I won’t pretend to know what it feels like to be in labor. I was one of those C-section moms due to valid medical reasons. But I’ve witnessed deliveries of a friend and a sister and I can imagine that distractions during labor could come in handy.

Maternal belly dancing

What about belly dancing in the delivery room? Check out this novel pregnancy work out –maternal dancing. Dance instructor Suzanne Cesar combines yoga with dance movements, fun and function that helps expecting mommies to keep fit. Her routines are meant to exercise muscles of the lower back and abdomen, muscles which are burdened during pregnancy and labor. Women can even do the movements in the delivery room during labor, not only giving them a distraction, but it supposedly helps them with the delivery as the movements help ease the baby into the birth canal. I mean, most delivery rooms allow women to bring their music CD for relaxation. So why not bring your own dancing music and move for two?

Snacking

Are food and drinks allowed in the delivery room? Can you still take this last chance of snacking for two before the baby is delivered? Health experts can’t agree whether eating and drinking during labor should be allowed or forbidden. Here are the pros and the cons:

• The American Society of Anesthesiologists thinks it’s best to stick to clear liquids and eat no food to avoid maternal complications.
• In many European countries, snacking during labor is allowed to help women get through the strenuous physical activity.

So what approach is best? This group of UK researchers decided to find out by recruiting 2426 moms who were

• delivering for the first time
• delivering singletons only
• have no major medical risks

Half of the laboring moms were invited to nosh on fruits, biscuits, sandwiches, burgers, chicken, chocolate and other treats. Half were asked to stick to water only. Now, here’s the interesting results:

• 29% of those invited to eat decided to fast.
• 20% of those forbidden to eat decided to eat anyhow.

And oh, the birth outcomes? No significant differences between the eaters and the non-eaters.

The conclusion: leave the snacking to the laboring woman’s discretion.

Any other delivery room distraction tips?

While a first-time labor and delivery usually lasts around many hours, sometimes, babies just decide that they are coming out. Now.

Babies are occasionally born on airplanes, on the subway, on the front lawn, and more often than you would think in a car on the way to hospital.

A mom in Cambridge, in the UK, delivered her baby in her local post office this week. She went in to top up her cell phone, and delivered a healthy baby girl before paramedics could arrive. The little girl weighed 5lbs 15oz. How do we know? Because the post master weighed her on the mail scale.

And then another new arrival made her debut on New York’s Fifth Avenue. The mom was being driven to hospital, and dang that midtown traffic, didn’t make it in time. She was expecting twin babies, and the first was born in the car outside Central Park. Paramedics made it to the scene in time to assist with the birth, and get the mother to the hospital where the second baby was delivered. The twin were born seven weeks prematurely and are expected to stay in hospital for a couple of weeks, common for preemies. One of the paramedics described the birth as “fun”. I can’t help but wonder if the mom felt the same way?

A lot of moms worry about going into labor and delivering their baby right there on the floor in the laundry detergent section at Target or in Jiffy Lube. But actually, births like these are very rare and being rare is what makes them newsworthy. The average first time labor lasts for hours, 8 to 24 hours is a normal range, with 16 hours being the average time from first contraction, to holding your baby. So almost all moms have plenty of time to get to the hospital or birthing center once labor starts.

Have you heard of this new trend?  It’s possible to deliver your child in a beautifully designed hospital style gown or outfit!

The company I checked out had gowns with a print or a checked pattern.  Gowns made from organic cotton were also available.  You can even have your gown monogrammed if you desire!  These gowns would be perfect for the delivery room or even if you have an extended hospital stay pre-birth. I remember having an extended hospital stay with my first child pre-birth due to complications.  It was so depressing to be there in the first place, especially since I had to stay on the maternity ward.  I think something as simple as a cute hospital gown could have certainly helped my mood.

I have mixed emotions about using a purchased gown for the birthing experience.  I suppose it’s because during one labor, the hospital actually misplaced all of my belongings on the way from the labor room to the birthing room.  While they found my baby items and toiletries, all of my clothing was gone.  I never did get my “coming home” outfit back.  Because of this, I feel you should not bring anything to a hospital that you aren’t willing to “lose”.

Another reason why I preferred using hospital gowns at least for those few days postpartum was because those gowns got very messy!  It was easy to just get a fresh gown when the one I was wearing got stained.  It was also nice to not have to worry about laundering those stains either!

I’m undecided I guess you could say!  I love the idea, but being a practical kind of gal, I’m not sure that I could justify purchasing a special gown which would probably get stained or ruined during or shortly after labor.

