I’ve appreciated reading the other birth stories that have been posted, so while I’m lying here in the hospital unable to sleep, I thought I would share mine (so far).

This morning (Monday) I went to my Dr for my weekly check-up. My blood pressure was high after several readings, so they sent me to the hospital for monitoring. My Dr actually thought I’d be able to go home after a few hours, and had me schedule my regular check-up. As I got settled in the hospital (around 2pm), my blood pressure actually started returning to a more normal level, however when we were sent for an ultrasound they said the baby’s abdomen was measuring small (several weeks behind), and that paired with the high blood pressure indicated that the placenta may not be functioning the best, and since I’m close to full term, that the baby would thrive better on the outside. At 9pm they gave me Cervadil, and contractions started around 11. At this point (2:30am) they are pretty frequent, about every 4-5 minutes, and are increasing in intensity, however not so much that I can’t speak or am too uncomfortable. For now it’s too much to sleep through, but not strong enough to call the nurses in for. They plan to give me pitocin around 9 am, which was very much not part of my ideal labor preferences, but here we are! Will share updates as they come for anyone that is interested. 😊

Tuesday update: contractions continued through the night, but I was able to sleep through some for maybe 2 hours of sleep. At 9am they removed the cervadil, and said I was 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated. After a shower and breakfast, they started the pitocin around 10:30am, and I’ve been on it since (now 3:45pm). Contractions actually lessened in intensity as I was up and mov Bh, rather than trying to sleep. They will check me again in an hour or so, but it looks like they may stop the pitocin around 6pm and do another round of cervadil. Dr seemed disappointed that I wasn’t hunched over from contractions, but honestly I don’t hate the thought of the little guy in there a little longer if he’s happy. Not expecting a baby today, but probably tomorrow!

Wednesday update:

With the cervadil in last night, I had contractions a majority of the night and they were getting closer (2-4 min). They removed that, let me eat and shower, and now I’m restarting pitocin. I’m 1-2 cm dilated and still 50% effaced, but hopefully things will continue to progress throughout the day!

Wednesday evening update:

After restarting the pitocin, when they checked me around 10:30am, I was dilated to 3-4cm and they broke my water. I tried to tough through the more intense contractions, but after about 45 min I decided to get the epidural. Since they had broken my water, she said I wouldn’t really be able to get up and walk around, which would have been the only way I could have survived the contractions naturally. Getting the epidural was INTENSE, especially since I was having contractions throughout. It was honestly quite painful, and had nothing to do with the needles- just a painful experience with the contractions involved! Now once it kicked in, absolutely 100% worth it, and I’m so glad I did it after having been in labor since Monday night. They told me to sleep as much as possible, which I did and then they rechecked me around 2pm- 8cm dilated and baby had continued to drop. Yay! They checked again about 2.5 hours later, and I was 9+, with baby continuing to drop. Moved me to a more upright position, and hopefully in an hour or 2 it will be time to push! For me so far the only truly painful and uncomfortable portion was from when they broke my water until the epidural kicked in- about 1.5 hours total. The contractions through the night weren’t pleasant and I couldn’t sleep through them, but I could breathe through them relatively well. I know this isn’t the experience for everyone, but I did want to share what my experience has been! Will try to update again after baby arrives.