What I WISH I KNEW before LABOR!!
I get a lot of questions all the time about my deliveries. I am sharing some of the realizations that I came to AFTER I gave birth to 4 children... (would have been nice to know BEFORE I gave birth at all.)
You don't know what you don't know! If you don't have someone who can help you through your delivery (by asking the right questions etc..), you may think that you are having a "NORMAL" experience. I wish that I would have known everything that I list below, before I went in to labor with Violet, Preston and my Twins, Juliana and Parker. I didn't realize all this golden information until I was actually apart of a delivery, but NOT the one delivering.
So here's MY Nitty Gritty Truth on child birth and some things that I think EVERYONE should know before they walk into that hospital. (and if you don't like hospitals and you would rather give birth in your bath tub.... Well I wish you the best.... I have a nephew that was an at home birth... They had good success, but not everyone is that lucky. Every one of my HEALTHY pregnancies needed NICU to come in during the delivery. Not to be negative, but the reality is, That too could be your reality...)
Alright, back to the Wish List of what I would have liked to know before I went into labor...
1) Assign a Spokesperson. Make sure that you have a person that will speak for up for you! I would suggest using someone OTHER THAN THE FATHER of the baby. This way he can focus on annoying you and you can focus on wanting to punch him in the face when he tells you that "You're doing Great!" No really, you need someone that will speak up for you. You should have an "Idea" of what you want and what you don't want during labor, share it with them and let them HELP YOU when you are not in your right mind.
2) Nurses. The sooner you know this, the better! The Nurses are NOT THERE to coach you through the labor. They are there to make sure that YOU AND YOUR BABY are SAFE and HEALTHY! I think that you should re-read that, It is NOT in their job description to coach you through this delivery. Most of them have not even given birth themselves. They may be nice and have a nice smile, and trust me you are so lucky to have a smiling face on your side... But get it right when I tell you that they are NOT there to make sure that you have a picture perfect labor. Read and REREAD!
Again, have someone in the room who can take this list with you to the hospital. IT WILL HELP! I had awesome sweet nurses and they were there for me, as much as they could be. This helpful hint I didn't realize this until I actually was with my best friend during her delivery. It was amazing to me how much I could help her during the delivery and make it as smooth as possible. I was asking nurses questions and I was speaking up for my friend, who didn't know any difference. Again, Nurses are not there to Coach they are there to make sure that YOU and YOUR BABY are SAFE AND HEALTHY!!!!
3) Don't go in until YOU HAVE TO! Labor at home as long as possible, for all 4 of my deliveries I showered, shaved, ate, etc... When the pain got more intense I would make my way to the hospital. I was around 5cm dilated when I went in for all 3 of the labors. I still labored for at least 6 hours. That baby is not going to fall out! As much as we would like it to, its not!
4) Get your BUTT OUT OF BED! When you get there and once they check you and realize that you are having a baby they will then admit you, once you are all checked in (which takes a while) they will move you to your labor and delivery room. They will have you lay in bed, and hook you up to monitors, if you don't know better.... You will lay there... YOU CAN GET UP! DO IT! GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED! Laying in bed will cause more intense contractions because your laying on a hard surface. Ask for a yoga ball to sit on, walk around the room, stand there and sway back and forth, do something.... DO NOT LAY IN BED (until you have to!) Again, for the most part, your nurse will NOT be telling you to get your BUTT UP AND MOVE. Just laying there will slow your labor down!
5) Epidural. Do it if you want. No one is going to give you a medal for having a natural birth with no drugs. If you want to have some pain relief, have some. BUT, BE CAREFUL! Again, back to having a spokesperson, have them look at all your limbs and make sure that they are on the bed. You will not be able to feel anything waist down, so have someone there that will make sure that you are not getting your legs caught in the bed! (I have a friend that this happened to... ) NOT COOL! Also, the do the medication based on your height and weight. If its TOO STRONG, TELL THEM! THEY CAN TURN IT DOWN!
