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praetorianguard is closing the Birth Pool as I type this, because I'm now set for induction Sunday night and Monday morning, which is, imho, pretty much the equivilent of going into labour, but much more fraught with stress and neurosis on my end. Can those of you who had induced labours please let me know how they went, in as much detail as you're willing to give? And of you had bebes who were engaged at the time that you had the induction, that would really help me.
Off for a butterscotch sundae, which my MIL says will work...
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(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 11:46 am (UTC)I was induced with Rachael. I was dilated to 3 for 2 weeks. I was actually in and out of labor for 2 weeks and my body refused to kick it in. I'd be at contractions 5min apart and then they'd stop for a day!
So I got induced 7:30am on a Friday. It was an IV drip, TV was on in the corner. I stayed in the same room the whole time. For about 1 1/2 hours nothing happened and then contractions came incredibly strong. Very strong. You are automatically kicked up to hard labor out of the blue.
I did my lamaze breathing, had a wet washcloth on my forhead and finally got a spinal pain reflief thing because it was just too strong. The induced labor is much harder and stronger than normal labor I'm told. They had to break my water. I threw up and well, the other end too. I don't know if this was due to inducement or not.
It just clips right along and you are just in hard labor. Rachael was born at 3:12pm. So labor wasn't too long. But it was tough. Be mentally prepared for it and I think you'll do better than I did.
I don't know if I helped at all. Do you have more questions? Ask me anything and I'll tell you anything!
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 11:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 11:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 11:56 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 12:05 pm (UTC)However, expect the following:
Truthfully, the induction was not bad at all, although it was a pretty lengthy process for me. I doubt it will take so long for you, and we'll be breaking out the champagne to celebrate with you on June 1 or 2!
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 12:05 pm (UTC)Been there, done that, *do* relax
Date: 2003-05-30 12:10 pm (UTC)With Michael, I had already been in the hospital with a migraine, and my due date rolled around, and a "why not, we're here" attitude set in. We induced. Very much the same experience. I had been slightly dilated, no contractions, and they just sort of slowly started and then picked up. No sudden kick-in here either.
FYI, subsequent births are faster (10 minutes pushing for Tomek; less than that for Michael; this after almost 45 for Kasia).
I had an epidural. No episiotomy on any. Very happy about both of those things.
Inducing *does* make it easier to schedule a babysitter. We decided 8:00; Jan got a friend to come watch the others; he got to the hospital at 7:45, we had the baby, he left at 8:30 so our sitter could get home.
If you've done it once already and aren't into the "birth experience" thing, do have the TV on, it passes the time. Michael was born in the last 30 minutes of the Spurs 1999 Championship game. Nobody was paying the slightest bit of attention to me.
Introducing older siblings? Just pay a lot of attention to both of them, they'll be fine. Make sure he knows you're still HIS mommy.
Try not to laugh when they tell you not to lift anything over 20 pounds.
Good luck. Yell if you want any more graphic details.
~Amanda
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 12:21 pm (UTC)*sits down and holds Heidi's hand* (At least you have a shorter time to fret!)
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 12:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 12:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 01:06 pm (UTC)I've not been pregnant at all (thank god, as I'm just eighteen) but my aunt recently had two children in succession. The first was not induced, took a day and a half, and was exceedingly painful. The second was induced and took about three hours. She had problems with cramps after the second one, though - I don't know if it was a personal thing, or if you have a high likelihood of that with induced labor.
In any case, I'll be thinking of you.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 01:17 pm (UTC)I wish I could do something.
*starts knitting tiny booties*
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 01:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 01:41 pm (UTC)My sister was induced last year. She went in around 2pm and had the baby around 5:30. It happened very very fast and I think she was in shock for a long time. But she was also a first time mother, so there was that. Baby was totally, completely fine, my sister was fine as well, but didn't sleep enough. She was shaky for a couple of days afterward. I think she was a unique case though, she couldn't sleep after the baby was born because if she or her husband weren't holding the baby she thought he might die.
My sister is very interesting.
Other than going too fast, apparently everything went perfectly normally, though.
*hugs*
As always, thinking of you.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 01:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 01:58 pm (UTC)*schnoogles* At any rate, hope it's not painful and that you soon have a beautiful, healthy Jumper to hold. :)
Allie
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 04:11 pm (UTC)The day before the scheduled c-section, she finally went into labour. And my adorable niece Lauren was born. http://www.theboykos.com/baby/index.html
So it is possible that you'll go into labour anyways. Thought I'd share that, since I have absolutely no experience with pregnancy. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 04:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 04:32 pm (UTC)BTW, Danielle still hasn't gone into labor yet either. So I'm waiting too!
