My birth story (LONG!)

Hi girls, I finally have a few minutes to write out my birth story. It’s long, but how many times do you get to tell the story of your first baby?

For what it’s worth here’s what happened to me, how I felt and my unsolicited opinions. Take what you want, disregard the rest.

The due date:

I was due May 11th and I was 3cm dilated and 70% effaced.

That day I was having contractions every 30-45 minutes and I had been losing my mucus plug all day, but at around 11:30 pm I was getting tired and frustrated that my contractions seemed to be getting further apart.

At 12:00 I went to bed – I told DH junior was obviously not coming anytime soon.

Going into labor:

At 1:45 am I woke up from a dream where I was having really bad pains and giving birth in my bed. I woke up and realized that I wasn’t dreaming the pains.

I got out of bed and went to the bathroom and the pains just got worse. But they didn’t feel like contractions to me – it was constant pain not coming and going like I expected.

I got up and walked around the house, thinking it was really bad gas. I went back to the bathroom and tried to go again. This time I saw some blood. I decided it was time to wake DH.

We called the OB and she told me to go to the hospital and “see what was happening”. I don’t think she or DH believed I was really in labor. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure still either, I was terrified I was going to get there and they were going to say “it’s just gas silly girl”.

On the way to the hospital, the pain was constant, but every few minutes it would get REALLY intense. We were sitting at a red light and I was pulling myself OUT of the seat by the door handles because it hurt so bad.

At the hospital:

At 2:45 we walked into the hospital and went to L&D - they were ready and waiting for me.

They hooked me into the monitors – turns out I was having contractions every couple of minutes and I was 6cm dilated and 100% effaced.

I was climbing the walls with every contraction and they told me I had to have all my blood work done before they could give me the epidural. I had been on the fence about getting an epidural until then, but I literally couldn’t handle the contractions and was ready and eager to get one.

Another couple had come in at the same time and they were having their 2nd child and they thought she would go faster than me, so she got to get her epidural first.

So I waited. And screamed. DH was doing all he could to help me. Breathing with me, letting me squeeze his hand. At one point he put his hand on my shoulder and all I wanted to do was bite his fingers as hard as I could, so I told him to move it. LOL.

They gave me Nubane (sp?) to take the edge off while I waited for the epidural. It just made me sleepy, but didn’t really help with the pain at all.

At around 4:30 the epidural arrived. The worst part of the epidural was finding a way to keep myself still when they were administering it. I was having major contractions very close together and keeping still was next to impossible. I was squeezing the nurse’s hand and pressing my forehead against hers to keep still.

They gave me the epi and it was IMMEDIATE relief. It really didn’t hurt at all – just a little pinch and a little bit of pressure in my lower back/hips.

BUT, they were getting blood back in the tube and realized they had hit a blood vessel. So they gave me two choices – hope that I gave birth before the meds wore out, or re-administer the epidural.

I opted for the 2nd and they readministered the epi. It wasn’t that bad, since I was already numb from the first one.

The nurse told me that the epi can slow down contractions, but that wasn’t the case for me. They just kept coming and about 30 minutes after the 2nd epi they broke my water and I started pushing.

Pushing

Pushing was hard. I couldn’t quite do it right because I couldn’t feel things down there. I knew I was pushing with my face and it took about 30 minutes of pushing before I really got the hang of it.

I recommend you all pay attention to how you push when you have a BM and you’ll get a better idea of how to push in the moment.

Once I did though, it got easier. DH would count down from ten 3 times with every contraction. A couple times they told me to stop and wait because the doctor was delivering the other woman’s baby and my baby was coming too quickly.

At around 7:45 the doctor came in and said “I’m all yours now!” I was pushing fast and furious and before I knew it, they were saying “He’s HERE”. I had been keeping my eyes closed to push and DH had to tell me to open my eyes and look down. And there was Logan. Slimy and screaming and perfect!!

I couldn’t quite believe it. And I didn’t even realize she had given me an episiotomy until I saw her stitching me up as I held Logan.

After

They cleaned up Logan and did all the tests. He has something called a cephalohematoma – a lump on his head from where he was “stuck” in my cervix while I pushed. It’s a common side effect from a vaginal birth and can take several months to go away. But other than that he was perfect.

I slept until they brought him back to me. I had to show that I could walk to the bathroom on my own before I was brought to recovery. I couldn’t walk for almost 90 minutes because of the 2 epis.

The nurse showed me how to care for the episiotomy and they I was moved to my room.

The worst part of the whole process was the episiotomy recovery. I was so uncomfortable and everything hurt. No one prepared me for the whole recovery process. You hear all about how hard C Sections are to recover from, but not as much about vaginal recoveries.

My insides felt all weird, my stomach looked awful, my stitches THROBBED and everything was sore and swollen. I told DH I felt like I would never feel normal again. But about a week later I felt mostly back to my old self.

At home

Up until I delivered I wasn’t sure if I wanted help when we came home or if I wanted to do it myself. Well, after how I felt and trying to breastfeed I JUMPED at the chance to have my mom stay and help out.

Breastfeeding went well – Logan latched like a champ and my milk came in okay, but it is more physically and emotionally demanding than I had thought.

If you are planning to BF - get books. Read up on breastfeeding. I was not as prepared as I should have been.

The baby items

Best things I bought/got for the baby (in no particular order):

The Summer handheld video monitor: this has saved me SO many trips to the nursery. It’s incredible. I can hear him breathing and keep an eye on him from anywhere – it’s an anxious mom’s best friend.

The Boppy: if you are breastfeeding this is an absolute must. I had DH bring it to the hospital for me and it goes wherever I go.

Swaddle Me: Logan hated it at first, but now can’t sleep without it. So much easier than trying to swaddle him with a blanket.

Pack N Play: I highly recommend it – especially if you have a two story house. It’s the only way I get anything done.

So, that’s my story. Feel free to ask me any questions you’d like. I’m far from an expert, but I’m happy to share my experiences.

I wish you all as quick and painless a labor as I had and as good of a baby as Logan is.

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

That was a great birth story -- and I love how you broke it down into sections.

Thanks for posting!!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Yayyyy Lauren, glad you got the chance to write this all down. What an amazing experience -- I am so incredibly happy for you and DH and Logan too of course - he's lucky to have such a wonderful mamma!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Thank you so much for sharing your story and all the great info!!!!

Congrats again, he is precious!!!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Thanks for posting, CONGRATS On baby Logan!!! Great story!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Great birth story!!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Great story! Thank you for all the helpful hints...COngratulations!!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Thank you for sharing your story. You made some very good points!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Thanks Lauren!! This was a greta birth story! Cant wait to meet Logan!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Thanks everyone.

You deserve medals for reading that whole thing!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Posted by leighla

Thanks everyone.

You deserve medals for reading that whole thing!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

great, great story!!! thanks for sharing!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Great story Lauren

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

great story, thank you for sharing and congrats again

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Congrats on Baby Logan!

Thorough birth story, Love it!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Thanks for sharing! Congrats again, he's beautiful!!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Thanks for all of the advice and tips. Congratulations on the birth of your baby!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Wonderful birth story. Well written!! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Wow, what a great story!! Thanks so much for sharing it ... it's really helpful for those of us eagerly anticipating our own stories!!

Congrats!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Congratulations! I loved reading your birth story!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Congratulations

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Wow! I love how you broke down your birth story!

Congrats and welcome little Logan!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

congrats!!!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Great story!!! Congrats!!!

Re: My birth story (LONG!)

Posted by leighla

Thanks everyone.

You deserve medals for reading that whole thing!