6) If you CANT FEEL what your doing, You're going to push WRONG! When you are Dilated to 9 or so and they are telling you that its about time to push, TELL THEM that you want your Epidural TURNED OFF or DOWN or something (trust me, they can do this!) This way your body will start to feel what its supposed to. You will not have this baby Epidural Free, you will have this baby feeling the natural feelings of what your body tells you! You will have the urge to push....
When people tell me, "Oh my Epidural completely wore off" It drives me crazy! Seriously!!! Yes, it may have wore off a little, but if you can still carry on a conversation or if you can have a controlled push, or if you have any moment in the delivery were you are at some sort of a comfort level, YOUR EPIDURAL DIDN'T WEAR OFF ENTIRELY! You WANT IT to wear off a little. Helps with an easier, smoother delivery that doesn't involve you pushing you butt inside out. Sounds gross but its true, if you push incorrectly you could either A. make no progress and end up in C-section or B. push your butt hole inside out.... YUCK!
7) Bring an iPod or something, everything and everyone is going to annoy you. Don't be afraid to put it on and take some "ME" time during your delivery.
8) Make sure that your doctors/ nurses are hearing you! When I had Parker the last baby and the second Twin, he was an emergency C-section and I could feel everything, no pain associated with it, but trust me, I could feel every touch and every movement! I had an Epidural and the anastegeoloist nurse who was monitoring me, kept telling my doctor that I was plenty numb. I continued to tell them all that I could feel everything. Thank GOD that the Anastegeoloist Doc came in and LISTENED TO ME. They were about to cut me and he spoke up for me, and asked the doc to test me before he cut. They did, I felt it and they had to PUT ME OUT! Make sure that if you are in a situation where YOU are by yourself like I was, that you get someone, ANYONE to LISTEN to you!
Remember: TAKE PICTURES! Take them, take them, take them!!! Even when the baby is coming out. They are GREAT pictures to have for your own personal memories! Have your spokesperson also take pictures. You are pushing a baby out, you are not going to see it happen!
I hope this is helpful!
That's MY Nitty Gritty Truth,
Anne
Mommy and Daddy - about to meet our Twins
(Juliana vaginal birth, Parker emergency C-Section)
You don't know what you don't know! If you don't have someone who can help you through your delivery (by asking the right questions etc..), you may think that you are having a "NORMAL" experience. I wish that I would have known everything that I list below, before I went in to labor with Violet, Preston and my Twins, Juliana and Parker. I didn't realize all this golden information until I was actually apart of a delivery, but NOT the one delivering.
Mommy and Preston Lea- Sept 27th, 2008
So here's MY Nitty Gritty Truth on child birth and some things that I think EVERYONE should know before they walk into that hospital. (and if you don't like hospitals and you would rather give birth in your bath tub.... Well I wish you the best.... I have a nephew that was an at home birth... They had good success, but not everyone is that lucky. Every one of my HEALTHY pregnancies needed NICU to come in during the delivery. Not to be negative, but the reality is, That too could be your reality...)
Parker James - had to spend 48 hours in NICU
Alright, back to the Wish List of what I would have liked to know before I went into labor...
1) Assign a Spokesperson. Make sure that you have a person that will speak for up for you! I would suggest using someone OTHER THAN THE FATHER of the baby. This way he can focus on annoying you and you can focus on wanting to punch him in the face when he tells you that "You're doing Great!" No really, you need someone that will speak up for you. You should have an "Idea" of what you want and what you don't want during labor, share it with them and let them HELP YOU when you are not in your right mind.
Tabby (My AWESOME Nurse) and Violet - August 8th, 2007
Again, have someone in the room who can take this list with you to the hospital. IT WILL HELP! I had awesome sweet nurses and they were there for me, as much as they could be. This helpful hint I didn't realize this until I actually was with my best friend during her delivery. It was amazing to me how much I could help her during the delivery and make it as smooth as possible. I was asking nurses questions and I was speaking up for my friend, who didn't know any difference. Again, Nurses are not there to Coach they are there to make sure that YOU and YOUR BABY are SAFE AND HEALTHY!!!!