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 04:44 pm (UTC)I was induced after having 32 hours of unproductive contractions, and Elise was engaged. Pitocin is a bitch. God Bless the epidural. I'd have one for menstrual cramps if I could. Now, what do I remember. Hmmmm...every damn thing.
When they induce you, unlike natural labor contractions come hard and closer together. Sometimes they run into each other so medicate! Please. I don't know how you feel about that, but I believe natural childbirth is a conspiracy against women. I think it was the woman who wrote the girlfriend's guide to pregnancy that said "Unless I'm trying to push that baby out of my nose, it's natural."
Pitocin also made me sort of "jittery", but you won't notice that for too long, since you'll be mostly focused on the pain that shortly follows.
Did I mention Epidural?
Anyhow, the one good thing was that pitocin made my contractions more "productive" and I was in the pushing phase for a shorter time. And even though it hurts like hell, I'd ask them to turn down the epidural when you hit 10 centimeters because I think some feeling "down there" helped me push better. I was in labor a long, long time, but by the time I was dialated, I was growling like an amazon and ready to shoot that baby across the room. (She was out in four pushes.)
Good luck and keep us updated,
Dionne
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 04:46 pm (UTC)Good luck, you've got a lot of people sending you and Jumper good thoughts!
*hugs again*
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 05:36 pm (UTC)Good luck! You're going to have such a beautiful baby.
*hugs Heidi*
Date: 2003-05-30 05:41 pm (UTC)Since you asked, and although it is both TMI and seemingly-off-putting, here is my induction story.
Because my blood pressure was really high, they induced me one week past due date, similar to some stories above with the gel, then the waters, then the drip. But the labour took 36 exhausting hours, and I too ended up needing an epidural (and top-ups - which I was most assertive in demanding!). Some of that was that Baby was in posterior position (but the midwives did not pick that up), some was that I have deformities in my spine and joints, so lots of this was very painful anyhow. The contractions were fast and painful, and I was unable to walk by about the 28 hour point anyhow, so the usual bending over / backrubs / hot bath options were limited. My labour had an accelerated end, since it was close to a decision to give me a c-section; her heartbeat had slowed dangerously and the cord wrapped around Baby's neck had to be cut before she was out, so it was a nasty high-forceps delivery, lots of tearing. (Her head was larger than the 97th percentile on the graph - and I felt every inch of it!). I think my problems had more to so with her and my anatomy not meshing well, rather than the induction per se. However, I would agree with a lot of the comments above, about induction feeling odd, and somehow not normal; also the drip does accelerate your body's responses, so you may need the pain relief more than with a non-induced delivery. Pain relief may result in higher likelihood of interventions such as forceps and episiotomy, as I am sure you know, but to be honest, I would go through all of that and more, again, for my daughter. Although it was some time until she actually was breathing, once they put her in my arms, she looked up into my eyes, and I was in love.
All the best Heidi, and I look forward to hearing how it all goes. *holds hand*
All the best, Heidi sweets!
Date: 2003-05-30 05:52 pm (UTC)Love,
Liz
ecwoodburn sent me...
Date: 2003-05-30 06:16 pm (UTC)I was induced at 8 p.m., they just introduced a prostaglandin gel (cervadil) behind my cervix to kind of kick things off. It got contractions going, but not much else. At 5 a.m. they took out the cervadil and told me that I had an hour to shower, walk around, whatever before they started the pitocin drip. They did a graduated amount, and the nursing staff was very good with making sure not to hit me with too much too soon. The labour was quite managable, even with the fatigue from being up pretty much all night. I made the decision that I wasn't going to have them do the epidural until I was 4 cm dialated, which I did, and an hour later, my daughter was born. It was a long day, but it really went very well.
Because i'm not entirely objective, here's my husband,
Re: ecwoodburn sent me...
Date: 2003-05-30 11:50 pm (UTC)So excited for you Heidi ...
Date: 2003-05-30 07:00 pm (UTC)I was induced with child #1, a boy. Water broke and contractions would were not regular or strong enough to move things along after 8 hours.
My nurse began a pitocin drip at 8 p.m. Avery was born at 12:20 a.m., and it felt like it went very fast.
Was dilated to about 4 cm. and 80% effaced at the last OB visit before I went into labor. It was about two weeks before my due date when my water broke (in the newsroom where I worked no less, lmao). Labor got nowhere until after the pitocin. Was at 10 cm. and ready to push by 10:30 p.m. It took about a half an hour to get ready for the birth -- nurses bustling about setting things up, calling the doctor -- and then I pushed for an hour or so. It went fastest from 6 to 10 cm. and at 8 I was begging for drugs.
