Labor Information?

[RumblyInTheTumbly]

I was wondering if any of the experienced mothers out there could describe their labor experiences for those of us who have never given birth before or who haven't experienced labor.

For instance:

What is a good time to go to the hospital?
Did you have an epidural and would you do it again?
How did you feel after a c-section?
Did you have an episiotomy? How did you recover?
Did your water break before or after contractions started, what did it feel like?
Does dilation of the cervix hurt?
What do you do with a husband who is being deprived for 6 weeks after you give birth?
What did contractions feel like for you?
Was this your first baby or not?
What other symptoms did you have when you went into labor besides pain?
When did you go into labor (time of day, etc.)
What delivery position did you use (squatting, laying on the bed, etc.)? What was that like?
Did you take labor classes? Were they worth it?
Any tips about breastfeeding?
What did you take in your hospital bag, what did you wish you'd taken, and what did you wish you'd left at home or find you didn't need?

Thanks,
Kelli

[Csara]

Hi Kelli,
Great questions! I will answer the ones that I can. Hope it helps.

Did you have an epidural and would you do it again?
Yes and yes! It made my labor experience very comfortable.

Does dilation of the cervix hurt?
Well, I was 3 cm dilated for a few weeks, I believe and yes, for me it did hurt. I had horrible back pain and contractions for over a week.

What do you do with a husband who is being deprived for 6 weeks after you give birth?
Truthfully, I think your husband will be very tired and worn out himself so hopefully it won't be a problem. Otherwise, tell him to take a cold shower (or hot one and help himself)

What did contractions feel like for you?
Before my epidural, they were extremely painful. I can't really describe the feeling as it was like nothing I ever felt before.

Was this your first baby or not?
Yes, first baby

What delivery position did you use (squatting, laying on the bed, etc.)? What was that like?
I was in bed, half lying down, half sitting up. It was pretty much what I had imagined b/c it was what I have always seen on tv, movies, etc.

Did you take labor classes? Were they worth it?
Yes, we took them, but did not really get much out of them. IMO, not really worth it.

Any tips about breastfeeding?
First and foremost, if you are really determined to breast feed, just remember that for a lot of women it is not easy at first. It can take up to 6 weeks for you and baby to REALLY get the hang of it. Take advantage of the lactation consultants at the hospital and take their number with you when you get home. You will have a lot of questions and you will wonder if your baby is getting enough to eat and if you are doing things right. The LC will be a wonderful resource for you.

What did you take in your hospital bag, what did you wish you'd taken, and what did you wish you'd left at home or find you didn't need?
http://www.babytalkers.com/2005/pack...pital-bag.html

[kristen nov02]

What is a good time to go to the hospital? When your water breaks or when your contractions are 5 minutes apart.

Did you have an epidural and would you do it again? Yes, I did not think I wanted one but I tried for 5 hours without and then gave in. Because of bad positioning I ended up with several and that was annoying but all in all I would DEFINITELY have one again. It made everything way more comfortable and for me it did not hurt to have it go in.

Did you have an episiotomy? How did you recover? No, I was terrified of an episiotomy and had in my birth plan perineal massage. That is what my Dr. did and it worked wonders, I ended up with only a couple of tiny tears and there was really no recovery, I never even felt them.

Did your water break before or after contractions started, what did it feel like? Yes, my water broke before I went into labor. It felt like I had sprung a small leak, not like in the movies at all. I think it is pretty easy to recognize.

Does dilation of the cervix hurt? For me no, but I was not dilated before labor. Just the contractions hurt.

What do you do with a husband who is being deprived for 6 weeks after you give birth? He was very understanding and we did other things when were both not exhausted. I totally not envision this but we did not make it to the 6 week mark, oooops.

What did contractions feel like for you? Like extremely painful menstrual cramps that squeeze your whole torso. Like C said, it is very hard to describe.

Was this your first baby or not? Yes, my first baby.

