I was mentally and physically done with being pregnant. My husband, along with everyone else, was worried we’d have a repeat of our home birth two years ago, so I scheduled an induction for just after 39 weeks pregnant.
I didn’t want an induction because I heard the contractions are significantly more intense, and I (wrongly) assumed I would go into spontaneous labor like all my other babies. Despite my best efforts to try to induce labor naturally, baby girl was content to stay in my womb for as long as possible. *ugh*
On the day of my induction, my older kids went off to school, and mom took my toddler home with her. I had plenty of time to take a shower this time (yay!) and make sure I had everything I needed for my hospital stay. No forgotten shirts this time! (see my third baby’s birth story).
Scott and I drove to the hospital and arrived around 11:30am with a delivery room already prepared for us. We waited for some time before a nurse arrived to place an IV and get everything prepared for the induction.
The resident ob-gyn came in to check my cervix to determine whether we could start off with Pitocin or if we needed to go the foley bulb route. Sadly, I was only 1-2 cm dilated, so we had to use the foley bulb to get my cervix to dilate further before I could get the Pitocin.
Shortly after 1pm, the OB placed the foley bulb along with some other medicine called miso that was supposed to help dilate my cervix. She said we would have to wait at least four hours before we could start Pitocin even if the foley bulb falls out before that time. So we waited and waited and waited.
My midwife came in around the four-hour mark to see if I needed more miso placed. As she was just about to place the miso (and another four-hour wait until Pitocin could be administered), the foley bulb came out (Yay!). My cervix was now dilated to a 3 or 4, and we could finally get the labor process started!
I was given Pitocin to start the contractions around 5pm. The next few hours were uneventful. I ate some snacks, read my book, talked to my husband and the nurse, and tried to take a nap. A few painless contractions here and there.
Sometime after 9pm, my contractions were painful and hard to manage. My midwife came to check me around 9:45, but when I laid down on my back, my contractions were so horrible that I requested an epidural.
I wanted to try to go without one, but I was already feeling exhausted from the intensity of my contractions. I needed some pain relief!
The nurse had me sit on the side of the bed to get ready for the epidural, but it felt like it took FOREVER for the anesthesiologist to get to the room. My contractions were on top of each other at that point.
I was in an uncomfortable position waiting for the epidural so I couldn’t move around like I wanted to ease my pain. I just kept my eyes closed, swung my feet back and forth, and gripped my husband’s hand.
Nearly fifteen minutes later, the anesthesiologist arrives and begins inserting the epidural. As he is administering the medication, I feel tons of pressure and that unmistakable urge to push. Then I feel a little gush of warm water. Did I just pee myself? Or was that my water breaking?
I tell the nurse I need to push. She quickly calls my midwife and the anesthesiologist hurries out of the room.
I laid down on my side, and I kept my eyes closed to focus on each breath. After a few minutes of breathing down my baby, her head was born. The midwife and her apprentice were excited because baby girl was almost born in her amniotic sac, but the sac broke as her head was born. A few more pushes and baby girl was born!
The midwife placed my baby on my chest, and I finally met the little girl I’d been praying for all these years. She was worth all the pain.
Unfortunately for me, the epidural didn’t kick in until after her birth. Haha! So much for an epidural…