What do you think? Would you buy a special gown for your baby’s delivery?

Folks, here is another amazing New Year Baby story.

Six years ago, I, my sister-in-law, and another friend, were pregnant in the same year and delivered within four months of each other. I’m sure this happens lots of times but it was fun for us. But what is the likelihood that twin sisters would deliver hours apart in the same hospital?

Martha and Dorothy from Memphis, Tennessee did just that, according to FoxNews! Dorothy was due on January 3 and Martha on January 11. Somehow Martha labored early on New Year’s Day. Dorothy rushed to the hospital to be with her twin and then started to have contractions herself as well! It ended up having the twin sisters having contraction back to back. Both delivered their babies on the January 1, 2009 within hours of each other.

As mom of identical twins, people are always asking him whether there is any truth to the so-called “ESP” or “special communication” among twins. And I honestly reply “I don’t know.” I know however that my twins have a special bond that goes beyond the usual inter-sibling bond or the even the parent-offspring bond. I’m sure Dorothy and Martha also have this bond that led to the almost simultaneous yet unplanned deliveries.

What a story that would be for their kids!

Babies Online will be selecting someone to receive a FREE copy of Twin Sense: A Sanity-Saving Guide to Raising Twins. All you have to do is share your opinion by leaving a comment about this post. That?s it! Leave a comment and you?re entered to win.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years ago since I had my youngest daughter.  She was born 10 minutes after midnight and was the first baby born in the county.  My daughter was “The New Year’s Baby.”

“Anna” (not her real name), wasn’t due for another two weeks.  I was slightly surprised when I went for a routine appointment on December 30th.  The routine appointment was all but routine and  the midwife decided to schedule and inducement for the next day, December 31st.

I was slightly frazzled as I left the whirlwind appointment because it was a lot to digest: there had been problems and I was going to have a baby tomorrow.  As if that wasn’t enough, I had to find child care for my 3 older children.   I remember the panic that set in as I discovered that most of my friends and relatives had already made plans to celebrate the New Year.  Some were going out of town and out of state.

I finally ended up asking my aunt to watch my children, even though my cousin was close to her due date.  She said yes, but incredibly, my cousin ended up going into labor on the 31st as well.  My father and step mother cut short their vacation and came home to help with child care so my aunt could help my cousin with her labor.  Note to self–NEVER have a child around a holiday again.

After a long labor, Anna arrived, and was greeted by us and the hospital staff.  They were thrilled to have the New Year’s Baby at their hospital and we all celebrated the New Year and new life.  The next day, the newspaper and television crews arrived to interview us all.  Anna was on TV and in the paper even before she was a day old!

I, of course, looked like a woman who had just had a baby.  I finally got my “15 minutes” of fame, and I was washed out and haggard looking! Oh well.

We still celebrate my daughter’s birthday much like we did that first year.  Every New Year’s, we wait until 12:10 am and sing  “happy birthday” to her.  We have cake, ice cream, and sparkling grape juice….and then we go to bed.

While I was pregnant, I read a lot of birth stories. Each story is beautiful and unique, but some are more compelling, from a literary standpoint, than others. After a two-month hiatus from this blog during my maternity (semi) leave, I thought the most logical way to come back is with Ashley Lyn’s birth story. I don’t know if my story is worth telling, but I’ll try. Would it catch your attention if I told you that, after 45 hours of labor, my daughter was nearly born in an elevator?

When people ask how long I was in labor, the answer varies.

- 45 hours of labor in Stony Brook University Hospital’s antenatal unit;
- Three weeks of painful but unproductive Braxton-Hicks contractions;
- Six-and-a-half minutes of hard labor in the delivery room.

My husband reminds me that I spent another five minutes or so of hard labor in the elevator, trying not to push. But the story begins at 1 AM on Saturday, October 11, 2008.

Because of my gestational diabetes, the doctors advised inducing labor as early as 38 weeks. For two weeks and 10 days, I fought for my right to a natural childbirth, all the while fielding endless questions from well-meaning family, friends and associates. “You haven’t had that baby yet?”

I didn’t want Pitocin because I’d heard about causal links to post-partum depression, and I also heard that most people who use Pitocin need an epidural because of the intensity of the contractions. Pitocin also increases the odds of an emergency c-section birth. I felt very strongly about a 100 percent natural, drug-free childbirth. But this baby was not cooperating.

By October 5, my away message for the various chat platforms had a profane message letting people know there was NO BABY YET. Tired of the questions and the painful false labor, I made an appointment on Thursday, October 9 to be induced, but canceled at the last minute with a bad feeling.

