Thoughts on labor

I am having Braxton-Hick contractions consistently, mostly at night and they are becoming a bit painful. It worries me slightly because by definition they are suppose to be painless but they hurt me with Katya too. I have realized that I am super sensitive to pain and I seem to feel EVERYTHING! It is frustrating because I have always considered myself tough but I did learn from nursing school that people truly do feel pain differently. Some people are fortunate enough to have higher pain thresholds than others. It is just the way it is. I am thankful for the marvels of modern medicine and the fact that epidurals are so very safe for unborn babies. I am not 100% positive I will get an epidural with this labor but I feel it is a very good possibility and I am not going to feel bad about it! Believe you me, I felt plenty of pain during my 2.5hr second stage labor (10cm to delivery) despite the epidural. Plus I think I was one of those cases were the epidural actually helped me progress by relaxing me.

I hope to labor at home as long as possible and if I am lucky enough to progress very quickly maybe I won't get one. I also hope to have better support during this labor. Poor Craig was like a deer stuck in headlights when I was in active labor the first time around. I had made him a list of things to encourage me to try but he never even pulled it out and I was in too much pain to direct him at all. We have talked about how he needs to be more aggressive in directing me this time around and I think he will do better. Once I get to the hospital the midwife will be in the room with us and should help in coaching me. This is really cool since RN's and OB's are barley around until you hit 10cm and start pushing (generally speaking).

Of course like most moms I have my ideals about how I would like labor to go but I am not as emphatic about what I want as some moms. Interventions are can be very necessary and I will put my trust in the health care providers to do what is best for my and baby Reagan's health and safety.