Shanon and Cami
Epidural, vaginal delivery
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On March 8, 1998 at about 1:00 a.m. I had contractions five minutes apart. My husband drove like a madman to the ER, we were admitted, then sent home three hours later. At about 11:00 a.m. March 9, 1998 I woke out of a deep sleep with a shocking pain. However, after the embarrassment of being sent home I was determined not to go back to the hospital until the pain was absolutely unbearable.
I ached pretty much all day. My husband was at work, and my mom came and sat with me some. I decided to give the old "walking" theory a try. I walked up and down my hallway for a loooong time. As my husband and I were trying to settle down to sleep around midnight I was in so much pain that I could not even lie down. I phoned the maternity floor and asked to speak with a friend of mine, who was a labor and delivery nurse. She told me if I wasn't there it wasn't the real thing. Also, she suggested taking some Benedryl and going to sleep. I was furious! I slammed things around in my medicine cabinet, said a few bad words, and then decided to just go to sleep like my dear husband was doing.
No sooner than my head hit the pillow I jumped up and screamed in pain that IT WAS TIME TO GO!!!! When we entered the ER this time the receptionist commented that this must be the real thing because of the obvious pain I was in. I was admitted into L&D by about 1:10 a.m. and dilated at 2 cm, and when I reached 5cm I begged my doctor for an epidural. He gave it to me! It was magical! I slept for about 1 hour (like a baby), then the pain returned. The epidural was boosted and worked for 15 minutes. When they decided it had slipped and needed to be replaced, it was too late! I was fully dilated and my baby was not waiting. I pushed for one hour and 12 minutes and my darling angel arrived on March 10th at 2:12 p.m. The pushing was horrific for me. I really thought I was going to die. I did tear and had a lot of pain afterward. I did not want an episiotomy, so when I saw my doctor getting ready to do it I just pushed hard and she came out. I am not sure if that was a good idea, but it worked for me.
I got to hold my princess for about an hour after and breastfeed as well. It was the most beautiful experience ever. I will never forget it. For all of the macho women saying natural is the best- I disagree. Even though mine didn't work perfectly I will definitely try the epidural again.
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