If you missed part I of this story, go here.
When we got to the hospital, I was trying to be strong. I didn’t want my husband to put me in a wheelchair. I wanted to walk by myself. Silly me. I must have looked ridiculous as every contraction came on and I had to stop walking and bend over. My husband was worried. I thought about my first experience, and thought I still had a ways to go. When they finally got me into the room, and checked me, lo and behold I was at a 5 already! YAHOO!! I immediately asked, can I still get an epidural?
Since I didn’t have one the first time around, I was more scared about that than about having another baby. The needle in my back thing scared me. A lot. But, it was my husband who still remembered my screaming the first time around, that talked me into it. I considered doing it natural again, but he didn’t want me to. So, I decided to try doing it a little bit differently. And, oh was it different!
The hardest part for me was holding still during contractions while bending over to get a needle in my back. But, I never saw the needle, so that helped. My nurse was great also. She kept me focused, and helped me through every contraction. She even said to me, “You are handling this so well compared to most women that come in here and are already at a 5!” I was proud. But, not too proud to get the epidural. It was a night and day difference.
As soon as that stuff kicked in, I put on some make-up. I wanted to look decent for the pictures because for my daughter’s birth, that didn’t happen. I was laughing, talking, and happy. So happy. I could still feel things on my right side, so they adjusted it a bit, and I laid there happily until I was ready to push. Like I said, night. and. day.
When it was time to push though, it was a lot harder not being able to feel things. I didn’t know if I was pushing hard enough or not. And, as a result, I pushed too hard and ripped quite a bit. My recovery afterward was longer. 12 weeks of bleeding. Also, I felt way more incapacitated. I couldn’t walk myself to the bathroom, and even with help, almost fell a couple of times. But, having no pain was nice. Very nice.
I’m not sure what I’ll do the third time around if there is one. While, I liked no pain, I also liked my recovery without the epidural. And, since I did not have any IV meds like with my first, I was able to work through the contractions better and focus. So, part of me thinks I could do it all natural again. We’ll have to see if my husband lets me though.
Related Articles:
The Birth of my Firstborn-Part I
The Birth of my Firstborn-Part II