Things went so quickly there wasn't a lot of time to get accustomed to the strength of the contractions. Each one was harder than the next. Within an hour of the inducement, I had cleared the room and cursed my husband. Up to that point I had been chatting merrily with everyone who walked in the door. *giggles at own naivete*
Obviously, pitocin made the contractions powerful more quickly, in my experience. I actually used my lamaze breathing and yoga relaxation exercises. I finally was rewarded with an epidural. The anestheiologist started it when I was dilated to 8 and by the time it took effect I was fully dilated and ready to push. If you already know you want drugs, get 'em early. Breathing in cycles with my contractions prior to the birth eased the pressure and helped me to not hold my breath, which I was prone to do.
The best advice I got for giving birth was to push as if I were trying to pop a seatbelt off my belly, down and out, not to push like I had to have a bowel movement. Some nurses will say to push this way, but it is not adviseable. It will get the baby out, but it also causes hemmorrhoids afterwards and pops the blood vessels in your face and eyes. Push with the abs. You probably already know this from your first birth but it is worth repeating for the masses!
Birthing balls are wicked cool and work well for loads of women. However, if induced, they may not let you out of bed ... but if you have a chance, give it a whirl and see what you think.
Bring warm socks. It may have been the cold room, the pitocin, the process of birth or any combination, but my feet were so cold and I shook and my teeth chattered.
You are going to be GREAT. I'm sure you are in the hands of fantastic doctors and hospital staff. I can't wait to hear your war story ... er, birth story. ;) You'll be holding your sweet baby soon.
Re: So excited for you Heidi ...
Date: 2003-05-30 09:32 pm (UTC)I basically *labored* with no pain meds and delivered the baby with the meds. So I made it through a pitocin-induced labor with only some breathing exercises. Oh, and my husband. :)
Wish I knew what to say to calm you. How about this: Your body knows what it is doing. Trust yourself and forget the external stuff. Rely on the internal stuff. The drugs aren't controlling your body, it already knows what to do. Pitocin simply starts the process rolling and ensures that it continues on. Your body does the work, the same as every mother in every birth since the beginning of time.
Good luck. You really will be fine. Go in with a plan, but prepare to be flexible. The baby is the only thing that will matter at the end of the day.
:) Loads of {{hugs}} of support to you.
Induction
Date: 2003-05-30 08:04 pm (UTC)Alora
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 08:50 pm (UTC)Good luck!
birthin' babies
Date: 2003-05-30 08:56 pm (UTC)Baby #1 - Brian - Contractions started naturally 5 days before my due date, with them coming 3-5 mins apart starting about 6pm. Went to the hospital, labor slowed about 7-8 am next morning. They put me on a pitocin drip about 10 or 11, just after getting the epidural (loved the epidural) finally had the baby at 3:30 that afternoon. By that time I was sleeping between contractions because I hadn't slept the night before, so I really didn't feel anything different between the before and after pitocin induced contractions.
Baby #2 - Steve - was two weeks overdue so he was scheduled. We arrived 8am and got settled. Since we were scheduled we got the best LDR room :) They started the pitocin drip about 9ish. got the epidural about 11ish, watched the olympics until it was time to push about 3ish and had baby about 3:30ish. I didn't try to tough it out this time without the epidural, so I was more comfortable, less indecisive about pain control, and generally a bit happier with the whole process. It was a much shorter labor, but I don't know if that was necessarily because of the pitocin or because it was a second baby, or just because.
Baby #3 - Matthew - Started feeling achy with contractions 10-15 minutes apart during the Monica Lewinski interview with Barbara Walters. This was a couple of days before my due date. Decided I should probably call my dad to come stay with the other kids about 11pm, just in case, although I was sure nothing was going to happen that night. (Now, my dad has about an hour and a half drive to get to our house..thank the lord I called him when I did). About 2:25 I was laying in bed gritting my teeth through another contraction (still 10-15 minutes apart...so no hospital yet, right?) when my water broke. This hadn't happened with babies #1 and #2. With boht of them the doctor broke the water in an attempt to get labor moving. Well, suffice to say water broke at 2:25 am, matthew was born at 3:45 am. Luckily we lived about 15 min. from the hospital, but there was no time for any drugs of any kind, and just barely enough time for a doctor to preside. Matthews birth was the most painful, and the most sudden and the strongest contractions and the most natural, so go figure.
