Confused...? - Ball,LA

I didn't have any visitors in the hospital with the first, and really preferred it that way. With the second we had my mom here to help with my son, but other than the two of them, no visitors. I wouldn't change it for anything. This is such a special time. You can make phone calls and they can be there when you get to go home to help out.

I do NOT recommend making this a family affair for the birth .You would be better off by having them help you AFTER the baby has arrived and you are at home. Getting help with them washing clothes, making meals will be better than them just seeing you lay in a hospital bed. Besides those rooms are not very big, making it some sort of holiday will only interfear with the medical help. My family lives far away too and I LOVED it that my hubby and I welcomed our little girl into the world as our own little family. Then it was fun to show her off at home when the families woudl come to visit. His parents came first for 10 days, then we had a 4 day break and my mom and dad then came for 14 days so we had help for just about a whole MONTH...and I NEEDED it. plus having them come separatley was nice to spend the 1 on 1 time with our own moms and dads vs having the grandparent from both sides fighting over who is going to hold the baby.
your pains could be contractions. Just time them. I am sure you will be fine. Good luck getting the doctor to commit to an induction...it wont happen if you are with a good doctor. Anything is possible when you are pregnant. They pretty much wont plan on inducing you until AFTER your due date.

A.,

The birth of your child should not be planned around other people's convenience. If everything is on track and there are no complications there's no reason to induce. This is a very special moment between you, your husband and your child.

Too many visitors can be exhausting at this time. Giving birth is a natural and beautiful event, but your body will need to heal and you will need to rest as much as possible.

It would be nice if someone (Mom, Sis, Aunt etc) would come to help you out the first week or so.

Enjoy your new baby.

Blessings....

Just a word of warning... inductions don't always lead to emergency c-sections, but they very very frequently do.

Here's why:

The chemical they use to induce doesn't cause normal labor. Instead of the uterus squeeszing from a top down motion, it squeezes in all directions at the same time. The chemical is called pitocin, and it's a completely natural chemical released by your body AFTER birth in order to start shrinking your uterus. Does it work? Mostly. Although it's a lot more painful because it's squeezing ineffectively. ((Think about toothpaste...squashing from the middle of an empty roll or squeezing from the end. Don't be afraid about your uterus ripping to shreds, however, they've got the dosages FAR more under control than the did a few decades ago when too much was given and the uterus would rip itself)). Talking with my profs it works about 75% of the time. So apx 1 woman in 4 ends up with an emergency c-sect. As opposed to waiting for labor to occur naturally which takes the odds down to 1 in 100+ (our national averages are high, most developed countries the numbers are closer to 1 in 1000 or higher).

My personal feeling is that if my family REALLY wants to be there for the birth, they can come early. I was given pitocin on accident 1/2way through my labor, and there is no way I would *ever* do it on purpose unless it was medically necessary. TOTALLY different labor. (LOL... of course, once the epidural was ordered... who can tell? I ended up going to sleep for a few hours after my epi was given. I wasn't going to have an epi, but several hours after the accidental pitocin push it was epi or c-sect) Babies are, by their nature, inconvenient. You may have a 2 hour or 20 hour (or 36) labor. So even if you go in at 5am to get induced, you may well not deliver until 5am the next morning. Or midnight, or 3am, or noon. So your family may have plenty of time to get there, and then be stuck waiting in a hospital waiting room for ages. They WILL be inconvenienced by your baby one way or another. Period. So will you. It's just the nature of the game.

You should talk to your Doctor about pain, but it is also likely that your ligaments are relaxing to allow your bones to spread, as this happens when the baby drops lower into the pelvis. The ligaments all over your body are relaxed for the impeding birth, it is one of the ways your body changes to allow the baby to be born through your pelvis, and the reason that you waddle. Always check with your doctor, or speak to the nurse, they understand and expect questions and would rather be telling you not to worry about something than to miss something that you should worry about.

I doubt any doctor would schedule an induction without medical necessity. You baby would probably be fine, but it is a much better experience if you just go into labor the old fashoned way. I had two medically necissary inductions, but when into labor naturally once, and it was the easiet, quickest, most carefree delivery of the three. You can be at home for quite some time if you go into labor naturally, but you will have to be in the hospital for the early labor if you are induced.

