Friday night around 9 started having painful regular contractions, but they were 10-15 minutes apart and stayed that way. With all my others, the contractions went to 2 to 3 minutes apart very quickly. I labored all night long by myself, letting hubby sleep. I was able to sleep for a little while, waking up for the contractions. Finally around 245 I called L&D concerned with how the labor was going, that I wasn't progressing even with the very painful contractions, because they were still so far apart. They agreed I probably wasn't contracting if they were that far apart but said I could come in anyways. I didnt' want to get sent home but I was tired of no progression so I started walking figure eights through my living and dining rooms trying to get the contractions closer together. They went to anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes apart while walking but never got regular. As soon as I would sit down they'd go back to 10 or more minutes apart. Hubby woke up around 330 and around 4 (after he'd had some coffee) we went walking around the block b/c I was getting really bored with walking inside. The contractions continued to stay closer while walking but still spread out when I stopped. They just never got regular. Around 6 we came inside and ate breakfast. At 730 we finally decided to go in and see what was going on b/c the contractions were really painful. We figured it would be a waste of time and they would just send us home. We got there and they immediately took us to a room instead of triage b/c I was the only one there. The nurse checked me and I was at 7 cm. We were completely shocked. I was officially checked in at 830 and requested an epidural b/c the contractions were getting really painful, but of course they have to do blood work and run fluids before you can get it. Then the only anesthesiologist at the hospital was in surgery so they had to call one in from home. They checked me at about 1005 and I was at 8 cm. The anesthesiologist walked in the room between 1015 and 1020 and with the contraction I had right then, my body started pushing. Not I started pushing, my body did. I had no control over it whatsoever. I had no control over the noises I was making either. I was yelling out during the contractions (I had horrible back labor, which is the worst) and when my body started pushing I'd grunt without control. I couldn't have stopped the noises or the pushing if I wanted to. They quickly got things set up and got the doctor in. By the time he got in there, my body pushed a handful more times and then he was out! Our second boy was born at 1040 am weighing 9 lbs. The doctor and nurses were trying to get me to slow down my pushing after his head came out so he wouldn't come so fast but there's no way I could have, so I yelled "Just get him out!" And they did lol. It went pretty quickly and very smoothly. My husband was so awed at the way my body just did everything on its own with no effort on my part (I literally put zero effort into pushing; my body did everything). He thought it was the coolest thing ever :) Looking back, it was pretty cool the way my body just took over and I might try it natural again (if we have any more), just with a little more preparation lol.

I've had two beautiful healthy boys....one in 2006 and one in 2008. Both of them were vaginal births with epidurals. I was so lucky to have the easiest births possible! For our first we went to the hospital and they said that I was only 1.5cm dialated and they didn't think I was in labor but I could walk around the hospital for an hour and they'd check me again. When they checked me I was 3.0cm and having painful back to back contractions. They gave me the epidural and 1 hour later I was 4.0cm so they said it would be a long night. One hour later I told the nurse I felt something between my legs. She assured me it was nothing to worry about but agreed to check me. It turns out I went from 4.0cm to 10 cm in one hour. She asked me to wait while she called the Dr. to come in. She laid me on my side and I tried not to push but was curious what it felt like so I pushed a little. The Dr. walked in shortly and after 3 or 4 pushes my little angel was born. The Dr. even let me "pull" him out...that is hold him under his arms while I finished the last push. It was AMAZING! The great epidural I had made the birth pain free but I could "feel" everything that was happening...very very cool! BTW...no tearing and almost no recuperation at all! Lucky huh?

For our second son I was worried about not getting an epidural because I went so fast with our first. I got to the hospital and was already 3.5 cm. I wasn't feeling very painful contractions and when they checked me again I was almost 6cm. I panicked and begged for an epidural eventhough I wasn't in much pain. I think I was about 7cm by the time they gave me the epidural. I wanted so much to wait a couple hours so my Dr. would be on call and luckly the epidural did slow me down a bit this time so I ended up being ready to push about 3 hours after the epidural. This time the epidural was also great but I could move my legs but not feel much of the process. When the Dr. told me to push I asked my hubby to videotape out of curiosity. I was hoping he could help "pull" the baby out this time but by the time she finished saying push he was out! I later looked at the tape and the pushing lasted 36 seconds total! Crazy huh?

We're planning to have a third and I'm toying with the idea of not getting an epidural but not sure I want to chance a bad experience after my two great ones...but on the other hand I didn't feel like giving birth was a major accomplishment because it was easier than pulling out a thorn for me. Don't know if I'm nuts...but contemplating it since my second was sooooo fast and I was still OK on the pain meter at 7cm.

Good luck with your birth! I hope it's as easy as mine were. :-)

