Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Epi-what??

I work with a lady who is expecting and is due two weeks before me. The other day she asked me if I'd considered having an epidural or giving birth nature's way. She will be a second time mom, so she knows quite a bit more about all of this stuff than I do. I told her I was feeling pretty confident about having the baby without pain meds. The thought of a long needle being stuck into my spine is NOT something I want to consider. I know that sounds crazy when we look at the actual pain of having the baby. But my mom says I have always had a high tolerance for pain, so I figure, it'll be bad, but I can endure it. After I told Victoria I was going for the drug-free way, she asked how big I was when I was born. "8 pounds and 14 ounces. My sister was 8' 15"." Victoria then suggested "You might want to reconsider.

"So, at this point I am reconsidering.. She also told me to look into the lamaze classes. They'll offer more specific information than what I can read in a book. My friend Liana said the breathing tips didn't help in lamaze, but she did get a better grasp of what was going to happen in labor. Someone also mentioned to me that no amount of medication could help what's called "the ring of fire." I thought "Ring of Fire" was a song, apparently I was wrong. This is the phrase one uses when referring to the baby's head coming out of the birth canal. If you are reading this blog and have any info to offer about this term, please fill me in. I know this is all still 6 months away, but I want to know everything I can about birthin' babies,
Miss Scarlett.

4 comments:

heather honaker said...

please get an epidural...even if it's just for geron's sake. :)

no, just kidding. i did have an epidural, though, and i'll definitely do it again, if the time comes. why put yourself through all that pain if you don't have to?

labor is bad enough, i don't want to imagine the pain of delivery!

Anonymous said...

Don't worry, Heater. The more I hear the more I think I'll go for the epidural. I think I can handle a needle. I can't handle anyone else's horror stories :).

Scott said...

I don know nuthin' 'bout birthin' no babies, miss lydia... :(

Anonymous said...

Lydia, when I had Jamethan I opted for the epidural after three shots of morphine did nothing for me. I was then able to sleep a blessed four hours (after about 22 hours of labor), then woke up just in time to sit up and give birth. I don't mean to scare you, but I definitely recommend the epidural. It wore off about an hour after I gave birth with no lasting effects. There's another word you need to learn, too, episiotomy. This is something I did NOT get, and am very GLAD I didn't. E-mail me for more info, as it's a little, um, delicate for discussing in an open blog. Love you guys!