Some things you cannot control or make sure happen in a way that meet every expectation. You will learn just how often this is the case once your baby is born, and you would be best to learn that ridgid expection is going to lead you to un needed disapointment. I would reccomend that you get used to a little inconvience in your life and learn to be OK with not being able to plan the way your life is going to go, becasue you can't do that, especially now that you are going to be a Mom. If you don't, the next few years are going to be really difficult for you. The first rule of Mommyhood is to love the baby (and the experience) that you get and forget what you thought it would be like, because that is not going to happen. It really is much different, and usually much better than your thought it would be. Having that attitidue will see you though the moments that are harder than you ever dreamed too.

What will be, will be and you can't change that.
M.

I would never plan my child's birth for the convience of people getting there. Understandable, the grandparent's and such want to be there, but its one of god's miracles that we shouldn't interfere with. They can get there when they get there or make it work to take more time to come up and wait with you. :)

Best of luck on your soon coming blessing!

I would rethink getting induced just so everyone can make it to the hospital, with induction there is always the chance that it doesn't work and you end up with a c-section. Its also true you will spend much longer in the hospital with an induction because you will have to be there from start to finish and hooked up to an IV the whole time. If this is your first child you could be in labor for a long time. Your family could at least make it there once the baby is born.

I don't recommend induction unless medically necessary. Check w/ your doctor.

I had pains like that too w/ my first. Drink lots of fluids, rest, and the doctor will probably tell you it is just ligament pains.

I think your pains are probably just your hips "spreading" and getting ready to make room for the baby to come out. At the end of my pregnancy it became hard to walk because of this pain. It *could* be contractions, but more than likely not. I got Braxton-Hicks for several weeks before I went into actual labor, but it was more of a slight crampy feeling and my belly would get really hard. Real labor feels more like a sudden menstrual cramp that starts soft, gets more intense, and then disappears, but comes back at regular intervals and doesn't stop with a change in activity level or by drinking or eating something.

As for your other question, I do not recommend scheduling your birth around your family's ability to be there. I live 5 hours from my family. I wanted them to be there, but it was impractical. It turns out that I gave birth during the H1N1 epidemic, so they wouldn't even allow visitors except for my husband. It turned out fine, and my family made it out to greet us when we got home. Plus, during the early morning hours after I had my son, I held him and watched out the window as the sun came up and everything was so quiet and magical with just the two of us (my husband was sleeping in the chair!). I ended up being glad that no one was there to spoil that perfect moment. Also, during the labor, you're gonna make some noises and say some things that you might not want your family to have to hear! LOL. Just something to think about!

I can see where you're coming from but I wouldn't do an induction w/o it being medically necessary.
I was induced because of medical necessity , baby size and they had to put meds in my IV and wanted to make sure I had all of them before he came out. and it wasn't bad , but in the end because my baby WAS so big I did end up with a c section, which I healed much faster from than my first which was natural.

I scheduled induction for 2 of mine and I much preferred it. The first time people told me HORROR stories about how much worse the labor was, but that wasn't my experience. The contractions didn't start out any harder or any more frequently. They started out with a really low dose in my drip and very gradually added more. I was glad to be able to plan because I really don't like surprises. I like a plan.

Are they sharp pains ALL around your hips or just certain spots?
They could always be Braxton hicks contractions. Never a bad Idea to ask your DR, just incase.

When it comes to the induction...I can kinda feel for ya there.
I live in Ohio and have NO family here. They're in Cali or Illinois or florida or arizona..all over. I wish They could ALL be here for when the baby is born.
I personally don't agree with the induction idea. BUT that's MY personal choice. I think the baby will come when it's ready & its best to wait it out naturally. *unless there is a problem of course*

Ultimately it's your body, your choice hun. Like I said though I can understand you wanting to do so.

The pains may be contractions. You can feel pain in a lot of different places. Are you having any other labor symptoms?

As far as inducement-I personally don't feel like it's a good idea. The labor may be worse and I'm pretty sure there is a higher correlation to having a c-section w/induction. I've had both vaginal birth and a c-sect and it's sooo much easier afterward with a vaginal birth. I also think it's best to give babies as long as possible in the womb to get as big and strong as possible to deal with the big world :)

I do understand about the family situation though. My family it out of state as well. It's really hard not having them nearby.

Best of luck!

Inducing make the labor much more intense and painful. If you're doing the epidural no matter what, it may not matter. I personally believe it is best to let your baby "bake until completion" if at all humanly possible. There is a lot of rapid brain development going on, and the longer they can just rest in there an grow the better. You never know if you're inducing a few days early, or a few weeks early, so I would put baby's health before visitor's convenience.
Not sure about those pains by your hips. Contractions feel like menstrual cramps, and braxton contractions make your whole belly hard like a bowling ball for a few minutes.