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Pushing is hard work!!! I only pushed for 30 minutes, and I was exhausted by the end!

More please!!!! Subscribing!

I think my biggest is to go in with a open mind. Labor is SO different for everyone. Place no expectations! The only thing you should be concerned about is "healthy baby, healthy mama".

You're no more, or less, a woman or mother no matter how your LO ultimately enters the world. Once your baby is here, no one knows (or cares, - I mean this in a nice way - ) whether you labored for 3 days, 5 hours or not at all. Keep an open mind about your needs and expectations.

Don't freak if/when the babies heartbeat fluctuates; it's totally normal.

Don't be afraid to limit visitors in the hospital, voice your needs, etc.

Take the nursery up on their offer to take your LO for a bit (or a whole night) so you can sleep.

Taking out c-section staples sounds scary, but it really doesn't hurt at all.

1) Go with the flow; you never know what might happen.

2) Read about all the bad stuff that could happen before, during, AFTER, and with the newborn. Be prepared for the worst, and then you can be pleasantly surprised when most of those things don't happen to you. I felt like I won the lottery because I totally expected way worse things every step of the way.

@jennylynn: YES. With every contraction - more came out! I felt like I was peeing all over the bed.

I didn't actually feel the baby coming down the birth canal. I read alllll over that if you don't get an epi, you feel the baby descending. I totally didn't and was shocked when they said I was crowning.

Don't freak if your baby doesn't score "well" on apgar or if they need to be taken away. My baby was, he turned blue on my chest and was taken away... but that is so common and he was totally fine.

@mediagirl: On that same note- I found that i LOVE the real fruit ice pops during labor. soo soothing and yummy.

@meredithNYC: @Coco Bee: Seriously. The nurse wouldn't let me keep my underwear on, so at one point I asked for a towel to sit on so I didn't have to keep having the pad on my bed changed. It was insane! I wish someone would have told me to expect that beforehand.

Great thread! Subscribing...

Thank you all so, so much for sharing . . . with 2 weeks to go, my imagintation is really starting to get the better of me!

1) Don't compare your delivery to another woman's; every birth is different as is every woman and baby.
2) If you don't end up with the delivery you dreamed, don't beat yourself up.
3) Don't be afraid to speak up for yourself even if it means telling your husband to stop doing something (mine insisted we watch a movie because that is what someone told him they did while his wife was in labor, I wanted it quiet so I could rest my L&D nurse had to intervene).

Such a great topic and responses - thanks!

Be prepared to vomit. After going 10 hours with no food, I begged the nurse for anything with calories. Since my hospital is okay with jello, she gave me some of that. I ate half and threw it up. Then I tried gatorade. That came back up. After that, I resigned myself to being hungry, drinking only water and hoping labor wouldn't last too long!

And don't bother with cute labor outfits. I threw away the underwear I wore to the hospital (which is why I wore old undies to start with!) because you really don't want to take anything home that you were wearing when your water broke. And was more than happy to lounge around in the crappy hospital gown because, really, you aren't focused on how you look! Save the cute outfit for when visitors come (and after they leave, put the hospital gown back on, in case you bleed through your pad).

@junebugmama: "Who you are every day is not a good indication of who you will be during child birth." I love this and I think it's great advice. I was so sure I was going to end up getting epidural even though I really wanted to have a medication-free birth, because everyone kept reminding me what a wimp I am about pain. I felt ready to give in before I even started. But I discovered I was so much tougher and stronger than everyone (including me) thought, and I surprised them!

The best thing anyone said to me while I was pregnant the first time was, "It's not as bad as people say." While everyone has their own experience, it was nice to hear something other than how horrible it is. And you know what, for me it really wasn't as bad as people say.

There's such great advice here!

1. I liked the labor through contracts standing up, bent over, swaying hips side to side.

2. If you plan to get an epidural, just get it and don't wait it out. I don't know why I waited to get one but I did and contractions were terrible.

3. Try to be in the moment - with your partner - with your baby. I have very fond memories of labor, even though parts of it sucked.

4. Be prepared to puke. I puked before pushing and right after and felt nauseous for a good 5 hours after labor. That surprised me.

5. Labor is nothing compared to the recovery (emotional/physical) and the recovery is nothing compared to the toll that the first 2 weeks of motherhood takes on you.

GOOD LUCK!

Know that the hospital staff is on your side. After watching several documentaries promoting natural childbirth and reading Ina May's book, I was pretty cynical of the whole medical world and was convinced the doctor's and nurses wouldn't let me do what was best for me. I thought IVs and fetal monitoring were the devil. I thought an epidural was bad for me and my baby and would slow down labor, I thought the doctorshospital were evil for inducing me, and was bitter that I couldn't deliver at a birthing center (I was high risk). However, I learned through my experience that the hospital staff really does want what is best for you. Your baby is going to be healthy whether or not you get an epidural. Epidurals do not slow down your labor. Your doctor wants you healthy! I was so insistent on having a natural childbirth that I went into it very closed minded. I ended up having the opposite of that, but everything worked out fine and I had an extremely positive experience.

After 8 or 9 hours of labor and two failed epis, I ended up getting a mild one that just took some of the pain out of my back (I had a posterior baby). Once that happened, things got easier not only for me but my DH. I wasnt so reliant on him and he wasn't having anxiety watching me suffer through agony. I wasn't numb after, and got up to pee within an hour. Honestly. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner! I also had ivs and pitocin and fetal monitoring, and I STILL had a positive birth experience and a happy baby.

I guess with all this rambling I am trying to tell you to have an open mind and trust your medical team. Phew!!

@winniebee: oh boy..#5 scares me! my birthing class didn't cover a bit of postpartum, so I'm terrified.

WAIT to go to the hospital. You do not want to be in the hospital for longer than you need to. If it doesn't hurt much yet, stay home.

If your water breaks it's not an emergency (if there is meconium in it, the water will be colored and you want to call your hospital). If the water is clear, you can wait to go the hospital (but no sex or internal exams)--ANY checks can introduce infection so opt for as few cervical checks as possible.
I wish I had let my labor progress at home instead of going to the hospital because my water broke.

@artbee: 'So don't be surprised when they put a baby on your chest and you think, "who's baby is that?!"'

that made me laugh out loud. i can just imagine!