Daniel was conceived after 20 years of marriage. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I could physically bear children. After going through many infertility tests, numerous investigative surgeries, micro surgery, and hormonal therapy treatments I was told by the best medical experts that my chances of having children were less than 1 percent. We adopted our two beautiful boys – Gilad Yonatan and Eitan. I gratefully embraced my two darling boys as would any biological mother. Up and until the first adoption I never asked the question “why”. I simply accepted my lot. Adoption for me was the most natural way to have children.
Roundabout September 2000, I started feeling under the weather. I felt incredibly lethargic, my appetite was poor, coffee nauseated me, and my boobs were so sore. In October I was to go on my first International Book Fair in Frankfurt. The ruthless agenda I had to follow was not for a lethargic person. I contacted my GP, who put me in touch with an ENT as they thought infected sinuses were the problem. I was even sent for a CAT scan. The results were all negative. For my sore boobs, I decided to contact a gynaecologist for a breast examination. I had not been to one in years. I made contact with Dr. Philip Zabow an ex Capetonian. I entered Dr. Zabow’s office, and told him my history. He told me he needed to do an internal. It was the most uncomfortable examination that I had encountered. My breast exam was clear, but his face was very worried, when he told me that I needed to go for a scan, as he suspected a cyst. As I was leaving the office, I suddenly blurted out – “perhaps I should do a pregnancy test!” He told me, if that is what I wanted to do to go ahead and do it. He gave me the form requesting the test.
I did the test and awaited the outcome. I was too petrified to personally get the results. My dearest friend Robyn came to the rescue. The following morning, at the crack of dawn, she came to fetch my Medical Aid card and went to fetch the results pretending it was her. She phoned me at work to tell me that she could not understand the results, but a bold message was printed to get hold of my doctor. In the interim Dr. Zabow’s nurse phoned requesting me to come to his office. I scheduled an appointment for late afternoon. As I walked into his office, he told me to sit down. He pulled out a packet of tissues and told me I was pregnant. I burst out crying!
Everything felt unreal as I walked into the fresh air from the Dr. Zabow’s office. My tears did not stop flowing. How could something so miraculous happen to someone whose body had been through so many traumas. I was not capable to bring children into this world – yet I was pregnant. It was surreal. The good did not fit with the bad. I was so concerned that the pregnancy was ectopic. When I went for my first scan, I left the house with my two beautiful boys’ praying for me. The first scan astounded me. I, a 41 year old woman, who was told that she had less that 1 percent chance of bearing children, was carrying a perfectly formed fetus of more than 12 weeks old. It was formed to perfection - a head, a brain, a heart, a backbone, two arms, two feet, ten fingers and ten toes. I felt so incredibly lucky, I felt so incredibly blessed.
Everything felt unreal as I walked into the fresh air from the Dr. Zabow’s office. My tears did not stop flowing. How could something so miraculous happen to someone whose body had been through so many traumas. I was not capable to bring children into this world – yet I was pregnant. It was surreal. The good did not fit with the bad. I was so concerned that the pregnancy was ectopic. When I went for my first scan, I left the house with my two beautiful boys’ praying for me. The first scan astounded me. I, a 41 year old woman, who was told that she had less that 1 percent chance of bearing children, was carrying a perfectly formed fetus of more than 12 weeks old. It was formed to perfection - a head, a brain, a heart, a backbone, two arms, two feet, ten fingers and ten toes. I felt so incredibly lucky, I felt so incredibly blessed.

Physically my pregnancy progressed well. Emotionally it was such a struggle. Throughout my pregnancy Doctor Zabow was greatly concerned about my spiralling emotions. He saw me every week for my entire pregnancy. He tried not to examine me, as he knew it scared me. He spoke and spoke and spoke to me. I was always so tearful – how can one describe tears of joy; tears of disbelief. I could not eat, I could only drink water. The enormity of it all was too great to comprehend. My mind could not catch up with my protruding belly.
I refused an amniocentesis. I had an innate knowledge that G-d sent me a child not to burden but to bring great hope and joy to me. My husband Shemi supported my decision. The will of G-d was the outcome – my husband and I both accepted this. Dr. Zabow urged me go into counseling to deal with an attack that I had experienced in the first year of my marriage. I went, as I had to try and come to terms with this major trauma in my life. In counseling I managed to face the attacker. I did not manage to deal with the trauma of my pain and suffering. The attack and the pregnancy were so diametrically opposed to each other. I could not let the one rest and enjoy the other.
In my sixth month of pregnancy, Dr. Zabow started speaking to me about “the birth.” Birth was a concept so difficult to comprehend. I had only discovered I was pregnant and Dr. Zabow was already discussing the birth! From the beginning Dr. Zabow insisted I have a caesar. He came to the conclusion that my emotional state was too delicate to handle the pain of childbirth. An elective caesar was booked for me at two different hospitals, Ma’anei Yehushua and Tel Hashomer. The way women talk about the all consuming pain of childbirth sounded awful. I did not want to experience this. It reminded me of the level of pain that I had experienced in my attack. Death was preferable to this. On the other hand, the idea of a knife cutting into me to remove my pregnancy was as traumatic. I was frozen in fear. Three events happened to assist with my fears. As a literary agent, hundreds of books passed through my desk for review. A book entitled “Gentle Birth” arrived at my desk. The whole concept of the ability to give birth without medical intervention was discussed. It let the mother have choices and make the decisions. Shemi and I met up with a midwife Debbie Gedal-Beer who embraced the practice of gentle birth. We discussed my fears of pain and of being cut. Ideally, I told her I did not want medical intervention as I wanted this baby to come in to the world in the way it was given to me – naturally! Even though I knew I had to be admitted to a hospital, I did not want to wear a hospital gown, I did not want a drip, I wanted to be able to eat and drink whenever I chose, I especially did not want an episiotomy. A birth plan was constructed. As a second option to the caesar, the services of Debbie Gedal-Beer were employed. During my seventh month, I was given a cassette to listen to a shiur by Bracha a haredi lady from Zichron Yaakov on the religious perspective of childbirth. Her talk captivated me. She discussed the curse of Eve, and how a woman needs to experience the pain of childbirth in order to do tikkun olam – a healing/repair of the world. Through a network of people, I managed to contact her. She felt the need to meet with me. She met me in a small apartment in Bnei Brak, and after our first contact she started to counsel me. Bracha tried to transport my “pain” and find a safe place for it. I understood the principle, but found it difficult to do. My emotions were too involved.

