MY FIRST INDUCTION 

With my first son I worked at The Clinic for Women as a sonographer and my doctor was (and still is) Dr. Samples. Like most first time moms I was a little nervous! You hear sooooo many birthing stories and I was just ready to get started and see what my story would be! I was 37 weeks and dilated 1 cm, that was super exciting! Being dilated at all makes you a better candidate for induction and betters your chance of not ending up with a C-Section. I knew I wanted more children so one of my biggest fears was having a C-section because that puts an automatic limit on how many children you can safely deliver. The next couple of weeks went by with no change, still 1 cm dilated and we started talking induction. 

I was dead set on having Dr. Samples be the delivering doctor. The Male doctors at our practice were great but I did NOT want one of them to see me give birth and then have to work with them on a regular basis…super uncomfortable! Plus, it is so nice being able to plan the whole situation when being induced! So we set the date and I went to the hospital at 6 p.m. June 29th to be induced on June 30th. 

We ate a huge meal at Nothing But Noodles at about 5 p.m. and then headed to the hospital. We got settled and at about 7 or 8 p.m. I got my first round of….something that works on your cervix, I can’t remember the name! A couple of hours later I got my second round of that cervix medication and contractions started becoming more regular. I wanted to go as long as possible without the epidural in case it slowed my labor. By 2 a.m. my contractions were FAST AND HARD. I would get over one contraction and the next one would already be starting! This was all before I started the Pitocin. I asked the sweet nurse if the severity and closeness of my contractions was normal, because in the movies it looks like mamas at least got breaks between them! She told me that when you are induced, you are forcing your body to do something it wasn’t ready for and that is why it is so much more intense! I mean, I wish someone would have mentioned that prior to my induction?!

Finally, I was 4.5 cm dilated and asked for the epidural, it was fantastic relief! It’s about 2:45 a.m. by now and my blood pressure, along with the baby’s heart rate dropped. The nurses watched me closely, gave me oxygen, positioned me perfectly, and called Dr. Samples. She was on stand by because it was looking like I might need that C-section after all. BUT, me and my baby boy bounced back and all was good! I rested about an hour or 2 before it was time to start the pitocin at 6 am. Sleep was almost impossible due to the excellent care I received. Between nurses checking in on me and my family visiting I (and my husband) got next to NO sleep. I started as ready to start a few mins past 5 p.m. and my 1st baby boy entered this world after 15 mins and 6 rounds of pushing. It was fantastic and I was ecstatic to meet my 7lb 15oz bundle of perfection! 

SO as great as my experience was, by the time my baby was born I had gone 24 hours without eating, had very little sleep, and now it was time to figure out how to be a Mom! The pure adrenaline of meeting my child got me through but It was trying to say the least. I don’t know if I would have made a different decision had I been aware of the more severe labor, lack of eating and sleeping. BUT I have never understood why other moms didn’t talk about this aspect?!?! SO I hope this helps some of you moms!

MY SECOND INDUCTION 

With my second son I said I wanted to naturally go into labor! Now that I had experienced child birth once, it didn’t seem quite so scary. Unfortunately my little man had an umbilical cord problem. The umbilical cord inserted into the very edge of my placenta, rather than in the middle. This is called a Velamentous Cord insertion, something I found myself at 17 weeks. The specialist disagreed with my suspicions, and told me things were normal. Thankfully Dr. Samples trusted me and took my worries seriously. Turns out I was correct and this cord problem made my little man growth restricted. He wasn’t getting enough nutrients so after close monitoring I made it to 39 weeks, but Dr. Samples didn’t think it was safe to go a day past that. 

My induction was a lot different this time. I was already 4 cm dilated compared to the 1 cm I was when I was induced with my 1st son. SO I didn’t have to go to the hospital until 6 a.m. the day of my induction as compared to 6 p.m. the night before with my first. I got my epidural quicker because labor would be quicker and I didn’t have all of the heart rate drama. My son was “sunny side up” which means he was facing my front side when he should have been facing my back side, but I was determined to deliver him as quickly as possible! After 2 rounds of pushing, he was here. My placenta abrupted, thanks to the velamentous cord insertion but he was already out and safe (praise the Lord). My 2 sons were both 19 inches long, My 1st weighed 7lbs 15oz compared to my growth restricted 2nd son, who weighted 5lbs 13oz! The weight difference was thanks to the abnormal cord. (Side Note, that specialist did contact my doctor and apologize for missing what could have been a serious issue if my doctor hadn’t trusted my judgement! Too little too late!)

But as far as the induction experience, it was smooth sailing once again. I had gotten to eat late the night before so I wasn’t quite so starved the next evening. I didn’t get a full night sleep because I was overly excited and getting prepared, but I did get way more rest than with my first. So overall a less exhausting experience! And again, it was extra nice to be able to plan, especially with my 18 month old at home. 

MY THIRD PREGNANCY

Now I am pregnant with my 3rd son! He is healthy and My pregnancy is going great! I don’t know if this is my last baby, but I want to experience the drama of going into labor on my own! My water breaking and everyone jumping in the car to rush to the hospital! or timing contractions and realizing it’s almost time! But with 2 little ones and a business to run, I don’t know if I can resist the convenience  of scheduling my delivery. I also won’t go past 40 weeks. SO If I have a 3rd induction, I will not be heart broken BUT I am super excited that going into labor naturally is a possibility!!