Induction/Birth Story

Emberlynn is finally here.  She was born October 26th at 10:14pm.  She weighed 7lbs 5oz and is 20.25in long.  Here is the story of her arrival...
Because I went past my due date I had to be induced.  So the morning of the 26th we had to go into the hospital at 6am.  Around 7am they got my IV in and they started my pitocin about 7:15am.  My doctor came in around 9:30am and broke my water.  I apparently had a lot of fluid which relieved my doctor because she had been concerned about Emy's size but then believed that my fluid level had thrown off her guess.  My doctor checked me and I was between 3cm and 4cm.  I was left along to labor and my pitocin was turned up about every 30min.  Then things got interesting.  From this point on, I really won't reference time because I was not watching a clock.
I was having intense, constant back pain.  The contractions were still manageable but I felt like I couldn't get a break because of the back pain.  I finally asked the nurse about pain medicine and we agreed on a half dose of stadol since I was still afraid of the epidural.  Well when she was coming back with the medicine, a tornado warning was issued.  My pitocin was turned off and I was wheeled into the hallway.  The pitocin had to be turned off because the monitor wouldn't reach out into the hallway and I couldn't be on pitocin without being on the monitor.  The nurse went ahead and brought me the stadol so I spent most of the almost two hours of hall time very groggy and out of it.  I am a lightweight when it comes to medication which is why we agreed on a half dose.  Well eventually the tornado warning expired and they wheeled me back into the room and had just started my pitocin again when another tornado warning was issued so it was back to the hallway.  When that tornado warning expired and I got back into the room and back on pitocin I was still having a lot of back so I asked for another half dose of stadol.  I ended up being a fan of the stadol because I could still feel the contractions but it took care of the back pain.  Each dose lasted about two hours and I usually let half an hour pass in between doses.  Although I dozed in and out with every dose of stadol which is probably why i have no point of reference for time.
I was checked shortly after getting settled back into the room after the second tornado warning and I was 5cm.  After the second dose of stadol wore off I labored on my own for awhile and then asked for a third half dose.  As that dose was wearing off, I was checked again and was told I was 9cm.  I figured I could handle the rest on my own.  Then about twenty minutes after being checked by the nurse, the doctor came in and checked me and said I was barely 8cm.  Needless to say I was a little discouraged but let it go.  Then at shift change, the new nurse came in and checked me and said I was about 6.5cm.  Now I was discouraged.  I also didn't realize that they were still turning up my pitocin.  My pain was becoming unbearable and I was begging for another half dose of stadol.  At this point I could barely communicate and was almost crying.  I have no idea how high my pitocin was but I'm assuming it was a little two high.  I apparently suffered like this for a couple of hours.
Little did I know that my mother in Missouri (who has a history of strong intuitions) starting having a panic attack and decided she needed to call my sister to see how I was doing.  Since my sister was in the labor and delivery room with us, my mother could hear me in the background and demanded to be put on speaker phone.  Up to this point, I was still declining the epidural even though I was in horrible pain.  Well my mom managed to talk me into the epidural.  She told me that I shouldn't be suffering like that.  I had been in labor about thirteen hours at this point and the nurse kept telling me that I needed a break.  I finally consented to the epidural but asked if I could receive a lower dose than normal so she diluted the medication with fluid from my IV bag.  It turned out that Emy was facing the wrong direction, causing my horrible pain.  I was checked just before the epidural was administered and I was at 8cm.  The epidural was administered during a contraction because my contractions were coming so close together that the anesthesiologist couldn't wait for a break.  Within forty-five minutes of receiving the epidural, I was checked again and was 10cm.  Because I wasn't feeling the urge to push and was exhausted from my long day, the doctor gave me fifteen more minutes to rest before pushing.
Around 9:15 the doctor came back in and they helped me get positioned to push.  Since I had recieved a diluted dose, I still had some ability to move so I was able to help them move me.  They got me all set up in the stirrups and about forty-five minutes later little Emy made her appearance.  It was a long, exhausting day.  I originally wanted to deliver without pain medication but with the pitocin making things more intense, I had to go with the flow and change my plan.
Looking back now, I am not sure I would have delivered vaginally if I hadn't received the epidural.  My body was too stressed and I was too exhausted to work with my body.  The best advice I have for expecting mothers is to be able to go with the flow.  Yes, it is good to have a plan but please do not get discouraged if you don't get to use that plan.  I had to choose what was best for me and my baby, even if it was something I really didn't want.