A week before my actual due date, the caesar date of the 24 April 2001 arrived. The evening before my admittance to the hospital I phoned Bracha to tell her. There was silence on the other end of the line. “Nadine, your caesar date falls of Rosh Chodesh Iyar, the first day of a new month of the Jewish calendar. It is not good to undergo any elective surgery on first day of a new month of the Jewish calendar.” I put down the phone, spoke with Shemi, and phoned our rabbi Beller. He confirmed what Bracha had just told me. Early the next morning I phoned my doctor and the Ma’anei Yehushua hospital telling them of my decision to cancel the caesar. They were dumbfounded…my doctor threw up his hands in despair!
The whole day I practically lay on the sofa with worry. I was feeling so incredibly tired, I was feeling so alone, I was feeling so scared. As the evening approached, I had a shower, went to bed and woke up at 24:00pm with a stabbing contraction. I had the urge to eat something sweet. I went to the kitchen, made myself a cup of tea, and ate two sugary biscuits. Another stabbing contraction hit me. I gently woke up Shemi who had only fallen asleep, and told him that the contractions were severe. We woke up my mom, who had arrived a week before. She urged me to go to the hospital. Shemi took me by the hand and said “no arguments …we are going now.” I found it difficult to climb down the stairs and the car journey was uncomfortable. In the car I phoned the midwife. She told me to be in contact with her once at the hospital.

I arrived at Tel Hashomer hospital in Tel Aviv. The first thing they made me do was a urine test. They hurriedly took me into an examination room. A doctor came in, and did an internal. “Wow,” I said to him, “I can literally feel your whole hand inside me.” He said “you can feel my hand because you are seven centimeters dilated.” “I can not have a baby” I said, “I have a letter from the hospital that states I need a caesar!” He looked at the letter, and said “you are already so far dilated; there are another two woman awaiting surgery. By the time your turn comes, you would have had the baby.” He went on further to say “you have dealt so well with the contractions until know…physically you are able.” I phoned my midwife. Shemi phoned my mom and told her we were “in action”.
The next thing I knew, a hospital gown was given for me to put on. I put it on. I was given an enema. A nurse started to prepare me for an epidural. As the drip was about to be inserted into my arm, my midwife Debbie Gedal Beer walked in. She took me by the hand, and we walked down the corridor to the birthing room. While walking, a Presence came over me. I felt strength and comfort. I suddenly felt that I could do this. I knew at last how to get to the “safe place” that Bracha had spoken about. It was all so simple. Breathe in G-d’s love, breathe out my pain. My hospital gown was removed, and I went into the jacuzzi. With the aid of the surrounding water, and the massages given on my lower back from Debbie and Shemi, I managed the painful contractions. When the contractions started coming with incredible force, Debbie dried me of the water, helped me put on my top and moved me to the birthing bed. After a number of pushing attempts, I felt I could carry on no more. I turned to Shemi and said “I am so tired.” He took my hand and said, “you can do it.” I then heard Debbie say “one more push and your baby will be delivered.” Shemi saw the crowning of the head; he was in awe of it all. Through the grace of G-d our baby boy was safely delivered on Yom Hazikaron (Remembrance Day for the Fallen Israeli Soldier), Bet Iyar (25 April 2001) at 4:10 am and weighing in at 2.885 kilos. His birth occurred a week following the 34th yahrzeit year of the passing away of my zaida grandfather Daniel Zeev.
Shemi was asked to cut the cord. He could not do it, but Debbie did. For an hour after the birth, I had the chance to discover my newborn son. My little boy lay on my stomach, and he was put on my breast to suckle. He was then swaddled with a blanket to be held by his daddy. It was all so unbelievable. G-d had blessed us with a pregnancy and an exceptional birth. G-d appointed the time and the way I was designated to give birth. For the third time, G-d made me a joyful mother.

On the eighth day our son had his bris. We named him Daniel Ze’ev in honor of my wonderful zaida grandfather (z”l).

I hope your delivery goes very well and is just what you're wanting.

I'd love to share my birth stories with you, but I feel like you asked me not to. One birth was unmedicated at the hospital and the other at home.

Delivering my second child was the best moment of my life! My first contraction began about 9am the day before Thanksgiving. I finished my load of laundry and made some calls. I took a shower while waiting for my parents to drive me (my husband was in the other direction and met us there) and my MIL to babysit. As the grandparents arrived I was began having stronger contractions. After a 40 minute drive to my hospital the nurse paged my Dr then checked me. She decided we could not wait for my Dr to respond and paged the on-call Dr who ran the one block from the clinic to the hospital. I was happy to see it was a Dr who I was familiar with and LOVED her care the other time I had seen her. She scrubbed up immediately and had me start pushing. I was a little worried because they told me he had already pooped inside me but after my son's head was out and his airway was clear the Dr told me to pull him out! I got to reach down and finish pulling my son out of my body at 1:28 !!!!!! I couldn't believe it. That was so amazing and I will never forget it. It was a natural birth because I was too far into labor when I got to the hospital but I had planned on that anyway. Both of my deliveries were natural but I agree that it is the mother's decision. I hope your second will go as well. Take care.

Although am nowhere near religious, mine all started with a little prayer. "If it isn't too much", I asked, "I want a girl, I want her to come a week early and I want to be so far along in labor that I can a have a natural child birth."

Sooo....8 days before my due date, I woke up at 7:37 am with the urge to go to the bathroom. I went back to bed and a few minutes later, I felt like I had to go again. I finally figured I was in labor.

I woke up my hubby and told him that today may likely be the day. He asked if he can cut the lawn first. I draw a warm bath, thinking firstborns are likely to take their time and told him to go ahead. After all, I wasn't in pain and my water has not broken.

Next thing I know, I experienced what feel like GI cramps. I couldn't sit still I wanted to push so bad. (I forgot everything I know about childbirth and started pushing in the toilet LOL). We finally took the hour trip to the hospital. I was speed praying the "Lord's Prayer" for every contraction, it took two for each.

We pulled in the hospital at around 10:15 that morning. While my hubby parked the car, the hospital security wheeled me to the maternity ward of the hospital. He told me that I would be fine and I decided to believe him.

I evaluated and wheeled to the delivery room before they can slap a wrist band on me. By then I was crowning, the cramps weren't as intense. They told me to push... I told them I wasn't ready LOL. Then my hubby who was so wonderfully calm through the whole thing said, "The sooner you push, the sooner you'll meet her." That did it. One big push... felt the ring of fire for a quick moment ...and then she was born- 10:37 am -exactly 3 hrs from when I woke up.

