So I’m a first time mom. My baby girl’s due date was January 24th, and I had decided that I didn’t want to go a day over my due date so I scheduled an induction for the 24th. I went in to my midwife’s office the week of the 24th and she said since I was only 2 cm dilated (I needed to be at least 3 cm) that I would have to stay overnight starting the 23rd. I’m a registered nurse (work addict) so of course I had myself scheduled to work on the 23rd. I talked it over with my manager and left about 5 pm that day so I could make it to the hospital by 6 pm (I didn’t birth at the hospital I work at). So I go in, they take my vitals and start the IV, etc. Throughout the night I get 3 doses of cytotec. For those that don’t know, cytotec is a suppository that’s placed inside your vagina to soften your cervix. By 3 am I was 3 cm dilated, and by 7:30 am they had started the pitocin (IV medication to induce contractions). My midwife comes in to check up on me to see how I’m progressing and breaks my water (strangest feeling). Well my baby was posterior instead of anterior, which meant I had back labor. Shortly after the pain started, my blood pressure rose to 195/104, so my nurse gave me some pain medication. I received Demerol IV (heaven sent by the way), because next I napped for an hour in no pain at all. 9:40 am I received my epidural. If you’re afraid of the pain from the insertion of the epidural like I was, in my experience, the IV in my arm was far more painful than the epidural insertion. The only difficult thing was trying to be still while having contractions. 11:30 rolls around and I’m 4 cm. My husband leaves to grab himself lunch, and I nap for an hour. Hubby comes back and the nurse follows him in and checks my cervix. She has a nursing student which I consented that she was allowed to exam me, insert a Foley catheter, and whatever else she needs experience with, because well I’ve been in that boat while in nursing school. So the nurse is checking me, and looks to the nursing student and says, “Do you want to feel the baby’s head?” Me and my husband just look at each other, and I finally felt the, “Oh my gosh it’s really happening feeling” I’m sure most moms feel when their water breaks or labor starts. The nurse basically tells me “don’t push, sneeze, cough, or fart because her head is RIGHT THERE.” So she leaves to call my midwife, midwife comes shortly after, and we start the pushing process. I kid you not, 10 minutes of pushing and my baby is out, and we start the breastfeeding journey. Remember, an hour ago I was only 4 cm dilated! How crazy! At 1:17 pm on January 24, 2019 my baby enters the world weighing 7 lbs 15 oz at 20.25 inches long as healthy as can be.

I wanted to share this experience, because I heard so many horror stories about being induced and how painful and long my labor would be. The only pain I felt was back labor and that lasted maybe 30 minutes to an hour. Of course I had one dose of pain medication and an epidural. Props to you moms who did it naturally. But my labor was just that, easy. You’re the mom to be and it’s your choice on what birth plan to choose, so don’t let anyone’s “advice” sway your decision. Do what is right for you and your baby. If you have questions about ANYTHING mom/baby related, ask away.