Are you kidding me? Have you seen this show on TLC?
Devin and I were wasting time the other day and were sucked in by a few episodes of this ridiculous phenomenon. I mean really now. It’s one thing to not know for a few weeks, even a few months but to carry to full term and still not know? Sheesh, I wish my pregnancy was like that.
OK, so to be honest even in these past few weeks I’ve actually gone a few minutes where I have forgotten I was pregnant. But that was only when I was wearing a really big t-shirt or sweatshirt so my mound was not so obvious. I think I’ve been pretty lucky to manage things enough with exercise and watching my diet to seldom feel the literal weight of pregnancy on my body. All I can say is do those lunges and squats.
Anyway, back to my point. So this show is so ridiculous. They have all these women talk about their surprise labor by rating the pain scale between 1 and 10. Of course they have to be dramatic by going outside of that scale. One said it was a 30 another said it was a 15. One talked about labor feeling like cramps but “like 500 times worse.” I guess that depends on what you have experienced before because I know there are plenty of women who don’t even know what bad cramps are.
So this brings me to my next subject that my mind has been arguing over for months–to epidural or not to epidural. This has been my number one question when talking to recent new mothers–did you or didn’t you? I’ve been surprised about the number of “natural” labor and deliveries. I have yet to come across a woman who went natural but regrets it but several who have taken the needle and regretted it for a number of reasons.
Ideally, I’d like to go without medication. But, that all depends on the situation. Is labor fast, slow? Does it make me nauseous or super tired? Do I go into it with little to no energy or do I get this rush that would be useful during a marathon?
Shoot, I don’t know.
If you had to go into heart surgery one day…would you say….”I think I’m gonna wait to see if it hurts very bad before you give me the anesthesia, so hold off until I tell you to give it to me.” NO! I think you’d take advantage of modern medicine and it’s great benefits!! That’s what I say, when it comes to epidurals! As you know, I experienced BOTH when I had Kaden. The machine that regulated the dose completely drained out to nothing 2 times while I was 10 cm dialated and pushing! It was killer. Once they got it working again…I was finally able to focus. I loved not being in tons of pain…and totally coherent when Kaden came out! I can only imagine where my mind would have been had I done it naturally the entire time. Probably would’ve been thinking all about MYSELF. :-( Hope you make the decision that’s right for you and your little family!! That’s really what it’s all about. Everyone’s experience is SO different. Sure love ya….and by the way can’t believe you’re having this baby SOOO soon! YAY! Can’t wait for my new niece!
This is just a response to what you said to me. I’ll have to read your posts later. I took down that post because I felt like it was too much personal information posted on the web. It made me uncomfortable that so many could see it and potentially copy and paste it so I got rid of it.
The thing is: I know I will be provided for. I just know it. All I ask for now is to endure all things and endure them well. Pretty sure that’s the hardest part. :)
Just get the epidural. Seriously – it hurts….A LOT! :)
After what I did I would recommend an epidural. Even though I really wasn’t in that much pain before I got it, I would have been in a crazy world of hurt while I was pushing because of all that was going on. It probably did slow down my labor quite a bit, and I totally hated the way it made my legs feel, but it made me less afraid to push when the time came and it kept me numb while the doctor sewed me up for a long time. I had been considering going natural and I think I was prompted to get the epidural while I was still very comfortable. I would pray about it and ask for inspiration when the time comes. Nothing wrong with that.
Here’s my official comment:
My mom didn’t have any medication at all with any of her labors and she did just dandy. There was the option but she just never took it. From what I understand though, my mom had relatively easy (fast) births. I’m thinking the Buckways (or Shaws) have some good birthin’ hips! I know when I have a kid that I want to avoid the epidural if it is at all possible. Call me crazy but the idea of having a needle in my spine doens’t appeal to me. Plus, I don’t want to have to deal with the aftermath of the medicine. It’s a tough call.
P.S. Comment #3. I know Eva had a hard time pushing with Tys because she didn’t have much feeling in the lower half of her body because of the epidural. She was in labor for a long time so maybe having the pain medicine in your system that long caused the issues. I don’t know.
I think you hit it on the nose – think about what you want, but then evaluate the situation at the moment. If you want to have a birth plan, have a “lose” birth plan. AND… here comes the birth story. I actually don’t like sharing my birth story, but it’ll illustrate my point. I was in labor for about ten hours before they would even give me an epidural (I wasn’t dialated enough – I was on pit). My contractions were registering on the monitor, and I was feeling the pain… but they weren’t actually doing anything. (And I was over a week late). When I got the epidural, I didn’t feel a THING. In fact, I fell asleep. Eight hours later, they finally decided I needed a c-section. It was all fine, but in the end, I REALLY did not regret getting the epidural. I’m sure your story won’t be the same as mine, but the moral is, with your first, it’s so hard to know how much longer!
Hey girl— exciting times are coming up! My personal opinion, is labor and delivery is so different for everyone, and every baby. If you are considering natural birth, I would totally take a class. I made it without the big E until the last mins before I had to push for 45 mins. They gave me it and then checked and told me that I needed to get ready to push… The problem with getting it that late in the game is I couldn’t feel enough to know how to push, or if I was pushing right. Anyway, I just think if I had taken a class then I could have done it all the way. My labor was only 11 hours though (that I know of) I worked the day I had benjamin and my water broke before i went in, which I think makes it go faster anyway. Benjamin was a super big baby for me to have, so I was glad that I had an epidural b/c the dr spent a lot of time stitching me up afterward. Which I know some people say women recover faster without an epidural, but I felt I recovered quickly and well enough, even though i did tear to almost a 4. (sorry if tmi)Anyway…. thats my view. I think you do whatever you feel like you want too :) YOu will do great either way!
Hey! I just wanted to say Happy Birthday again!! I hope you had a wonderful birthday! I can’t wait to hear all of what you did! Just think, next year on your birthday you’ll have been a mom for almost a year! What a life changing year of your life this will be! (I’ll comment on the birth thing tomorrow=)) I love you!!! You are the most amazing friend who I am so lucky to have! Happy Bday!!*mwah*