It was such a wonderful experience. That was my first. The second was induced. Pitocin (sp?) sucks but the epidural was a dream. That one wasn't as much fun as I was in the hospital before I was in active labor. UGH! The birth itself was not as easy as the first but was still pretty fast by most standards. I was admitted in the evening no contractions...4 cm and she was born a little after noon the next day.

Hope you have a safe and breezy delivery.

I can already tell you're hilarious! I love it!

Well here's my story.... I woke up around 3am on a Sunday morning with mild contractions. I didn't want to disturb hubby yet so I remained in the bed and allowed my mind to wander about how great it was going to be to be able to finally meet my precious, little, baby boy. I finally shook hubby and told him "it was time" at around 5am-ish. My contractions were coming more frequently and I was getting a little restless.

So he jumped up (so excited) and we started timing. We ended up sitting in the living room until my contractions were about 5 minutes apart which was around 10am. We'd already called the doctor and she gave us instruction to head to the hospital when they were 5 minutes apart. I jumped in the shower, grabbed my bag and an apple and got in the car. I was on the phone with my parents when hubby realized he'd left his wallet at home. SERIOUSLY?!?

Since it was Sunday, we didn't have any of the traffic or hustle and bustle of a busy hospital. We walked right in and went to the maternity ward. I slipped on that "fabulous" gown and was ready for business. By the time I got to the hospital the contractions had gotten pretty intense. I've never had the luxury of experiencing menstrual cramps so all this was new to me! I'm not a "screamer". When I was having the contractions, I just wanted to stop, close my eyes and deal. I know you're not supposed to hold your breath, but that seemed to make it easier. Who knows! My nurse advised I hold off on getting the epidural as long as possible so I did. As I'm sure you probably experienced with your first kiddo, the contractions sucked, but as soon as they were over, they were over. I was back laughing and chatting it up with the nurses.

My hubby is a little squeamish, so every time a nurse came in the room he turned a little green. Of course this was comic relief to me. Anyway, my nurse was FANTASTIC and we quickly became friends. I probed my new found friend for answers to every question I had about giving birth. Even the infamous, "Am I going to poop all over the table". When I arrived at the hospital I was only dilated 3cm so she was positive I'd be sent home with a pain reliever. Huh??? She wanted to monitor me before doing so, so she came back in about an hour to "re-check". I had dilated another cm in that hour so she decided that I probably would end up delivering that day, but it'd probably be super late. I was kinda bummed cause her shift was over at about 6pm. She put me on Pitocin to help things along and that's exactly what happened. I started dilating quickly and her diagnosis that I'd be delivering, "later" turned into, "this might happen while I'm still on the clock".

So now the contractions are starting to get "serious". I asked my new, friend nurse at what point would it be too late to get the epidural. She said I was doing fabulous but whenever I wanted it, all she had to do was make the call. As she was telling me this, I had a whammy of a contraction! As soon as I was able to talk again, I told her to call the epidural chick IMMEDIATELY! I was done being Superwoman.

I was given the epidural and life was good again. I watched my contractions climb up the chart and plateau for what seemed like forever before coming back down. All the while, I had my heels kicked up laughing and talking with my girlfriends who had made it to the hospital by now.

My nurse tells me since everything was progressing so quickly that she was going to stay. Yay!!!! So she comes in and checks me again. By this point (around 7pm), I was fully dilated. She then asked if I was ready to give a few pushes. The last check she did was also the same check that broke my water. Another fear I had... where am I going to be when this mini waterfall explodes from between my legs?!? My kiddo was head down but his head was turned sideways. So she had me lay on my side and push that way at first to get him to turn his head. Not sure how in the world that would make him turn his head but it worked.

I straightened back up and pushed when I was instructed. Hubby at this point was starting to sway. So in between pushes I would ask HIM if HE was okay. LOL! At about 7:50 the nurse told me to stop pushing because kiddo was crowning. She called in the doc and the doc's convoy. All I remember was that about 5 ladies appeared in the room in blue "suits" all working like a well oiled machine. I pushed one or two more times and he was here! He was born at 7:58pm on Sunday, January 18, 2009.

I had such an easy pregnancy and delivery that when they finally laid him on my chest, it all became "real" for the first time. (I'm actually tearing up remembering this part). I looked down at him, his eyes wide open and he actually lifted his head up a little and kinda looked around. Cool kid, wanted to check things out!

I would have to say the worst part of my entire delivery and pregnancy was when I was laughing about something in my post partum room and realized that I had no control over my bladder. The sheer horror that came over me as I was peeing all over myself and the bed was overwhelming. No matter how hard I tried to squeeze.... nothing. It was a little embarrassing to explain to the nurse, but she smiled and did what all wonderful nurses do.

That's my story. I was truly blessed. I wish the best with your delivery!

I almost didn't respond, because my best birth (of 7) was my unassisted birth. But a lot of what worked so well for that birth, probably could work in a hospital too, at least for some people. For me it couldn't, because hospitals strike fear. The fear factor is what makes a birth uncomfortable, so if you are comfortable in the hospital with an epidural then perhaps you can use that to ease any fears. When you feel pain or discomfort, know that it is just your fear working and then you can comfort yourself by knowing/believing you are in safe hands. The sensations throughout labor and delivery are incredible and powerful, they are such intense sensations, but when we are in fear we don't really get to feel them for what they are. I had my 5th child completely unassisted and for me that was amazing, but again what made it amazing could work for you, too. It was about getting into a zone within myself, it was about having the confidence and privacy to get into that zone. I can say when I had my 3rd, who was a hospital birth, I was also in that zone for most of labor, I was by myself (everyone else was sleeping) at home and didn't end up at the hospital until I was 8.5 centimeters dilated. The key in both labors was getting into that zone. I can hardly describe the place I was, but it was inside myself, calm, quiet, almost as if my ears were ringing blocking out everything external. I was in my own thoughts, the thoughts that got me through each contraction, and that is the key. When it is truly time to push, with or without an epidural, you will push, and pushing then when it is automatic, is sooooooo easy. With both my 3rd and 5th, no one told me when to push, I pushed when I had to and that made it soooooo much easier! Do you have a plan with your doctor, will they let you have some control? If you are allowed to push when you want to push, in the position you want to push, then pushing is awesome and powerful.