3) Don't go in until YOU HAVE TO! Labor at home as long as possible, for all 4 of my deliveries I showered, shaved, ate, etc... When the pain got more intense I would make my way to the hospital. I was around 5cm dilated when I went in for all 3 of the labors. I still labored for at least 6 hours. That baby is not going to fall out! As much as we would like it to, its not!
4) Get your BUTT OUT OF BED! When you get there and once they check you and realize that you are having a baby they will then admit you, once you are all checked in (which takes a while) they will move you to your labor and delivery room. They will have you lay in bed, and hook you up to monitors, if you don't know better.... You will lay there... YOU CAN GET UP! DO IT! GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED! Laying in bed will cause more intense contractions because your laying on a hard surface. Ask for a yoga ball to sit on, walk around the room, stand there and sway back and forth, do something.... DO NOT LAY IN BED (until you have to!) Again, for the most part, your nurse will NOT be telling you to get your BUTT UP AND MOVE. Just laying there will slow your labor down!
5) Epidural. Do it if you want. No one is going to give you a medal for having a natural birth with no drugs. If you want to have some pain relief, have some. BUT, BE CAREFUL! Again, back to having a spokesperson, have them look at all your limbs and make sure that they are on the bed. You will not be able to feel anything waist down, so have someone there that will make sure that you are not getting your legs caught in the bed! (I have a friend that this happened to... ) NOT COOL! Also, the do the medication based on your height and weight. If its TOO STRONG, TELL THEM! THEY CAN TURN IT DOWN!
6) If you CANT FEEL what your doing, You're going to push WRONG! When you are Dilated to 9 or so and they are telling you that its about time to push, TELL THEM that you want your Epidural TURNED OFF or DOWN or something (trust me, they can do this!) This way your body will start to feel what its supposed to. You will not have this baby Epidural Free, you will have this baby feeling the natural feelings of what your body tells you! You will have the urge to push....
When people tell me, "Oh my Epidural completely wore off" It drives me crazy! Seriously!!! Yes, it may have wore off a little, but if you can still carry on a conversation or if you can have a controlled push, or if you have any moment in the delivery were you are at some sort of a comfort level, YOUR EPIDURAL DIDN'T WEAR OFF ENTIRELY! You WANT IT to wear off a little. Helps with an easier, smoother delivery that doesn't involve you pushing you butt inside out. Sounds gross but its true, if you push incorrectly you could either A. make no progress and end up in C-section or B. push your butt hole inside out.... YUCK!
7) Bring an iPod or something, everything and everyone is going to annoy you. Don't be afraid to put it on and take some "ME" time during your delivery.
8) Make sure that your doctors/ nurses are hearing you! When I had Parker the last baby and the second Twin, he was an emergency C-section and I could feel everything, no pain associated with it, but trust me, I could feel every touch and every movement! I had an Epidural and the anastegeoloist nurse who was monitoring me, kept telling my doctor that I was plenty numb. I continued to tell them all that I could feel everything. Thank GOD that the Anastegeoloist Doc came in and LISTENED TO ME. They were about to cut me and he spoke up for me, and asked the doc to test me before he cut. They did, I felt it and they had to PUT ME OUT! Make sure that if you are in a situation where YOU are by yourself like I was, that you get someone, ANYONE to LISTEN to you!
Twins Delivery - Juliana is about to be born
Juliana Marie- March 24, 2012
Remember: TAKE PICTURES! Take them, take them, take them!!! Even when the baby is coming out. They are GREAT pictures to have for your own personal memories! Have your spokesperson also take pictures. You are pushing a baby out, you are not going to see it happen!
I hope this is helpful!
That's MY Nitty Gritty Truth,
Anne
blog on, mama. i just had a chance to read these posts. i look forward to seeing your posts in my blogger feed. yay!! i love you:)!!
ReplyDeleteThank you lady! Miss you too :)
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