I went in Tuesday night at 7:30 pm for an induction, and I had been 1.5 cm 50% effaced for the last 3 weeks. By 8:30, I had 2 cervical balloons and a pill placed to get things going before pitocin. Mild contractions started immediately, and I was breathing through them but they were bearable. I made slow progress at first and after like 3 hours I was only 2-3 cm. Around this time, they decided to start pitocin and keep the balloon in, as well. About 10 minutes after they started pitocin, contractions became INTENSE. It was all in my back, too. They were coming every 2-3 minutes but sometimes every 1-2 minutes. I labored with a peanut ball, on all fours, etc. Finally, my nurse was able to pull out (more like a pop) the balloons and I was 5 cm! I was so happy with the progress finally but was in so much pain at this point. They upped my pitocin and at that point I was given the option for some IV pain meds that would last an hour or less. I said yes because I wanted to get farther along before getting the epidural. Well the IV pain meds did absolutely nothing for me pain wise and just made me start throwing up (looking back I would have skipped them). Well maybe another couple hours go by and I’m absolutely miserable so I requested the epidural and she checked and I was at a 6! Got the epidural 45 minutes later and let me tell you..... INSTANT RELIEF. I couldn’t feel any more contractions as the nurse was telling me I was getting big ones every 2-3 minutes 😂 they kept playing with the pitocin amount and I kept on feeling absolutely great and no pain at all lol. This continues for awhile as my contractions would start to go down and they would need to keep playing with the pitocin. I didn’t mind at all because again I was feeling great. Finally, at 2:30 I was complete and ready to push! I could definitely feel the pressure and my body naturally needing to push with the contractions at this point, even with the epidural, but I honestly liked it and was happy I experienced that. It still wasn’t super painful but pushing was intense! My eyes felt like they were going to bulge out of my sockets 🤪 One hour after I started pushing, Oakley Grace made her appearance at 3:26 PM, weighing 8.1 pounds and 20 1/2 inches! She is our little angel and we are so in love 💗💗💗