Throughout my first pregnancy, I thought a lot about what it would be like when we headed to the hospital to have the baby. I thought that it would be just like the movies. . . a rushed and frantic trip! So, when my due date arrived, and then the day after, and the day after that, you can imagine my experience was already shaping up to be a little different than I had pictured.
We went in for an ultrasound a few days after my due date so that they could check on the baby. I had a pretty small bump, and my doctor had assured me at the previous appointment that I “was not going to have a big baby”. You can imagine our surprise whenever the ultrasound technician told us that the size estimation was about 10 pounds!
When our doctor came back in, he just asked us, “So, when do you want to induce?”
We were completely taken aback because we hadn’t even considered induction as an option up to this point, and here we were having to make a decision.
Finally, we decided to schedule to be induced at 6AM two days later. The next few days were absolutely filled with walking, spicy foods, and pineapple! We tried everything! And a little bit of worrying about how my body would respond to being induced, if I would be able to deliver without an epidural like I wanted.
When Thursday morning arrived, we got to the hospital ready to go! The planning personality type I am actually LOVED it. I got lots of time to prepare mentally, pack our bags, eat a good breakfast and do my hair!
I was already dilated to 4 centimeters, so they immediately started me on Pitocin and hooked me up to all of the monitors. A couple of hours later, my doctor came in and broke my water. That didn’t hurt at all, it just made walking around a little bit more messy for the next few hours.
I was having contractions really regularly, but I couldn’t feel them. We hung out and talked all morning, greeted our parents as they made their way into town, and I ate about a truckload of ice chips. I was absolutely starving by noon, and the contractions were starting to get where I could feel them and not just see them on the monitor.
Things got a little more intense over the next few hours, but not unbearable.
It wasn’t until about 3 o’clock that I asked my nurse to come in and check me because the contractions were getting really painful and I was interested in some pain relief. The last time my doctor had checked me, he had estimated that the baby would be born about 6PM, so I knew I couldn’t handle that level of pain for 3 more hours.
To all of our surprise, she checked and said “Girl, we are about to have a baby!” I was fully dilated and ready to push.
She got everything set up, and I started pushing before my doctor even arrived. About 10 minutes later (about 5 minutes after our doctor got there), Rosy was born!
My experience with being induced was really good.
I had a really smooth labor and delivery, and things really couldn’t have gone better. Rosy was almost nine pounds (thankfully less than the ten the ultrasound predicted!), and I’m so glad that I was able to deliver her. Who knows if I would have been able to had we waited any more time and let her gain any more weight.
There are a few things that I wish I would have known before I was induced. From my constant google search about being induced, I had almost decided that there was no way I’d be able to deliver without an epidural, that the Pitocin wouldn’t work, or about a million other possibilities.
Basically, women are induced every single day all over the United States. Nurses and doctors do this all day every day, and they are so very skilled at what they do!
Here is what I wish someone would have told me before I was induced.
1. It is totally possible to deliver without an epidural.
I was told over an over again, that contractions are much more intense with Pitocin than without. While I don’t know if that’s true (hopefully I will find out with this baby!) I can definitely say that if you decide you want to push naturally, you can. Or get that epidural, you do YOU!
2. The contractions aren’t intense for a while.
The nice thing about Pitocin is that it is really gradual. They administer it at a slow rate, so things don’t immediately get really painful. You’ve got lot’s of time, and because things are monitored so well, you can gear yourself up for an increase instead of just waiting and wondering when things will start happening.
3. It is super routine for L&D nurses.
A really positive thing about being induced is that the nurses and doctors have done it a million times, and you get to benefit from their expertise! While every labor and delivery experience is different, the induction process makes it a little bit more predictable, and for a first time mama, that was incredibly helpful!
4. You can walk around.
I was worried that I would be strapped to my bed since I would have a drug being administered the entire time. This was not the case at all! My hospital had monitors that allowed me to move all over the room, I just had to take my IV pack with me. This was HUGE for me. I am super active and so being able to keep up some since of normalcy (on a really not normal day!) was very comforting.
5. Eat a big breakfast and do your hair.
I wasn’t very hungry the morning we were going in. It was probably more nerves than anything, but I didn’t eat a huge breakfast. I wish I had eaten everything I could fit in my stomach! I was absolutely starving by 4 o’clock. Many women have even longer labor experiences, so my recommendation is to eat! Also, do your hair! You will feel better through the whole day, and the next day and the next (because who has time to wash their hair after they have a baby?!).
If you’re going to be induced, do not worry. It is a normal part of the labor and delivery experience for many women. Trust your doctors and nurses and just enjoy the day and experience of welcoming your sweet little babe into the world!