Figuring out how to push effectively was a little hard, but for me it was the stitches afterward with a second degree tear (even though Olive was less than 5 lbs!). I had no idea it would take that long or that it would be more uncomfortable than childbirth, and I had an epidural!
What about you?
honeydew / 7622 posts
Pushing for 2 hours then having my epidural fail and taking a two hour break while they 'fixed' it then pushing again for 2 hours. That was the end of my 43 hour induction. Brutal.
coffee bean / 47 posts
When they told me I had to stop pushing ( emergency c-section) the pressure was ridiculous. I was just peachy until then, that's when the tears came.
nectarine / 2028 posts
Not hearing him cry right when he was born was my worst moment after going through labor in which his heart rate constantly dropped, never getting past 4 CM in 30 hours, and his cord prolapsing. Labor was an incredibly negative experience, but taking home a healthy baby post-NICU stay made it worthwhile!
pomegranate / 3192 posts
Definitely pushing!! I was not prepared for that at all. I pushed for 1 1/2-2 hours and it was terrible!!
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
Pushing. Just because I didn't realize how difficult it would be even with an epidural. I consider myself to be reasonably in shape and it was so exhausting!
pineapple / 12234 posts
Pushing but just with my first. The painful contractions were probably the hardest with my last 2 deliveries. I was shaking so bad and the contractions were on top of each other.
pomegranate / 3643 posts
#1. Back labor and the exhaustion.
#2. Transition. I feel like I've blocked it out, but I remember my MW breaking my waters, vomiting a few minutes later, and then begging her to tell me I was in transition.
persimmon / 1481 posts
Definitely the pain of each contraction and thinking I would have to do it for hours. Thank God I was 10 cm within two hours! Pushing was hard but after the contractions it actually felt good to push.
pineapple / 12053 posts
Getting through the transition to 9.5 and a lip of cervix left to fully complete. It wasn't long but it was hard for me mentally! That's really the only point where my animal instinct of flight came in and I thought, I can't do this!!
cantaloupe / 6923 posts
Just the unknown. You just never know when those dang contractions will end and when you are at a 10.
pomegranate / 3113 posts
Pushing. I've never worked that hard in my life. I thought she was never going to come out.
pomelo / 5258 posts
Exhaustion/lack of sleep. I had a long labor that started at night so I had been up for over 60 hours by the time LO was born.
eggplant / 11287 posts
Pushing, hands down. I always heard that pushing feels good compared to the pain of unmedicated contractions, so I was not prepared for the pain that was pushing out a baby with no meds. Wouldn't have changed a thing, but man, that pain is UNREAL. Way worse than the conractions themselves, in my book.
Having three attempted epis and vomiting throughout labor with my first is a close second.
persimmon / 1355 posts
@Rainbow Sprinkles: I felt the same way! I thought injust needed to make it through transition and I would be okay. Yeah nope.
eggplant / 11287 posts
@Zbug: seriously. Transition was easy compared to pushing. I started to freak out and panic, and said I couldn't do it and needed to just stop. Thank goodness I had good nurses and they talked me down from the ledge!
clementine / 812 posts
I was going to say 2 hours of pushing, but I had so much adrenaline! The only reason that was so bad was because I was so flipping exhausted from 40+ hours of back labor.
persimmon / 1355 posts
@Rainbow Sprinkles: exactly! My biggest fear going into labor was having to have a c section. At one point during pushing, I remember thinking I would be fine if they told me they were going to roll me into the ER 
papaya / 10570 posts
Its a tie between the lack of sleep (I didn't sleep for 5 nights in a row because my induction took so long) and the part immediately after the stitches when they make you take a bath (there were no showers on my labour ward!!).... I had just given birth, I was exhausted and in pain, my head was spinning from the gas-and-air and i was in total shock - and i had to climb into a bath which immediately turned bright red. There was blood everywhere, a trail of it leading up to the bath, up the tiles where i had guided myself in, it was carnage and i just lay there in a bath of blood, totally freaked out!
nectarine / 2994 posts
The back labor and getting to 4cm. I was induced and it took me 9-10 hours to get to 4cm. After that I got to 10cm in 10mins and then LO was out 2 minutes later with one push so that was easy. The first part of labor was the hardest for me!