So, onto the birth story, if after all that I can manage to keep it somewhat brief. Byron Jacob was born on Nov. 2nd 2001, late at night around 11:30PM; he was 8lbs. The night before, I finished up interviewing a new hire, and headed home sure that labor was about to begin. The braxton-hicks were different or something, this was baby number 5; I knew I was in labor. I drove the hour home, but got stuck in accident traffic and it took nearly 2 hours; I pondered that perhaps during that accident one life was leaving this world while another was entering. I never did find out what happened, I just remember that feeling with the contractions I had on the way home. When I got home, I informed my boss who was also my dear friend, that tomorrow would be the day, and I went to sleep. I felt a few contractions throughout the night and got some much needed rest. The next morning, I talked to my boss again and she and another friend insisted on coming over. They came with many supplies and my house was a mess so I didn't really want them there. But they came in and started cleaning which was nice. They tried to get me to walk stairs and speed things up, but their mere presence slowed things down, contractions would come and go. They left later in the evening, but once they left things really started moving. My hubby had fallen asleep on the floor of the boys room working on a computer, the bathroom was very clean, I had bleached it completely from end to end that morning, and my bed was inviting. I laid some of the chux pads down which my friend had brought, and got in bed with my 3rd and 4th children. They tandem nursed for a few minutes giving me that oxytocin rush, and boom my water broke. I jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Meanwhile my oldest, then 9, put on a movie for all of the other children, who fell asleep in the living room. I got in the tub, I got out of the tub, I leaned on a laundry basket through contractions and remembered a story told on an unassisted birthing site about a great grandmother who birthed over a laundry basket, while hanging clothes, and then put the preemie baby in the basket under the wood stove to warm up and went back to doing her laundry. Whoa, I wasn't about to be doing laundry, LOL, but still the strength of women years ago, was with me. I was alone in a humming buzz of my mind feeling each contraction as an intense powerful tightness of the muscles rather than as pain. Now, they weren't exactly comfortable at every moment, but they were amazing and not painful. I could feel exactly what my body was doing and that assured me. Meanwhile, my amazing 9 yr old daughter came to the bathroom several times, asking if I needed anything. I told her to put the chux pads in a black trash bag. I had her get me some tea, one time I yelled for her to leave me alone, but she still knew to come back and ask if I needed anything. When it was time to push, I felt the urge and ended up getting in a position with my head wedged in a corner of the room, on my knees, with my chest and shoulders on the floor. I was blocking the door, but I didn't want to move; it felt comfortable there. I called for my daughter to get my hubby. He came to the door and told me I had to move, I told him I couldn't but he had to get in there. Somehow he managed to push the door open enough to squeeze in and get ready to catch the baby. With the head he notice a nuchal hand (when the hand is coming out with the head), I was a little fearful of that since I didn't know much about it, it isn't uncommon or worrisome, but I didn't know. So at that point, my head took over my instincts and I pushed much harder, I made more effort with that push because I was a bit worried. But it was okay because he shot out and I wasn't torn or anything, so the extra pushing wasn't harmful. He shot right into his daddy's arms, and they are so bonded to this day, that boy and his daddy are so close! For a brief moment, I lost my faith and panicked, time was so slow and fast, like when there is an accident, until he took his first breath. We didn't cut the cord, so I had to wait for the next contraction to push out the afterbirth, and had my daughter hold him so I could stay in that position that was working so well. Daddy was calling family and friends announcing the birth! It was all so amazing! I think you can have just as amazing a birth anywhere as long as you are allowed to have control over the situation, to make things as much the way you want them as possible. Happy Birthing Day!

I was 39 with first pregnancy and my Kaiser doctor told me it would be very difficult, I was high risk, and there would be a good chance of birth defects. In my gut, I knew this was false info. By chance, I had a different doctor for a follow-up who said all looked great. However, first doctor was assigned to me ... so I hired a midwife for a home birth!!

What a difference. We knew the hospital was close by in case of an emergency, but the idea of birth at home surrounded by family was so very compelling. We had the ideal sun porch with a view of SF Bay.

I am so glad I did this! It was easy, I had a longer than normal Stage 2 which the midwife was fine with. (Hospital would have done c-section.) Baby was born so peacefully and was just perfect--he still is.

Due to midwifery training, he was born with THREE midwifes in attendance as well as my close family. I loved every minute of it. My hubby was a jewel and a friend was a "spiritual midwife", reminding me that this was a holy, blessed event and all was well. After he was born, we got to cuddle with him all we wanted and he was able to nurse contentedly.

We did take our son to Kaiser and had him checked over -- he was just fine. They just could not figure out where they had "misplaced" his birth records.....tee hee.

Glad my friend took pictures to show all the smiling faces, even mine, considering he was born a day and a half after my water broke. Midwives do not have to make births conform to "time standards".

First, best of luck to you and your family.

Our birth story begins with a movie and follows with a Keystone Kops-esque trip to the hospital. It was a week before our planned c-section (our son was breech) and I was reading choice bits to my husband and mom from "She's Having a Baby and I'm Having a Breakdown", which goes from conception to post-partum from the guy's POV. We got to the part where he and his wife end up watching Bull Durham (baseball movie) because nothing they've tried has triggered labor. That night, she goes into labor. So with kid #2, they try again, and right after the movie, she goes into labor! Well, the only sports movie on was The Replacements (cheesy football movie). I went to bed at 11 pm, feeling absolutely normal. I woke up at 12:30 with what I thought were the worst gas pains I had ever had. A few minutes later, I get another one. By the third (yes, I'm so terribly smart in the middle of the night) I realize what this is and wake my husband up.