What other symptoms did you have when you went into labor besides pain? I had uncontrollable shaking, and I threw up a lot too.

When did you go into labor (time of day, etc.) My water broke on Friday around 10 pm, on my birthday.

Did you take labor classes? Were they worth it? Yes, and I think they are worth it mainly because it gets you in the mindsight of what is to come and I think is helpful for husbands. I did not really use any of the info though

What delivery position did you use? I was hooked up to so many things that the only thing I could do was lay on my back, sort of upright. It was a good position but I wish I had not been hooked up to so much.

Any tips about breastfeeding? No, unfortunately it did not work out for me. I really hope it will with # 2.

What did you take in your hospital bag, what did you wish you'd taken, and what did you wish you'd left at home or find you didn't need? Personally, I think we had too much. We could have left extra clothes, hats, pads and diapers at home.

HTH!

[Csara]

I also wanted to post this thread re: the hospital bag -
http://www.babytalkers.com/forums/fi...tml#post134392 (A must have for your hospital bag!)

and this is one I dug up from when I first started breastfeeding. I was having a lot of trouble and got some great advice from the ladies on here. It is funny now to read back on this, I cannot believe what a rough start we had b/c it eventually became so ridiculously easy and natural and we had a wonderful go of it for almost 13 months! Good luck and remember to ask as many questions as you want/need to.
http://www.babytalkers.com/forums/fe...g-support.html

[Jester]

Kristen I ediited your post and restored it. If I left something out I apoligize. It was hard to tell where the repeating started.

Hopefully we got the issue with the posts repeating jumbled text solved.

[kristen nov02]

Jester, thanks so much. I had saved my original text, so I just copied and pasted the rest. I appreciate it.

[KeelyKay]

I'll answer all the questions I can .

What is a good time to go to the hospital? I was induced, but most hospitals won't keep you until you're contracting every 5ish minutes (and making progress) or your water breaks.

Did you have an epidural and would you do it again? I did get an epidural, and I'd do it again. Being completely honest... when I was getting it - I wouldn't have been willing to do it again. It didn't really hurt, but sitting still, curled over, and contracting wasn't easy at all. The worst part of the actual epidural was having the tape pulled off to take it out.

How did you feel after a c-section? N/A

Did you have an episiotomy? How did you recover? N/A

Did your water break before or after contractions started, what did it feel like? My Dr. broke my water. It was a big gush at first, and then I 'leaked' with each contraction for a while.

Does dilation of the cervix hurt? Nope. Can't feel it at all.

What did contractions feel like for you? The contractions I was having for a couple of weeks before my induction started in my back and squeezed around to my lower abdomen and then stretched up. The 'real' contractions (my reason for the epi) were the exact opposite.

Was this your first baby or not? Yes .

What other symptoms did you have when you went into labor besides pain? I had beenepi pre-labor for a couple of weeks and ended up being induced 1 day before my due date.

When did you go into labor (time of day, etc.) Morning technically, but thapre-labormy doing .

What delivery position did you use (squatting, laying on the bed, etc.)? What was that like? N/A

Did you take labor classes? Were they worth it? I didn't take any, and I was fine without them.

Any tips about breastfeeding? I wish I had BF tips. Don't let anybody make you feel bad about how it's going. Some of the nurses in the hospital tried to make it seem like DS wasn't eating well, and it had me stressed for a while. I didn't relax until his 1 week appointment when I saw he was gaining back weight.

What did you take in your hospital bag, what did you wish you'd taken? I used an online list of things to take. One thing I wish I'd taken was something to entertain DH. He was bored off his mind (and driving me nuts) until active labor hit.

What did you wish you'd left at home or find you didn't need? I only stayed one night, so I brought a lot of stuff I didn't end up needing. I definitely didn't need any makeup - didn't care what anybody thought .

[stacyl]

Caveat, I'm answering this for my second son, my homebirth

What is a good time to go to the hospital?
When you're truly in active labor, having to concentrate on contrax, starting to draw inward. The less time you're there, the better IMO.