apricot / 409 posts
Hmm..I think it was a combination of pushing, pressure and recovering from a 3rd degree tear. The pressure and pain were out of control and I was shaking so badly. And this was with an epidural. Then sewing me up after took forever. Not fun.
apricot / 411 posts
Having non-stop contractions for 4 days and not being able to sleep through them, meaning I had zero energy to push when the time came. Also, the episiotomy... I still feel beatnup down there 6 months later 
pomegranate / 3601 posts
Contractions before my water broke. It got better after that. Pushing wasn't so bad until LO1 was crowning with his hand in face. Ouch - I always have to think of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire 
With LO2 nothing was all too bad, it was sooo quick.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
Pushing!
@Rainbow Sprinkles: 100% this! Having to actually push what feels like something ripping your vag open is the hardest thing to do. I kept begging them to let me stop. Thank goodness for good coaches!
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
2.5 hours of pushing. The first hour of pushing wasn't bad but towards the end I was getting defeated and so worried it would result in a c section. The oxygen mask came out, they kept moving my position because the baby's heart rate was dropping...I was getting nervous. Finally they called in the specialist who used a vacuum and she came right out.
pear / 1586 posts
Pushing for 2 hours. The tearing wasn't that bad, but the fractured tailbone was (literally) a PITA.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
The recovery. I wouldn't say that labor was easy peasy, but considering that was over in 12 hours and my recovery took the full 6 weeks, yeah.
pineapple / 12566 posts
Contractions. For both of my LOs contractions took a long time to start, but once they did, they were one after the other with very little break. I basically went straight to transition after not having had any contractions. With LO2, I went from 5 to 10 cm in 15 minutes. The pain was incredible.
grapefruit / 4213 posts
#1: back labor. I don't wish that on anyone.
#2: trying NOT to push because my water broke/she crowned in the car and I was scared! Also the insane amount of pain from such a fast labor.
kiwi / 566 posts
2 weeks of prodromal/early labor that was dialating me but veeeeerrrrry slowly. I had several false calls to the ER and was pretty much having contractions most of the day for 2 wks straight Everyone told me that I'd know when it was real labor because it would feel much worse, but honestly when it finally was real labor it didn't feel any different until I was 6.5-7 cm and my water had broken. In fact that early "active labor" was much better than the 2 weeks of prodromal labor because I didn't have all that stress and anxiety of not knowing whether or not I was really in labor!
grapefruit / 4187 posts
The failed blood drawl and iv that was super painful and left me bruised for months. Also the stitches hurt so bad i had to miss our first ped appt to get them taken out! That was extremely stressful and hurt so bad i was screaming in pain!
eggplant / 11716 posts
Contractions pre-epidural were the worst. I felt totally out of control and even though I wasn't dilating, by contractions were coming on top of each other. Everything after that was easier. The stitches sucked and really hurt (I could feel every single stitch), but the contractions were worse.
persimmon / 1328 posts
I'm surprised so many people say the pushing! For me it was absolutely the contractions. I was induced and went straight from no contractions to one every minute, and they stayed spaced at one minute or less for 12 hours solid. It was terrifying and I genuinely felt like I was dying (very dramatic of me!) After that, the pushing felt like a walk in the park! It was painful yes, but I was in control of it and that made ALL the difference for me.
honeydew / 7230 posts
There was a point where my epidural had failed again after pushing 3.5 hrs and Alice was stuck that I looked at my husband and lost my mind because there was a second baby in there! The hardest part was going through everything knowing that when baby 1 was out, it wasn't over and who knows how it would go with baby 2. What if I had to push for another 3 hrs? As it turned out, Blake was an emergency C 9 minutes after I delivered Alice. I don't really recommend the double whammy, by at least it was over.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
Having a vacuum inserted at the very end, with no drugs. That probably hurt worse than anything else, but it was fast.
And not knowing how much longer it would take. I never got to a point where I couldn't take the pain, but I got to a point where I couldn't do it for a few more hours if it was going to take that long. I asked for an epi at that point but the midwife checked and I was in transition so I knew I could get through to the end.
I'm one of those people where pushing did feel good after the contractions. Like, hurt like hell but still good.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@Bubbles: yes, the control of pushing made the difference!
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