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I was just over 39 weeks for my induction. I started with cervidil at night in the hospital. We didn't get a ton of sleep, but it did its trick because by morning my water broke naturally! Contractions started without pitocin. At some point I did end up with pitocin and an epidural but she was born about 36 hours from check in.

@sslm: Obviously I don't have any induction experience (yet...*sigh*) but wanted to share that my midwife told me yesterday that, if your cervix is favourable, they can start with AROM and a Foley catheter and that, in about 40%-50% of those cases, that is enough to get labour going....no pitocin required.

@sslm: I really can't remember but I think I was laboring on my own until around 1pm or 2 pm and the contractions were getting really close and strong. I asked for the epidural. It was going to be a while, so they gave me stadol while I waited. I HATED the stadol. I felt loopy, sleepy and drugged. Once that wore off some, I think from resting and the epidural they had to start some pitocin. By that point I was ok with that because my water had been broken for almost 12 hours.

The epi was great for me though. By the time she was born, I could move my feet and walked to the bathroom about an hour after birth.

@sslm: I had planned to get one but held off for a bit to labor myself all the same. I think I was around 5-6 cm when I got the epi, which is when the contractions became pretty painful. Obviously I don't have any non-pitocin contractions to compare them to, so I can't say whether they were more painful.

I think the main thing that helped ensure a pretty smooth delivery was that I was already 2 or 3 cm and 50 percent effaced, so my body wasn't completely unprepared.

I was 38 weeks, 1 cm dilated (they were being generous) and 70% effaced. They gave me cytotec to ripen my cervix and that was all I needed!
Induction started at 8 pm, my water broke by itself at 12:45 am, by 5:45 am I asked for an epidural (my plan was to get one all along), 8:30 am they put me on some pictocin because my contractions weren't regular anymore, and by 8:55 I was ready to push! Maybe 6 pushes or so and she was out!

I loved my induction! I had such a wonderful & beautiful labor and delivery experience. The pitocin contractions hurt, but I got an epi around noon (checked in around 7:30). Looking back I think going into labor naturally (water breaking on its own, etc) would have been stressful & chaotic for me & my husband. Being able to have a nice meaningful dinner the night before, an unrushed drive in to the hospital, and a laid back morning really made it such a relaxed experience. I was able to really take it all in & mentally log every moment. I know it's up to baby, but I'd love an induction the next time around too!

You can search for Sadie's birth story if you want more details, but basically my story is: water broken around 8, pitocin around 9, dilaudid around 10, epi at noon, first push with nurse at 5:12, Sadie popped out at 5:30!

Good luck, mama! Hope you have a beautiful birth experience!

@Dandelion: I don't remember the exact level, but I told them over and over that I wanted them to start at the lowest dose and only go up as necessary. I don't think they had to turn it up it a whole lot.

@Mrs. Yoyo: @bpcmarj: Thanks for answering my question!

My induction went great!! I was almost 3cm dilated for weeks and my OB scheduled an induction at 39 weeks from the time I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. she was going to induce me the week before but there were no beds available for elective inductions so they sent me home to wait until my scheduled induction.

I got to the hospital around 9, and again there were no beds but since I was scheduled, they put me in a family waiting room. I was in my labor room by 10:30 and put on pitocin. They started it very low and increased it as time went on. The contractions were bearable until I was about 6 cm dilated and they had turned the pitocin up to... 12? I think. Since my epidural didn't go well with my first delivery, anesthesia was right on hand to administer my epidural immediately when I asked for it. Unfortunately they went too far and it turned into a spinal catheter (basically a lumbar puncture). It had the same effect though (maybe even better!! since it didn't wear off like my first epidurals.) and just an hour or two later I was fully dilated and pushed my baby girl out in 15 mins totally pain-free. It was such a beautiful experience.

Not a firsthand one, but one of my best friends had a great induction. She was 41 weeks + and had a foley placed in the early morning. Her water ended up breaking, they gave her pitocin at a level 2 to regulate her contractions at around 9 a.m., and she had baby by 2 p.m. Very minimal tearing. No epidural!

@Dandelion: I'm sorry, I totally don't remember what level they had it at. All I remember is that I was having strong contractions according to the monitor and wasn't even feeling them, and the nurse thought it was really weird (this was pre-epdiural).

I was induced at 39+4 because my baby was measuring large. I checked in the night before for my cervical prep (cervadil). I was 1cm at that point. I contracted all night and the next morning was 90 percent and 2cm. I got my pitocin around 7:00 that morning and my epi an hr or so later. My contractions were not fun ! They checked me at 12 and I was 4cm. They checked me at 2:00 and I was complete ! I started pushing around 2:30 and LO was born at 4:12

My induction went really smoothly especially after I got my epi ! Good luck !

Summary: cytotec at 8pm, active labor and water leaking by 12, pitocin started at 1 or so, and bumped up every 30 min...topped out at 14. Labored until 630am and was 4.5cm dilated, water broke, asked for an epidural, got it at 745 and was 9cm dilated....started pushing at 945, baby was born at 12:13. Total time was 16 hours.

The roughest part was going through transition before my epidural because of shift change at the hospital...bad timing lol.

All positive aside from having one hour of sleep all night next time, I want a morning induction!

Oh, when I went in, I was almost 2cm dilated and my cervix was very soft and I was 40+5

My induction was great!
I was induced last Monday morning at 6am. By 7am was on pitocin, by 9am I had my epi and by 11:36am we had a baby.
My nursing staff and OB were amazing! I had a wonderful delivery and even though baby girl had some issues right at birth they were all just amazing for us.
I couldn't have asked for a better induction experience.

@sslm: At 41 +3 I had a very very slow induction much to the chagrin of my OB who wanted to "get that baby out!" I had 4 or 5 doses of misoprostol, and nothing more. Granted, from induction to birth, it was 60 hours, which was LONG. Six of those hours were active labor, 2.5 of them were pushing, and I managed to birth a 9lb 9oz baby (with a fist at her face) without any pain meds.
So, positive? Yes. But really, really long, and I would choose to avoid it again if I could. I hope that baby drops soon and that your cervix begins to thin. Trust me, I know it's frustrating to feel like there's "no progress", but you could just be one of those people that it all happens at once for.

And on that note: Come on baby sslm! It's really not SO terrible out here.

Here's my short birth story from weddingbee. I had a great induction, but still wish they'd tried breaking my water before starting pitocin.
I'd been in preterm labor since 24 weeks, multiple stays in the hospital, non-stop regular contractions all the time, bedrest, the whole nine yards.
My day started with a 8:50am dr. appointment, after finding out that I didn't dilate anymore still at 4 but 100% effaced and she was low the Dr. ask if I wanted to wait it out or get the show on the road. I was tired, swollen, and in pain. So they tried to schedule me for the next morning but the hospital had conflicting schedules and it was looking like Thurs or Fri until the nurse said the could get me in at 11 that day!!!

So I went home and ran around like a crazy lady getting all the last minute things done, we got to the hospital without a minute to spare! I really wished they would've broke my water first but they started pitocin instead. It did nothing except basically stop the contractions, finally at 4:30 they broke my water. The painful contractions started within 15 seconds, they had me get up to use the bathroom and the rest of my water came out like the great flood, and I managed to somehow pull my IV out so water and blood were pouring out of me, it was comical.

The nurse had a very worried look on her face after we lost 15 minutes trying to get my IV back in, the epi needed to be started and soon. She didn't have time to check me before it started but by the time it was in I was complete and ready to push. I couldn't feel the contractions or my legs, but everytime I pushed I felt everything. I pushed for an hour and she was finally out!!!