My Labor and Delivery Story | Connecticut Fashion and Lifestyle Blog

<br /> My Labor and Delivery Story | Connecticut Fashion and Lifestyle Blog | Covering the Bases<br />

I want to start this post by saying a few things before we dive in. First and foremost, mom and baby are doing great. We are happy, healthy, and enjoying our new life together.
Soon-to-be-moms are so often hit with the worst stories and ‘advice’ when it comes to L&D. How horrible/terrible/painful it is, how your body will never be the same, how this is the worst part of pregnancy… etc etc. Even with my complications, I felt like it wasn’t as bad as everyone made it out to be. And if I could just share that with my past self from a few weeks ago, I would feel a lot better. So I’m hoping that this post can help ease the stress and anxiety for anyone reading this.

I remember in the days leading up to my induction I was calling all my friends asking them to recount their delivery day in detail. I wanted no stone left unturned. I was scouring the internet for a step-by-step process of what was going to happen. I was following up with my doctor every week asking for her to take me through it again. I wanted to know as much as I could so I could prepare myself for what was to come. I find that with my anxiety, the more I know and am “prepared” for, the less stress I have.
Because of that, I decided to document the day in a way that would have been helpful for me as an expectant mother. I kept my Notes app open during my labor process and marked the time, the feeling, the details, everything … so I not only would be able to recount the day for myself in the future (because you forget everything!) but for my friends who are also pregnant. And now, I guess, for the world too. So beware this post is long and very detailed!
And we should all be aware of this, but I want to state that everyone’s experience is different. Me sharing my story doesn’t discount anyone else’s, just like everyone else’s story doesn’t discount mine. We are all unique in our own ways and our labor and delivery (and postpartum) stories are no exception. There is no one-size-fits-all story or guide to birth. So while I had a great labor and a difficult delivery and postpartum, it doesn’t mean the same will apply to you.

Labor:

We got to the hospital for our induction at 8pm. It took about 15 minutes to get checked in and the whole labor floor was pretty quiet. I had no idea what to expect, so when we walked into the room, I was kind of blown away. The room was so nice! It was spacious and had a great view of the city. It just seemed like a really welcoming and happy place to have a baby.
Around 8:30pm we got all set up in our room, met our nurse Eunice, had all my blood/vitals pulled, and got hooked up to the machine to start our induction process. When I first sat down to chat with Eunice, I mentioned to her that I was nervous (rightly so), since it was my first time giving birth. I had no idea what to expect. I asked her to basically walk me through every single thing she was doing, talk me through the process, and give me time to ask questions.
I think this was a really important step to communicate with the nurses and doctors that I really wanted them to walk me through everything. I wanted to know exactly what we were doing for each step, what to expect, how long it would take, what it would feel like … everything. Not in any controlling way but more so that I could be more relaxed knowing what to expect. This was something I learned I needed with my Pelvic Floor PT. I liked that she walked me through everything, and I found that in our appointments I was always much more relaxed than at the doctor’s office.
You really should be advocating for yourself during this time. It’s all about you, what you need and what is best for you and your body. And I believe that the staff at the hospital is there to do the same. They’re here for you and to make your experience the best it can be. I also think talking to them beforehand made the nurses and doctors more compassionate with me. I think it can be easy to make it part of their routine, since they’ve done this 100+ times, to forget that this is your first time and that it can be scary with all the unknown.
Between 9-10pm I met the different doctors and residents that would be on the overnight shift with me. Everyone was nicer than the last, and around 10pm Dr. Arditi (who was the resident working my shift and a lovely human being) came in to do a cervical check. I had just gone to my OB the day before so I knew I was at least 1cm dilated and 50% effaced, and that if all was the same (which it was) they would start me with a foley balloon (which we did).
After talking at length to anyone I knew that had a baby within the past five years, I had an idea about the induction process. Both my sisters and a handful of my friends were induced, and everyone I spoke to told me about the discomfort that came with the foley balloon. I don’t know if it was because I was already a little dilated or if Dr. Arditi is just a wonderful/smart/calming presence who knew how to get me in the correct position to insert it, but it actually didn’t hurt at all, which I was pretty surprised about. After the foley balloon was in, she also placed some kind of dissolving pill in my cervix, to help move the process along. I can’t remember the name of it.
Almost immediately I started feeling cramps; like strong period cramps. Which, after nine months of not having them, really brought back the bad memories of my period lol. Up until this point, my Braxton Hicks were much more of a tightening in my upper belly versus cramping down below. So this was new and it hurt. The bulk of the pain lasted for about 20 minutes (like the doctor mentioned) and around 10:45pm the period pains were turning into contractions.
These were painful but not unbearable. They would start slow, climb, peak, and go back down. They lasted for about 20 seconds each time and just felt like your worst period cramp. Which was uncomfortable, but knowing it would soon pass helped me get through it. It stayed this way for a bit and around 11:15pm they became more intense and routine.
Now the contractions were every 3-4 minutes and lasted about 60-90 seconds and they hurt. During a contraction, I couldn’t talk, didn’t want to be talked to, felt really tense, and couldn’t seem to get that relaxed feeling — especially in my legs — between contractions. By this point, everyone was just telling me to try and get some sleep and I kept thinking “how the hell would I do that feeling like this?!”
For the next hour I laid in bed, lights off, mom on the monitor watching my contractions telling me when they’ve peaked, and Andrew trying to sleep on the couch. I wasn’t trying to be a hero by any means ‘fighting’ through the pain, but I knew I didn’t want to get an epidural too quickly. My OB and I had talked about it a lot over the past few months and we agreed to try and hold off for as long as I could so I could take advantage of being mobile. But during this hour all I could think about was “have I labored for long enough?”
The 3-4 minutes in between contractions were my everything. Because in between, you really got a chance to breathe and relax (somewhat) and it was just long enough to forget how painful each contraction was. It was like during the breaks I kept saying to myself “I can totally do this” and then a contraction would come and I would scream to myself “get the anesthesiologist in here NOW”.
Around 12:15am I just wanted to get comfortable. I was starting to feel a little nauseous from the pain, my legs and arms were shaking, and I was really getting sleepy. I felt a strong urge to use the bathroom but was unsure if it was the pain in the area or if I really needed to go. I thought I might as well take advantage of being able to move while I can. It was a successful trip (the last one for a few weeks lol) and it turns out contractions on the toilet were a lot more comfortable than laying down!
After my successful bathroom break, I thought “hey, being up and walking around feels good” and tried to pace back and forth in our room. I did this for maybe 10 minutes before asking for the anesthesiologist to come in “just to talk” about my options and see if it was a good time to get the epidural.
I continued to labor and somehow was able to fall into a light sleep between contractions, until around 1am when the anesthesiologist team came in. I asked a lot of questions about the epidural and the process (it was my next fear to overcome) and if it was the right time. They were not only really calming and helpful, but they were extremely supportive of anything I wanted to do. They were here to help me make a decision but didn’t push me one way or another. We agreed that if I were to get any sleep tonight, it would be helpful to start the process now.
Mom had to leave the room but Andrew was able to stay and they placed him in front of me while they got set up behind me. I think in total, it took maybe 40 minutes from prep to being done and if I could sum it up quickly I would say it’s overall not that painful. I feel like people really hype it up as being this super painful procedure but if anything, the numbing shots hurt the most. Even that was nothing more than a wrong blood pull/strong pinch feeling.
I think it maybe took a few tries (I know we started over at least once) to get it in the proper placement — which I blame my crooked back on — but I let them know when I felt any pain so we could get it in the right place. Just like with my nurse and doctor, I talked to the anesthesiologist team for a while before starting the procedure. I wanted to know what to expect, what I should/shouldn’t be feeling, what the process was, etc.
So during the procedure, I was talking with them and speaking up for what felt right and what didn’t. When it didn’t feel right, it just kind of felt like a quick nerve pinch that lasted no more than a second. But after the trial and error, when they finally got it in the right spot, I could feel nothing. So don’t be afraid to say something!
Some things I didn’t know about the epidural beforehand:

It stays in the whole time like a catheter. I thought it was just a shot.
It doesn’t actually numb your entire lower half, but instead just below your belly button and above your thighs. Having a numb butt is really weird.
You can administer more medicine to help with the pain as needed. You get this handy little button that you’re allowed to press once every 10 minutes. There are failsafes in place so you can’t get too much medicine/harm yourself but just enough to help. And then every 45 minutes it administers on its own.