On Saturday morning, my water broke. The midwife didn’t want to see us until Saturday at 1 PM. They would have sent me home to labor in comfort at that point, but the baby failed the “breathing” test during the ultrasound. Babies don’t actually breathe in the womb, but they practice. During the ultrasound, the doctor looked for this and other activities to gauge the baby’s well-being. As a precaution, they checked me into the hospital and began the first dose of Cervadil to jumpstart labor, because I wasn’t showing any dilation.

The next 12 hours went by slowly, with frequent but sporadic contractions that were no more painful than those I’d been feeling for the past three weeks. I read a book, wrote thank you cards, tried to nap, watched the Baby Channel…and talked to my daughter.

I offered a tear-filled soliloquy as I sat in a chair and stared out the window to the hospital parking garage below. I promised her we were ready for her, and asked her to please come now. I remember saying that I had no idea what to do with a baby, but that we would learn together.

I told her I couldn’t promise we’d do everything right. The only thing we could promise was to love her very, very much. I told her how long we had been waiting for her and that we couldn’t wait to meet her.

I watched shift after shift of nurses come and go. One of my favorites wrote a to-do list on the whiteboard in front of my bed. It contained only one item: “Meet Ashley Lyn!”

After the first dose, I had a four-hour break. I didn’t have any contractions during this time, which meant labor hadn’t kicked in naturally. At the end of four hours, the midwife checked my progress to decide if we needed another dose of Cervadil or if we could move on to Pitocin. She reported with great disappointment that I was “maybe half a centimeter dilated…really nothing to speak of.”

She inserted the second dose of Cervadil and I napped for an hour until I could eat my liquid meal. After three cups of tea, some beef bouillon and strawberry Jello, I had an intense contraction. Leaning forward in bed, I squeezed my husband’s hand and screamed.

Subsequent contractions went back to the mild variety, and there was still no consistent pattern. Even after all the reading I’d done and my childbirth classes, I didn’t recognize that this was the transition phase. After all, just an hour ago I was at zero centimeters!

The contractions gradually worsened, but they never reached an unbearable point. I was more impatient and exhausted than in pain. I requested a c-section because I felt like I was going to be in this early labor state forever. The midwife told me I couldn’t have a c-section unless I ran a fever or the baby showed distress. I didn’t want it to get to that point, but it seemed I had no choice but to endure endless waiting..

You know how they say you’ll recognize real labor when it happens? That wasn’t the case at all for me. Around 9 PM on Sunday, mid-way through the second dose of Cervadil, I felt like I had to go to the bathroom. I learned in childbirth class that this feeling means you are ready to push. But that couldn’t be it. After all, I wasn’t in real labor and I was nowhere near fully dilated. Right?

I told the nurse “I won’t be able to concentrate on having this baby until I can go to the bathroom…” and I requested a stool softener. It didn’t work, but I still felt intense, uncomfortable pressure.

The nurse didn’t immediately relate the feeling I was describing to hard labor, either, but after a few minutes, she said she was going to get the midwife to check me, “just to make sure.” No one was in any hurry. I couldn’t possibly have dilated that much, that quickly. Right?

It was quite a while before the midwife walked in, smiling. She apologized for the delay and said she was with another patient. Neither of us imagined I was ready to have the baby. The midwife put a gloved hand inside me and her eyes got wide. “Oh. My. Goodness! You’re fully dilated!” she said. “Let’s go!”

Orderlies grabbed the bed and jetted me into the hallway, my IV trailing behind like a poorly-trained puppy on a leash. It was like a hospital TV drama, everything moving rapidly, but events unfolding as if in slow motion.

The nurse stayed near the head of the bed imploring me NOT to push. I didn’t remember learning that in childbirth class and asked, “How?” The nurse told me to exhale in short, quick puffs. I remember thinking the IV was going to get ripped from my hand.  My husband grabbed all our important belongings and followed behind the bed, but I lost sight of him in the confusion. I remember yelling, “Watch my IV! Where’s my husband?” over and over again.

Crammed in the elevator, my husband found a spot by my side. After 45 hours of trying to get this baby out of me, I was now trying desperately to keep her inside for just a few more minutes!

The four-floor trip to the delivery room seemed to last forever. As they pushed the bed through the door I asked the midwife, “Now can I push??” I sighed when she requested that I move over to the delivery bed, but I did it and then began pushing immediately. In less than two minutes the baby’s head crowned, and after several more pushes, we had a beautiful baby girl. It was 10:04 PM on October 12, 2008.

