But, it was so worth it! Little girl at 1 day old in Nov. of 2006

A few of you have asked about my birth plan and the backstory, so here it is:


****DISCLAIMER****If you are pregnant and have never given birth, you may not want to read this. Just because I had a bad experience does NOT mean that you will, and I don't want to scare anyone. Not that this is particularly scary, but there is enough anxiety surrounding pushing a baby out without hearing other people's cooky stories.
***end disclaimer******

I had an epidural with my first, and it went fine. I fully planned on having one with my 2nd. But, for some reason, probably scar tissue from the 1st epidural, the anesthesiologist was unable to properly thread the cathedar. He tried about 8 or 9 times, but it just wasn't working. I could feel everything (intense pain and pressure shooting down my butt and into my back and legs) and he kept putting pressure on the major vein that runs along your back and I was passing out. So, I went natural. I was not planning on that, I hadn't taken any natural childbirth training, and it was really scary. They also gave me petocin, which made the contractions way more intense. Petocin = in my book. At one point I felt like I was psychotic from all the pain I was in. She came really fast, but I had about 1 1/2 hours of nonstop contractions because my contractions were double peaking with the petocin induced ones. In other words, my body was producing its own contractions that began before the petocin ones were over. In hindsight, I should have REFUSED the petocin. I didn't need it. They gave it too me because there were several women in labor at the same time (all who were resting comfortably with their epidurals), and they knew they could get me out of the way fast if they sped stuff along. I had some temporary nerve damage in my back from the epidural attempts, which scared the daylights out of my poor husband. I had shooting pains in my back and legs for about 6 months, and a numb patch in my back for about 9 months.

This time, I definitely don't want to even risk the epidural, so we took classes. In my birth plan I am mainly putting in stuff like, "Please don't ask me if I want an epidural," and that I'd rather not have petocin unless it is medically necessary. I want to be able to walk around, use my birth ball, and take a shower if I want to. I want them to try and assign me a nurse that supports natural childbirth (some don't). That kind of stuff. I'm not against any kind of pain meds in childbirth; you are the only one who is going to have to push that baby out, so do what you have to do, no judgements here. But, I really think I can handle it this time if I don't have to have the petocin, so I am going to try.

I actually finished my birth plan. Here it is:

OUR BIRTH PREFERENCES

We are grateful for your support, expertise, and assistance as we birth our baby. Our priority is for a safe delivery and a healthy baby and mommy. As long as things are going well medically, we ask that the following wishes be honored:


-Please assign us a nurse who is supportive of and knowledgeable about natural childbirth.

-I would like the freedom to move around during my labor, including walking and changing positions, as well as using a birth ball and laboring in the shower.

-I prefer not to have an IV unless medically necessary.

-Please do not offer pain medication or epidurals. Should I desire medicinal pain relief, I will request it.

-I would like to avoid any labor inducing medications, such as Petocin or Cervadil.

-I prefer not to have an episiotomy.

-If a cesarean becomes necessary, as long as our baby is fine, I would like to have him on my chest or skin to skin with Daddy.

-Please allow baby to remain with us for the first hour of life.

-I want our baby to only be breastfed on demand and not to be offered a pacifier or bottle.

So, there is the very long story about no epidurals and my birth plan. I hope you enjoyed it!