Better Late Than Never

by Amy Runion
(Louisville, KY)

When my son was born I was ten days past my due date. My OB-GYN decided that he was going to induce my labor the next morning since he was taking so long.

I was disappointed when I heard this because everyone told me that having your labor induced caused the contractions to be more painful than if they started naturally.

I went home and tried to get some rest before the big day. Around 8:00PM I went into labor on my own. I'm glad that I didn't have to have it induced because it was painful enough with out drugs.

The pain started in my back and ran around to the front.

I had taken classes before hand, but nothing can prepare you for your first contractions. They were very intense. I arrived at Suburban Hospital in Louisville around midnight and received an epidural around 2:00AM.

I have to say that epidurals are the greatest advance in medical science ever. The pain went away almost instantly. I was actually able to sleep some.

Since my water never broke on its own the nurse had to break it manually. This was done with an instrument that looked very similar to a knitting needle. It didn't hurt a bit.

At 12:30 the next day I was ready for my son to be born. The birth itself was very uneventful.

I pushed when I was told to push because I really couldn't feel anything with the epidural.

At 1:05PM on November 29th we welcomed Jason Avery Michael. He weighed 7lbs 14oz and was 22 1/2 inches.