I went 2 weeks over my due date and had to be induced. The dr. had told me a month ago that my baby was already over 8 pounds and they would't let me go more than 2 weeks over my due date so she wouldn't get too big (BTW, she was 6 pounds, 14 ounces when born!) So on January 21, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and my brother's birthday, my husband I went to the hospital. They used cervidil to induce me and I didn't actually start having contractions until the middle of the afternoon (we got there at 7 am) so it was kind of boring at first. My contractions really started up around 4 pm. Around 7 pm when they were getting really bad my brother-in-law and mom both called within half an hour of each. My hubby was already on his phone when his brother called so I answered that phone call. About 30 seconds into the conversation, I had a contraction and had to literally throw the phone at my husband. I found out later than when both my brother-in-law and mom called, they were at an informal meeting at church (small church, everyone knew I was having a baby right then) and they BOTH put me on speaker phone so most of the people in my church heard me having contractions. Awkward. Around 10 pm, the dr. broke my water and then the contractions Really started. I got an epidural shortly thereafter, but the nurse forgot to tell me that I had to keep turning over and so it only worked on 1 side. Around midnight I started pushing off and on and then at 2:28 am on January 22nd, my beautiful baby girl was born. I started bawling uncontrollably when she came out and couldn't stop for a long time. It was so overwhelming after 9 months of waiting and agonizing and there she finally was. I was so tired from labor and pushing that I didn't even notice that they didn't give her to me to breastfeed until 6 hours later and I think that's the reason we had such issues with breastfeeding after that. But live and learn. Next time I'll insist that they give me my baby right away instead of taking her to the nursery so I can sleep the rest of the night. The sleep was appreciated, but I would rather have started breastfeeding right away.
The first night after she was born, we roomed-in. I had torn really badly and couldn't even move in bed. My dd kept crying during the night and although I threw everything in reach other than the actual baby at my husband, I couldn't get him to wake up and help me pick her up out of her bassinet. I ended up grabbing her blanket (she was swaddled tightly) and pulling her to me that way instead of picking her up properly. Why I didn't call a nurse is beyond me. But we survived the first night and the second night I sent her to the nursery with instructions to bring her to me for feeding since I knew it was going to be the last time I got a good night's sleep for a while.
Everyone told me how hard it would be to give birth, but I think the recovery period was more difficult. I could barely walk or sit and here I was trying to care for a newborn. I lost my appetite for over a month after she was born and could barely ate at all so I dropped the baby weight pretty fast. BTW, not the safest way to do that especially if you're breastfeeding!
As hard as it was, I can't wait to do it again. Not pregnant yet, but hopefully this winter it'll happen!