Did you have an epidural and would you do it again? Had one with my first, which I didn't want, and swore I'd change my birth environment to not have another one. Didn't have one with DS2 and will not again.

Did you have an episiotomy? How did you recover?
Absolutely not. No need to cut through all that tissue. I had a 2nd degree tear with DS1 from pushing on my back, only a 1st degree from DS2 and that was due to his shoulder. Recover second time around was a piece of cake thanks to birthing how my body wanted.

Did your water break before or after contractions started, what did it feel like?
Water didn't break until I was pushing DS2 out. Felt like a big pop and a huge gush of water (which was kinda odd since I was in the tub).

Does dilation of the cervix hurt?
Not generally until you are in active labor and then transition. Contrax hurt, but they certainly aren't unmanageable, plus they are what is pulling the cervix up and over the baby's head (envision a tight turtleneck being pulled over the baby's head - that's what is going on before you start pushing).

What do you do with a husband who is being deprived for 6 weeks after you give birth?
Uh, so many things are going to change that this just shouldn't be an issue IMO.

What did contractions feel like for you?
Depends on the part of labor. Early they are just tightenings that sometimes feel like my lungs are being pulled down with my uterus. Active labor they start at the boney points of the back of my pelvis and wrap around the front (at this point I need counterpressure on those points to get through). Transition is one long 20 minute contrax, not unmanageable because I know it's nearly the end. Pushing is an overwhelming bearing down on the baby. My entire body curls around the baby and literally expels him

Was this your first baby or not?
No

What other symptoms did you have when you went into labor besides pain?
By the time I finally admitted to this truly being labor, I was feeling ready to get it over with. I just wanted this baby to be born. I had to pee with every contrax (mind you, my son was born less than 3 hours later at this point - I was well into active labor), I couldn't tell how much time was passing, I wasn't confident enough that this was the real thing to tell DH to call the midwife - thankfully he knew because my midwife arrived less than a half hour before DS2 was born.

When did you go into labor (time of day, etc.)
My body likes nighttime only (which tends to be common with subsequent time moms if they feel they need quiet and the kids asleep).

What delivery position did you use (squatting, laying on the bed, etc.)? What was that like?
I birthed DS2 in the tub on my hands and knees. Well, I birthed him up to his neck that way and then had to get out to the birth stool because his shoulder was stuck and my midwife had to rotate his posterior shoulder for him to slip out. So the rest of his body came out while I was squatting on the birth stool.

It was the way my body wanted to birth, so it was perfect. Recover was a breeze, too. Hardly any swelling from my 9lber

Did you take labor classes? Were they worth it?
Took Bradley classes with #1, and they were absolutely worth it.

Any tips about breastfeeding?
I think Csara's link has a long post (or two or three) from me

What did you take in your hospital bag, what did you wish you'd taken, and what did you wish you'd left at home or find you didn't need?
N/A

[jessica]

Originally Posted by stacyl

What did contractions feel like for you?
Depends on the part of labor. Early they are just tightenings that sometimes feel like my lungs are being pulled down with my uterus. Active labor they start at the boney points of the back of my pelvis and wrap around the front (at this point I need counterpressure on those points to get through). Transition is one long 20 minute contrax, not unmanageable because I know it's nearly the end. Pushing is an overwhelming bearing down on the baby. My entire body curls around the baby and literally expels him

I love this description Stacy!!

I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses. From my experience no matter how it happens, it's your baby's entrance to the world so even if it didn't go as planned ... it's how your baby got here and so it is perfect however it happened. My mom tells me the story of how I came into the world every year on my birthday and I love hearing it over and over, year after year. It's my story and I love every detail that my mom remembers ... mishaps, surprises and all.

[stacyl]

Thanks Jessica! I love the idea of telling the birth story on the birthday. Thus far I've been reading my birth stories at each child's birthday.