"time almost over"

Hey there belle, I'm 33 and expecting my 7th child in about 1 week. I first became a mother at the age of 18, and like you I was having a girl, excited and nervous. You will be just fine. I had my mom and best friend for support. I took lamaaze class, and asked any and everybody questions about labor. First off, you should know labor is nothing but a BIG menstrual cramp. Sure it's a cramp times 10, but never the less a big cramp. I went into labor at home around 7am, went to the hospital around 10am (once they were 5 minutes apart). My water never broke, the doc had to do it (it was painless). I went natural and by the time it was time to push, I had either blocked out the contractions or had just become immuned to them. The contractions is the hardest part. Get through that and you will be fine. Anyway, my daughter was finally born at 00:33 (15 yrs ago April 26th). Just make sure you have a great support system to help you get through the labor, and the first few days you get home. It's ok to be nervous. Are you going to nurse your baby? I nursed mine, it's wonderful. Oh, also know that the nurses will come and pester you alot during and after labor. They will check your vitals, the baby's heart monitor, and your dialation so they know when to call the doctor. And after the baby they check on you to make sure you don't hemorrhage and that your vitals are good. If you can you should get a tour of the maternity ward you will deliver at. That is very helpful because they give you a brief overview of how things will go when you arrive for delivery. I hope this was helpful to you. Good luck and keep me posted on how things went.

Congratulations! Every labor is different so everything any of us tell you could be completely different from what you actually experience. For me, labor was never all that bad. My last one was completely natural and all but the last hour was spent at home. What all do you want to know about? I've been through it six times so I'll be glad to help with any specific questions you have.

Hi, belle20, congrats on the upcoming baby! I had my baby the day after my 25th birthday in October of 06. She is beautiful and I'm glad to have her, even if she wasn't planned. I didn't even know I was in labor on my birthday, I just felt sick like I had the flu. I went in to the hospital to be monitored at lunch time and found out I was having contractions that I couldn't really feel. I was sent home and went back in at 6PM (I was 4-5 cms dialated) and the doctor broke my water at 8PM. The contractions came quicker and stronger after that and I could definitely feel them but they weren't unbearable! I only pushed for an hour and had her at 24 minutes after 12AM. I tried the gas mask but it only made me feel woozy and sick and was too much to concentrate on. I also had a shot of demerol, which I felt didn't do much more than make my opposite hip hurt worse, lol! I didn't have enough time to get an epidural and I'm not sure next time if I will or not. Labor definitely sucks, but it really wasn't as bad as I thought nor as bad as they make it look on tv! Good luck and just follow your heart, you'll know what kind of meds, if any, you want to try. Just concentrate on getting through the contraction, just try to focus on something to get through the pain.

Well, congratulations. This will be a life changing experience, I can assure you of that. I really don't want to lie so I must tell you that labor is very painful. They do have medications to help relieve some of the pain. I had one natural, and one was an emergency c-section. Everyone's labor is different, some don't have much pain and some have alot. Don't sit around worrying about it because it's gonna happen anyway. You'll be okay, we all have been in your position and we made it through it. Take care and once again, Congratulations on the anticipation of your baby girl.