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Here's a link to my induction birth story, we had a great experience

http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/lydias-birth-story-102712-dhs-version-long

My water broke on its own, but I had to have pitocin to enduce labor because I wasn't having any contractions. When I arrived at the hospital I was 2 cm and 85% effaced. They started my pitocin around 11 am. Around 3 pm I still hadn't made any progress so the on-call doctor gave orders (from home) to up my drip every 20-30 minutes. The nurses also suggested I get my epidural at that point. Unfortunately, my epidural only took on half of my body!

They usually max pitocin out at around 10-12 (or so the nurses told me) but the doctor never gave orders to stop it. Mine ended up being around 17 when my mom finally flipped out on the nurses and told them to contact the doctor. I could feel everything on the left half of my body and my contractions were horrible, as soon as one ended the next was starting. I pretty much just laid in the fetal position and cried through them. Luckily, the bad part only lasted about an hour and half for me.

After about 10 hours, I told the nurses I felt like I had to poo. They checked my dilation and I was fully dilated (I was still at 3 2 hours earlier!). Apparently, feeling like you need to poo means it is time to push. They called the on-call doc and she said she could be there in 25 mins. They said first time moms usually push for 1-3 hours so I could start pushing now if I felt the need to. They showed my mom and husband how to hold my legs for a practice push and then started yelling at me to stop because LO's head was coming! They scurried and found residents to deliver the baby. I only had to push for 10 minutes to get him out and the doc arrived in time to catch him and stitch me up.

Despite the horrible hour and a half, everything went pretty smoothly for me. I have scoliosis, so that is the reason my epidural didn't take on both sides. If that would have worked properly, it really wouldn't have been that bad at all!

@Bookworm: I was induced at 36w0d for complications from pre-e (HELLP syndrome). I got cytotec around 8am and then pitocin (as well as magnesium IV for the pre-e) I had an epi placed at the very beginning because my platelets were dropping so they wouldn't have been able to do it later because of bleeding risk. My water was broken by the OB at 1pm. I didn't have many cervical checks but at 4:30 I knew I had to push! I delivered M at 5:07pm. She was tiny but didn't have to go to the NICU at all. I was dissapointed that I had to be induced but it was quick, the epi kept me relatively comfortable and I both of us were healthy!

Hopefully you go into labor on your own but you certainly can have a wonderful experience even with induction! Especially since you're already dilated and effaced (I was neither). Good luck!

@Bookworm: I was induced at 41 weeks. I'd been 1cm dilated and 90% effaced for weeks, with no steady contractions. They gave me pitocin & we hung out for a few hours with mild contractions. I was only 3 cm, so my midwife broke my water. Contractions got more intense, they turned the pitocin down & a little bit later I was 7 cm. 20 min after that I was a 10 and ready to push.

I ended up pushing for 4 hours & a doctor did a vacuum extraction. I took a dose of fentanyl and some oxygen after I'd been pushing for a few hours, but I didn't get an epidural and I didn't feel like I was dying. Inductions sound so scary and like they are "worse", but I don't think that's always the case. Good luck with your labor and I hope she comes happy and healthy!!

@chopsuey119: I thought it was weird too. I asked if I would need one and she was kind of meh about it and asked if I had preferences. I told her the most important thing was that we do the best thing for the baby, not wait it out. So she was like "ok, then we can do an induction." My endocrinologist seemed to think they'd start evaluating me at 37 weeks for it, but then she's not in charge of the process, so who knows how it'll work out.

I had a very positive induction experience. Ruptured membranes but no contractions. Went in only (barely) 1 CM dilated. Got started on Pit at 1 PM and they upped it a 4. Baby was born (no pain meds) at 11:43 PM. Here is my birth story if you want more details! Thinking of you! http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-maybebabys-birth-story

I was induced at 41 weeks + 1 day due to my lack of dilation (barely a 1/2 cm since week 37).

I was given Misoprostol to help with dilation and start the induction process. That helped me get to 1.5 cm dilated, 70% effaced. After that, I was given Pitocin. About 2.5 hours after Pitocin was administered, my OB broke my water, and I was 3-4cm dilated. I received my epidural and continued to process about 2 cm every 2 hours, which my OB was very pleased with. To cut a very LONG story short, when I reached 10cm, I started pushing for about 2 hours, and at that point, the baby was turned to the side and would not come down the birth canal. Due to his head positioning (and the risk of injury to the baby), forceps and/or the vacuum was not an option. After 2 hours of pushing, I was wheeled into the OR for a c-section. In total my entire labor from start to finish was 17 hours.