Some Reflections on Labor

Giving birth to Holden was one of the most empowering and exhilarating experiences of my life, and I still think back to that day with a profound since of pride and love. With that said, my labor experience didn't exactly go as planned and was far from "ideal." Now that I've had a little bit of time to reflect on the day(s), and before the moment fades into the distant past, I thought I'd share some things I learned from the experience.

1) Best to be flexible, because you can’t always get what you want.

Two days after Holden's due date, Mike and I went in for a scheduled ultrasound-biophysical fully expecting to go out for dinner right after. Instead, Holden failed a portion of the test and thus began an induction process that finally ended two days later. Even though I had begun to come to terms with the possibility that I would have to induce, it took me a quite a while to adjust to the fact that I would not, in fact, have the labor experience I’d hoped for.

2) For some women (like me), Pitocin doesn't work.

Pitocin is a synthetic oxytocin that doctors use to induce labor. In theory, it is supposed to mimic the hormone and start contractions shortly after it enters your system. But for me, it did virtually nothing. The hospital put me on two twelve-hour rounds of the drug, with little to no result (breaking my water finally did the trick).

3) The “slow” induction process was the more humane approach.

My labor process took FOREVER. But this was partly due to the slow induction procedure they used. They started me on a pre-induction drug the first night (cervidil), and then over the next day slowly gave me pitocin. More importantly for me, in between each procedure they gave my body a break so that I could shower and eat a nice big energizing meal. Without these big food breaks, I’m not sure that I would have been able to make it.

4) Popsicles are awesome!

Had them and savored them once every hour. I could also have juice or sprite, but I preferred to popsicles. Kind of made me feel like a kid again.

5) You’ll see the nurses much more than the doctor, and their quality of care can vary.

Being there for almost a week (due in part to Holden’s jaundice) meant that we interacted with many nurses. Some, like the nurse who guided us through most of active labor, were amazing. Others—not so much. But they all like to give advice. Thus, when it came to learning to nurse Holden (a task that took weeks, not days, to master), I received a lot of conflicting advice. The lessons here—trust yourself and the lactation consultants; despite what the nurses might tell you, some babies really aren’t physically ready to nurse properly right away.

6) Watch out for those post-pregnancy hormones!

Wow, my hormones were all over the place two days after Holden was born. Right when they told us that the little guy had jaundice, unfortunately. Not a winning combination when you consider the fact that I was already completely sleep deprived, very sore from labor, and feeling overwhelmed by the monumental task of taking care of a new human being. Thankfully though…

7) My husband is awesome!

I recently read a study somewhere that suggested that husbands could be a hindrance to labor because they add an extra level of anxiety to the situation. I couldn’t disagree more. Sorry to get a little sappy here, but from beginning to end, Mike was my source of strength. Without him, I am quite sure I would have had a C-section. Simply put, he rocked!