Each labor and delivery was very different and going into labor naturally is no guantee you won't use pitocin anyway, so relax, enjoy it, enjoy the fact that it isn't a panicked trip to the hospital. That you can prepare and prepare Harry.
Good luck, we expect a good long LJ post about the process :)
Carole
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-30 11:08 pm (UTC)I'm sure since you're healthy and since he's ready to go, it will all go smoothly. And my doctor swore by driving down an unpaved road in an old truck with no shocks as a way to get it started but a butterscotch sundae sounds like a better method. -- Jori
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-31 12:16 am (UTC)The next morning they gave me an enama at about 8 and eventually I went down to the maternity suite at 9ish where mum joined me, they gave me something (possibly an injection) then and left me to it. It was very boring, we chatted and pottered and the lunch they brought was yucky, by this point I had chronic back ache that mum rubbed for me. After lunch they came to break my waters and things started to speed up by about 4:30 when they offered me an epidural, it was a back ache birth, this took the edge off and my nosey daughter was born at 20 to 6, looking round to see what was happening as she came out.
She stayed awake for quite a while moving her head to see what was going on while I was very badly behaved and grumpy at the poor man who was sewing me up, I'd been good and quiet till then buty I'd had enough.
Looking back I realise I had been in labour long before they induced me, but had put the back ache down to fear and that awful bed. I'm sure going to the park the day before and making myself feel really sick on the kids playround helped. Do lots of energetic and uncomfortable things in the next few days, you want your baby to want out, it's all down to their choice anyway.
Have checked this all with mum who was there, she said it was harder seeing me give birth than giving birth as she could only look on as her little girl went through it all. She went in with a friend later on to help while my god son was born, and cried all over him :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-31 11:17 am (UTC)I wish you the best of luck with the induction. *hugs*
I was sort of induced, sort of helped alone by pitocin. My water broke in the early am, and I didn't go into productive labor. They started on a pitocin drip in the early pm and they kept it steady, which I think was why my labor lasted as long as it did (38 hours). At one point, the doctor thought I'd have to have a C- section, however, they tried upping the pitocin more aggressively, and that eventually made the difference.
I strongly recommend the Epidural if you are getting induced with pitocin. I went about 24 hours without it, and finally gave in because I wanted to have the energy to push. What is great about the Epi is that you can still feel enough to push. That was definitely my favorite part of the whole birthing experience because I was actually doing something for a change, rather than just lying there and dealing with the waiting and the discomfort (epi's need to be topped off quite a bit for some people like me because of the strength of the contractions when on pitocin).
Anyway, I hope that helped. Everything turned out great for me in the end. I only wished that it hadn't lasted as long as it did.
I wish you the best, and send my prayers for you and Jumper.
Hugs,
Elia
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-31 04:02 pm (UTC)The best bit about induction is that you can plan babysitting with military precision. I know it's worrying, but try to relax and take things as they come. My friend Lynn had a little boy this morning (squeee!!) and I look forward to hearing of Jumper's appearance. :)
IM me if you need to rant. I love telling Horrible Birth Stories. ;)
{{{{{schnoogle}}}}}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-05-31 06:33 pm (UTC)Because it's so much faster, induced labours also have a much higher percentage of episiotomies. It's a highly personal thing, but I have a certain amount of prejudice against cutting. It severs the muscle tissue and will weaken the mother's pelvic floor severely. Natural tearing is less painful and only affects the surface tissues. The reason most doctors cut so often is that natural tearing takes longer to stich, which I find appalling. (probably best to ignore this, I've been reviewing my ethics in midwifery textbooks today)
I can't speak for the US system, but induced labours also have a much higher rate of further medical intervention, and what I really want to say here is that it's your body and your baby, and you shouldn't let the medical people pressure you into doing anything you feel uncomfortable with. It can happen that the doctors will try to get you to opt for intervention techniques by claiming foetal distress, and often this is somewhat less than necessary. Babies are amazingly resilient, and so long as you are comfortable with what is going on then your baby will be pretty much fine. The calmer you are, the calmer Jumper will be and the quicker and easier it will be for you. What I'm basically saying is that you are in charge and you should permit as much extra intervention as you feel comfortable with.
Don't worry about it. You've got one already, and lateness isn't a problem beyond being annoying. Luck and hugs, and I hope you have a good midwife and a smooth ride. You'll be fine.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-01 12:46 am (UTC)Buena suerte (good luck)
Date: 2003-06-01 07:18 am (UTC)Hugs,
xxxTan*