I went in for an induction a few days prior to my due date. She was measuring big & I was just ready to have her in my arms. So we arrive at the hospital and they get me started on pitocin around maybe 8 or 9 am. I was 4cm & 70% effaced to start. I had an annoying back ache and some minor contractions in my back and lower belly but nothing major. The doctor came in about 10:55 to break my water so I had my mom take my toddler to the waiting room & planned to have her come right back in. The nurse said she’d be back every hour or two to check my progress. So I’m thinking it will last well into the afternoon. 5 minutes later my contractions are already pretty painful, so I told my mom I wanted to get my epidural before she came back because I didn’t want my toddler to see me in pain. The contractions were about a minute or two apart at that point. At 11:07 i decide I want that damn epidural, like now. Of course the anesthetist was busy. My fault for waiting. The nurse said I was at a 6. So I’m thinking, shit... it still has to get much worse. (At this point I still think I have time to get an epidural and my contractions can settle down so my mom can come back in for the birth and leave my toddler with my dad in the waiting room who was on his way). At about 11:15 the contractions are awful. The anesthetist gets in the room at 11:20 and still has to set everything up and get me prepped. My contractions are a minute apart and I’m trying my hardest to clench my mouth shut and not scream. The nurse has me sit up to get the epidural, but I couldn’t move during a contraction because I was in so much pain (mind you - I have a high pain tolerance). They felt like someone was stabbing me in my lower belly. As soon as I’d get to the sitting up position she’d have me lay back down to check my cervix. I went from a 6 to only a 7.5. I told her I needed to push. They finally placed the epidural at 11:30, they checked my cervix and it was complete. They call the doctor and tell her I’m ready, I of course need to push but they won’t let me. I’m screaming bloody murder with every contraction at this point - like the shit you see on a movie. I’m feeling 0% of that epidural because she literally just got it in me. Dr finally gets in the room and they tell me to push for 10 seconds, breathe, then push again... I did that twice and I could feel the baby stretching everything and coming out. So I said F that breathing routine, I’m getting this baby out NOW. I did one more long push and she was out at 11:37 am. Immediate relief. Even though it was still painful afterwards, the pain was so much less than the contractions that I didn’t even care. I went from the exorcist to smiling and so happy/relieved within seconds.

My mom texted my phone that my dad was there & my boyfriend replied “so is baby Briley” and sent her a picture. she was so shocked it happened so fast.

Had I known she’d be here so fast, I would’ve said no to the epidural. It kicked in about 15 minutes after she was out.

I will say I’m glad I got to experience this because with my first baby, it was an all day process and I never felt any pain so I had very little idea of what to expect with this one. Pushing without an epidural was so much better for me. I pushed 3 times and she was out - having the pain gives you motivation to give it your all. With my first baby I pushed for 30 minutes and they were whimpy pushes because I couldn’t feel a damn thing. I wasn’t in pain but I was so exhausted from pushing. This time around I get just fine for the rest of the evening.

If I did it again I’d really consider no epidural. My advice for anyone else is to practice breathing exercises to distract you from pain. I was able to breathe through my contractions while they were doing the epidural but as soon as she was done stabbing me in the back, I was back to screaming because it was so hard to contain my pain.

But I now have a beautiful baby girl and my only regret is getting the epidural.

Briley June 8# 7oz, 20 3/4”.