Now, that late afternoon I'd had a checkup and wasn't dilated at all. No contractions or anything. We called for advice and they told me to shower. Contractions are now closing fast from 3 minutes apart to 2. So we go to the hospital, where, having elected to avoid the road with all the speed bumps, we select the route with dozens of steel plates from utility work. OWOWOWOW! Every woman in town is having unplanned c-sections (yes, full moon! - I checked) and there are no operation rooms available. I'm now at 4 cm. It pain was somewhat surprising but I was surfing the waves ok, enough that I was able to tell the nurse that if an operating room didn't open up soon it wasn't going to matter. It is now 3:30 am, and I'm 4 cm.

Anyway, finally we get a room and it took about four times as long to get me ready for surgery than it did to actually do the birth. The surgeon was brilliant and my incision healed much faster than they told me it would and my scar is a barely visible 3" line now. Our anaesthesiologist was a kind and wonderful man who completely understood that I was terrified that he was going to stick a small needle into my spine when I couldn't bend forward as directed (large breech baby in my solar plexus) and I was shaking uncontrollably. I have no idea how he did it but it was a breeze. I am grateful to have had a chance to experience real labor - rational or not, having to go to a c-section made me feel a bit cheated.

So, for those ladies running beyond their due date, there really is something about sports movies that induces labor. :-)

I'll share the birth story of our third, and youngest.

I was induced at 38 weeks because of high blood pressure. My husband and I arrived, nervously at the hospital at 5:30am. I hadn't slept at all the night before - expecting this day. It was still dark and cold.. middle of January.

They put me in a birth room and started the pitocin. My best friend showed up around 7:30am to keep us company. Slowly but surely I started to dilate. I hadn't had my epidural yet, but the slow beginning contractions were pretty minor. My doctor came in to check on me, chipper and happy, starting his day across the street at his OB clinic. He checked me, did a sono to see where the baby was -- because he wasn't sitting very low. Baby was head down but hadn't really "dropped" low. All was looking pretty good though and he said he would be back around lunch.

My father arrived with my 5 year old around noon. I was dilated to a 4, and started discussing an epidural. The labor was going slower then my previous inductions but smoothly. Around 2PM my doctor broke my water to speed things up - he had put it off because I had extra amniotic fluid, he was concerned the cord would come down first and that could get in the way for a vaginal birth. Very carefully and slowly, he punctured so the water seeped out. He checked for the cord -- just felt baby -- All was well. The contractions got much more powerful.. and it was time to ask for my epidural I had my first dose around 3PM, they did it assisted with a sonogram machine and it took right the first time (yay!) At 5, my doctor stopped in again... I was about a 7. He said he was going to his house to have dinner with his family, he would be back in a few hours -- and they would call him if he was needed immediately. He lived close, and had checked on me a bunch. I loved that I didn't feel rushed.

At 7:30PM things got interesting. Our first year nurse checked me and her face went white. She got flustered and left the room. She came back with a senior nurse, who also checked me. They had something in their hand -- fecal matter. My baby was breech. The nurses started talking about a c-sec. They called my doctor. He came up in less then 15 minutes. More examining. My doctor explained, our son had flipped to breech while I was in labor! The extra amniotic fluid had given him the "room" to pull it off... so when the nurse "felt" she poked him in the bum and he went to the bathroom. I was dilated to a 10, his little bottom was at the 2 station. He was halfway down the canal as it was.

It was around 8:30 now. He got a sonogram machine. He measured my sons shoulders and head. He told us that my sons head was actually narrower then his ribcage, what that meant is that if I could pass his body he wouldn't get "stuck" by the head. My doctor starting asking us what we wanted to do. We had the choice -- a c-sec, or a vaginal breech birth. I asked him what his professional opinion was -- he said, "Given this is your third child, and with the size of his body actually being larger then his head, the ONLY reason I would tell you not to do a vaginal breech is if I was against them under all circumstances." He left my husband and I to talk, but said we needed to decide. It was about 9pm. Ironically, I was a breech birth. I spoke with my husband, my Dad and Mom weighed in their thoughts, my best friend as well. We were nervous, of course. We told my doctor we would do the vaginal breech birth.

There was a buzz on the floor. Many of the staff had never heard of a vaginal breech being done, much less seen it. My first year nurse told me, older, senior nurses were upset she got to be in the room - when they wanted to. People were fighting for who got to be present. My doctor explained that we would move to the OR, so that if he had to go in and get the baby, he could do it fast. My epidural had worn off, the anesthesiologist showed up and told me it would take "full effect" in 20 minutes. It was 9:45PM.

I was rolled into the OR. In the OR, it was full of people. My husband was there, he took a few pictures. My doctor said we need to do this. The doctor gave instructions on how this would be different from a typical headfirst delivery. 9:59PM I started pushing... and I was never allowed to stop pushing. The way the vaginal breech works - one the baby is in the canal they want him out. So even after the contraction help is over they said KEEP PUSHING. I felt like I was pushing sandpaper out of my vagina. My sons legs and body came out, they dropped the table to change the angle of my hips to make passing the head easier. My son was born at 10:01PM. Two minutes of straight pushing! Perfectly healthy, with a slightly bruised bottom.

It was a great experience. It didn't go perfect to plan, but it's a wonderful story with a happy outcome. I love that my doctor has actually done other vaginal breech births, I feel very fortunate that he has experience in that.. and that didn't become a huge surgery. I saw my doctor just a few weeks ago and brought my youngest son. He said people still talk about his delivery.

