The good, the bad, and the ugly...continued.

I think I scared some of you with my last post!  Truth is, childbirth isn't pretty BUT you get the most beautiful gift after the blood, sweat, tears, and pooping on the table are over (just for the record, I didn't poop!)

You get to lay eyes on your precious little baby!  And it is true that you forget everything that you just went through and the next few weeks you will be too exhausted to care about the nasty stuff that follows.  

Want to know things to make your labor more good than ugly?

Well, good luck because it's going to be ugly! 

Hahaha ok I kid, I kid.  Sort of. 

Here are things I learned from my labor....

Whatever you do don't take any of the medicine the nurses will be trying to shove down your throat. 

I was offered ambien and stadol (sp?)  about 100 times.  Ambien I was offered right after I was given the cervidal (sp?) to try to get some sleep "in between contractions".  After about the 5th time of being offered it I said ok whatever.  Bad idea.  It was also in my birth plan not to take medication.  That flew out the window.  Once my contractions started they were one right on top of the other.  I didn't get to "sleep between" them.  There wasn't much of an in between.  So things were just a little hazy for a few hours while trying to get through the contractions.  

The stadol was way worse.  This was offered later in my labor and I finally just said ok again after being told 100 times I could have it.  They gave me one shot in the butt and one in the IV.  Soon after I got it I felt SO out of it.  Almost like I was totally wasted drunk.  I couldn't see straight, I couldn't think straight. It was miserable.  And guess what?  It didn't even touch the pain.  Not a single bit.  Never again.

Have a barf bucket ready.  This would have been nice to know.  I didn't throw up my entire pregnancy so I guess I had it coming.  The pain was so intense all of a sudden I felt sick.  I no sooner got the words "I'm going to puke" out of my mouth when it happened and didn't stop.  Dustin had tried to grab a bed pan but it was too late. 

Contractions suck.  I had really wanted an all natural birth.  I am so weird about medicine and anything being put in my body.  Another reason I am so annoyed with myself for giving in to the ambien and stadol.  But guess what?  After over 12 hours of labor and being awake for way more than 24 hours I was done.  I asked for the epidural shortly after vomiting all over myself.  If you get anything during labor and delivery that is the thing to get.  Don't suffer through these off the chart contractions....

The epidural was the best thing ever.  I am terrified of needles.  I am scared of medicine.  It was a piece of cake.  Three little pricks to numb ya and you're good to go.  The worst part?  Trying to hold still during those contractions.  I felt guilty getting it but after a few minutes that feeling went away.  My body was able to relax and I went from 5cm to 10cm in less than an hour, my water broke on its own and I pushed P out a little over an hour later.  It was apparently just what I needed.  And the pain was completely gone.  In fact, everything happened so soon after I got it that I had no idea when to push and felt absolutely nothing.  That has to be better than feeling what was about it happen right?

Labor is hard.  That is why it's called labor but I'm going to just tell you whether you decide to go all natural, get an epidural, or end up with a c section you need to keep your eye on the prize and boy is it the most beautiful prize you will ever receive.  And don't forget that you are tough and stronger than you think.  You can get through it!  I promise.

And soon your labor and delivery will be a distant memory.  

The pain you won't remember.  

The blood and guts you won't remember.

The giant maxi pads and mesh underpants you won't remember.

Time goes by so fast after that soon that tiny baby above will turn into this...

That's all for now folks.  Now go enter the twotara giveaway here.

Also, thank you for all the great feedback on my posts.  I just now realized how to respond to comments (I am slow) so I plan on responding to ya'll from now on!