You ROCK!! You sound just like me. I stayed with the smaller hospital cause that's where my wonderful dr whom I trusted beyond belief delivered. I had all 7 of my children with that same dr. at the same hospital and even with alot of the same nurses. My last two (twins) were born 5 weeks ago. Twins work a lil different. I have two sets of twins, 7 children, the oldest is 8, and have never had a C-section! Now you know why I trusted my dr. so much.
With the twins my dr. preferred to induce at 36 weeks. This way it could be a controlled environment, we delivered in the OR, just in case, and had plenty of others there to assist just in case the need arrised.
Wonderful hubby and I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 am to start induction. IV's in and water broke by 7:30. Started having contractions, nothing too major. Even through 7 deliveries I somehow always seem to wait too long to get the epidural. I have always gotten one but as soon as I do we are 10cm. Nurses said the sitting up so long helps become complete.
ANyway, asked for epidural, of course they showed up about 30 min. later. This epidural experience was not the best. I was later told it seemed that carrying these twins had reeked havoc on my spine. After 3 tries thought we had it. Asked nurse to check me, oh yeah, we are ready. Start moving to OR. Of course everything had to go with me (monitors, etc.) So we are in the hallway, waiting on nurses to get gowned, etc. and this baby is about tocome out! She wasnt' waiting! Everyone started moving just a lil quicker.
WIthin a few minutes later at 10:16am,with only 1 push, Sophie Ann graced up with her arrival weighing 6lbs. 8oz.! Held her for a min. then on to number 2. At 10:23am, only 7 min., Chance Michael made his appereance with only 2 pushes, weighing 6lbs.3oz. Back to the epidural, my big toes were numb for the delivery. Oh well!
So after a great delivery and hospital experience we are now home enjoying every minute with these babies even through the colic and sleepless nights. Those things will pass.
Congratulations and best of luck to a healthy baby!!!

I had a wonderful birth. I had 5 hours of labor, from the 1st contraction to the last push. I had no drugs, but I felt I did not need them. I walked to the hospital (lived in Brooklyn at the time) in active labor. Made lots of primitive sounds, but didn't care. Pooped on the midwives but didn't care. Had an 8 pound baby girl. The gender was a surprise as we chose not to find out, and everyone thought we were having a boy. It was an amazing, empowering, unforgettable experience that I would not change or trade for the world. I agree that attitude has a lot to do with the outcome, and I was always very positive. I used my mother and sister as role models. Each had fantastic birth stories, too, and I chose to use those as motivation and inspiration rather than all the negativity put out there by movies, TV shows, and unfortunate things that occurred to others during their births. Sophie is my only birth story to share for myself, but she was an amazing baby to birth. Best of luck to you as you have your second birth. It will be fantastic!!!

I had my third baby in August and all 3 of my deliveries could not have gone smoother. I ended up being induced with all of them and had epidurals. I went into premature labor with my first while out of town, but it was stopped. I ended up being induced at 38 weeks because my blood pressure was a little high. Declined the epidural until my doctor broke my water and I felt the first real contraction. It worked like a charm and our son was born 6 hours after we got to the hopital...completely pain free! Our second son was born at 35 weeks because I was leaking fluid. Again, I was induced and was allowed the epidural as soon as I got to the hospital. Another pain free and super short delivery....he was born 4 hours after we got to the hospital with literally 2 minutes of pushing! I was a little more stressed and nervous with my third because I didn't want another preemie and I didn't think I could be so lucky as to have 3 great experiences. My doctor had me take progesterone shots to try and prevent premature labor. I was huge and completely miserable. I had started dilating and having contractions at 32 weeks and my doctor really thought I was going to have the baby "any day now" when she checked me at 36 weeks. So I spent the next 4 weeks thinking every day was going to be the day. Well, the shots definitely worked and we didn't think our daughter would ever decide to come out! Finally, my doctor scheduled my induction 4 days before my due date. By the time I got to the hospital, I was already 5 cm and still not in active labor. The nurse was nervous about giving me the pitocin because she didn't know how quickly it would work and my doctor had not arrived yet. Anyway, she gave me the lowest dose possible and then the anesthesiologist arrived. I don't remember what she called it, but she gave me some other kind of epidural that numbed me immediately because she thought I would deliver before a regular epidural would take effect. She was right and our daughter was born just as fast and easy as our first 2. A couple of minutes of pushing after being in the hospital for 3 hours. They actually told me I would be able to go home the next day, but I stayed for 2 days so I could use the nurses too! So there you go, 3 of the easiest, pain free deliveries I could have ever imagined!!!

I have a little boy who is 3 (4 this June). At his birth I was under the Midwife led Delivery Service, assuming that this is a facility/service used up and down the country. Anyway..... I didn't opt in my mind from day one to use a birthing pool, which as it turns out in the end I didn't, however, I did have the facility there and I used it from very early on in my labour as my contractions were very close together from early on. My first contraction being about 4.25pm following on 15mins later and then 10 mins or so. one after the other without much give in between. Although I will say that for being my first I didn't suffer with much discomfort or pain. I was, like i said, in the birthing pool, that lasted (in my mind5 mins) as it was a fairly fast labour, in comparison to other woman that I've known/heard of. I had my little boy at 10:20pm that night so fairly quick! Not complaining. Using the midwife service meant that there wasn't the facility of an epidural, if, however, i felt that I wanted to have this I would've been moved to the labour ward. the room i was in, was lovely, breezy, airy, sun was shining and very peaceful and calming. I only had gas and air for the birth. In the end up i asked the midwife to "help me in some way". she asked what I meant by this as I felt i was loosing energy and the whole "pushing" part wasn't going so well with the contractions. When being told to push, the contraction had gone. they weren't lasting long. So i got an episiotomy, the only thing being that this led to me having a third degree tear which led me to being taken to theatre for an epidural to have stiches - was gutted at this, but one of those things. All in all I had a lovely experience and a gorgeous baby boy at the end of it all.

All the best.

L. Jane

Hi L.!
I realized I was in labor with my first at 6am on a Saturday morning (2 weeks early). I went to the hospital around 9 am. They broke my water around 11am, then I got my epidural around 2. He was born at 5:24 after 90 mins of pushing. Pretty easy considering it was my first and I had back labor. So after 11 hours my baby came, weighing 6lbs 12 oz.
My 2nd baby was induced. This was by far my easiest labor. I went in at 4pm and got all hooked up. They broke my water and gave me an epidural immediately. My hubby and I basically hung out for the next 4 hours. He fed me ice chips and popcycles, while I read magazines. It was actually sort of fun, since I was numb and not in any pain. At 8pm I told the nurses to turn the TV on, because I was not going to miss "Survivor." When it was over I told them, "I think I need to push." Nobody could believe it, but I did! I was at 7 before the show and at 10 after. I pushed maybe 4 times and our daugher was born at 10:38pm! She weighed in at a petite 6 lbs 5 oz and was only 5 days early.
With my 3rd, I was induced again (I had a different OB with my 1st than I did with my next 2, so that's why she wanted to induce labor to ensure she delivered). This one was more difficult and was the longest labor of all 3. I went in at 2pm, but they couldn't break my water and it took several (painful) attempts to do so. I wasn't progressing as well this time, either. By 11 pm I was ready to push. I guess that's not bad, but compared to how fast the previous baby came, I thought this one would come faster. I had a cold, so I couldn't push very well, either. My OB had to use a vaccuum extractor. My third baby came at 12:12 am. She was the biggest of all 3, weighing in at 7 lbs 4oz!
So those are my stories! Pretty good overall. 3 babies and 3 epidurals! Why put yourself through more pain than what is necessary?
I know your next birth will be wonderful!
Take care!

I love this! I am going to print these out and read them in the hospital if I ever have another child as well! And, as wonderful as my birth experiences are, I would love to keep having babies. (Maybe not the pregnancy part, but the babies sure are worth it.)

Son #1. I was almost 38 weeks pregnant and went to my regular OB appt. When they had me leave my urine sample, I noticed I was bleeding a little bit. I had the exam, was dilated to 2.5 and 90% effaced. On the way home, my dad called and told me not to have the baby in the next 48 hours b/c he was going on a short business trip. Well, that must have been my cue to start regular contractions. I got home about 5:30pm and after a quick dinner, was calling the doctor by 7:30. We got to the hospital at 8:00pm. By then my contractions were lessening and spacing out, but I was admitted due to high blood pressure. I slept great and in the morning, the nurse came to tell me they were going to break my water and start inducing. Before she could do that, my water broke on my own at 7:45am. I started regular contractions, walked for awhile, and asked if I could labor in the big tub. She ran the bath at 10:15am and I was in little pain but starting to get stronger. At 11:20am, I was in so much pain, I told my husband that I wanted an epidural but that I couldn't get out of the tub. A nurse came, helped me out, and said she'd check me and call the anethesiology team. However, I was fully dilated and ready to push! OK, no epidural needed, then. The first contraction my mother in law arrived, the second, my mother arrived, the third the doctor arrived and the fourth my son was born at 12:30pm! Five hours total!

Son #2: I enjoyed a really warm Minnesota spring Saturday by going to the Home Depot kids workshop with Son #1, walked around the mall getting some last minute baby stuff, went out to lunch, cleaned my house, and enjoyed time on the deck with my inlaws. About 5:30pm they asked if we'd like to go to dinner. I was having mild contractions and figured I might go into labor that night (I was 39 wks, 1 day and my first had been born at 38), so I figured I might as well eat first. Besides, I had no bleeding and my water hadn't broken (the 2 things that started first last time), so I figured I might not even be in labor. We got there about 6:15 and I was getting uncomfortable, but figured at least my inlaws were there to take care of my son. By the time we ordered I knew that I needed to take mine to go. At 7:00 we got home to get our bags, we got to the hospital about 7:40, and I was in my room by 7:55. They monitored me and told me I was at 5.5cm. I asked to get into the tub again and was there by 8:30. At 9:00 I felt like I was getting close and got out of the tub (by myself this time). I paged the nurse at 9:15 to evaluate if I should get an epidural. I was dilated to 8 so they called the doctor. He arrived about 9:30 and broke my water. By 9:39pm I had my little boy in my arms. Four hours! Even nicer!

Both of my boys were born in the same room of the same hospital with the same doctor (who isn't my doctor).

Well, I had a C-section but you just never know what’s going to happen so I’ll share too. My C-section was great. I was able to nurse my baby within an hour afterwards. I was up and walking the next day and recovery wasn’t bad at all. Obviously, recovery after a natural birth is easier. I only had to take Ibuprofen for two days after surgery and the incision healed up just fine. So…if it happens don’t worry, it’s not all that bad. One thing I always liked to remember before I was to give birth (I had planned a natural vaginal birth) is that God designed our bodies to do this and millions of women before me did it just fine and millions of women after me will too. Best of wishes and congratulations!

Hello
I guess my stories are not what you are looking for. My first 2 were born at my mom's house. My mom is a midwife and she had another midwife as back up there with us. It was an awesome experience for me and my family. My son was 2 when my daughter was born. It was perfect because he felll asleep in grandma's bed and woke up with a new little sister. He was happy to be there with us right after she was born. My third baby was born early in the hospital at 24 weeks and is doing great because of all the wonderful doctors and nurses at Kaiser. They let me keep her inside as long as possible even tho it was pushing the limits of their practice. I am so thankful everyday for the Labor and Delivery Doctors. I cannot imagine a day without her. Good luck and enjoy. Remember birth is a natural process for us women. Let your body guide you. You know it best. :)

Here's some great ones....and I can tell you that I had 3 fabulous births. It's totally about the mindset....as well as who the nurse is. The nurse makes more of a difference than the OB does, since the nurse is there for MUCH longer than the OB is.

http://www.adjustbacktohealth.com/abth_hi_preg_naturalbir...