The midwife laid Ashley on my chest right away, but my hospital gown prevented skin-to-skin contact. We tried to pull the gown off, with no success. The midwife wanted to cut the gown off and asked around for a scissor. My husband offered up his Leatherman multi-tool. “It’s not sterile,” he said.

“That’s fine,” the midwife said, cutting away the gown to lay my daughter on my chest. I remember laughing and telling Ashley, “See? Daddy’s got his Leatherman already. He can fix anything with that!”

My reaction to finally meeting my daughter, who weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz. and was 19.5” long, was not as I imagined. I did not cry, which I always thought I would. I think I was simply overwhelmed that she was finally here and yes, I fell in love immediately.

The next few days were marked by lots and lots of diapers, crying, breastfeeding struggles and more crying. I will chronicle these stories, and more, for you over the next few months, as I share Ashley’s life with Babies Online readers.

In Taiwan, a 30 bed maternity hospital recently opened. The hospital cost $3 million to construct. That’s not news.  The fact that the hospital,  Hau Sheng Hospital, is decorated with a “Hello Kitty” theme is news.

Hello Kitty is a chubby Japanese cartoon cat that has a following worldwide.  In the United States, the character enjoyed a brief stint of popularity in the late 1980’s.

The nurses at this hospital wear pink with Hello Kitty aprons.  Costumed characters come to visit the mothers and the newborns during their stay and birth certificates are decorated with characters from the cartoon series.

Tsai Tsung-chi, director of the hospital in Yaulin, says that he hopes the cute cartoon character will reduce some of the pain of childbirth.  Truly, I have to say that I don’t think a cute cartoon character would have reduced the pain I felt during childbirth.

I know for a fact that the room decor has very little to do with labor pain.  I’ve delivered my babies with midwives attending the births, in a hospital room decorated with elegant cherry furniture surrounded by doctors, and in a stark and drab military hospital.  The pain I felt with each birth was pretty much similar.

I don’t mean to sound jaded.  I think it’s a great idea and if I had a choice, I’d probably choose the “Hello Kitty” hospital over another facility if the care at both places was comparable.  I find myself wondering though–exactly how do they keep those cute aprons sterile and clean?

What do you think? Would a cute cartoon cat have helped to reduce your labor pain?

I just saw a news article about a woman in labor driving herself to the hospital. She was ticketed for speeding, but incredibly, the cop didn’t buy her story. She had to provide him with proof of her pregnancy!

In all fairness to the cop, I suppose he’s seen and heard just about everything. I assume that there are people who lie about labor and pregnancy just to get off without a ticket. I feel so sad for this woman because, I’ve driven myself to the hospital while in labor. It isn’t easy to do.

This brings up a good point which isn’t normally a topic of conversation–just how are you getting to the hospital? Perhaps your spouse is in the military and is deployed and you are “alone”. Perhaps you are a single mom without any family support. I knew of one woman who planned to take the bus to the hospital as she had no car and lived a long way away from her family. Taking the bus isn’t the best strategy.

I know of military families who have a relative come to stay with them during the last few weeks of the pregnancy to be available for the inevitable. I know of women who have asked their neighbors to take them to the hospital and I also know of women who have taken a taxi when “the time” arrived.

I can honestly say that driving while in labor was a scary and very dangerous thing for me to do. Can you imagine being pregnant and getting into a car accident on the way to the hospital? At the time, I just didn’t feel I had a lot of options though and wasn’t thinking very clearly. I’d made arrangements for a relative to take me to the hospital and when I ended up going into labor very early on a holiday no less, the person wasn’t available. Some folks asked me why I didn’t just call an ambulance, but I was worried about co-pays and insurance deductibles. How could I pay $500 for the ambulance ride?

If I had to do it again, I’d have prepared for labor a  little better. I’d make sure to have several back up plans and if those plans fell through, I’d call the amubulance and make payment arrangements on that $500 fee. I guess hindsight is always 20/20!

As you begin to enter the home stretch of your pregnancy, you?ll want to start thinking about packing a bag for the hospital. Not only do you need to pack for yourself, but your new baby and your birthing coach(es) will need a few items as well.

For You

When I packed my bag the first time around, I went a step beyond simply preparing for labor. In fact, there was little I didn?t bring along. Not only did I have an iPod docking station, but the iPod was loaded with playlists for delivery, birth, infant and many other events. Not only did we barely listen to it, but it was one more thing to have to haul out of the hospital and home upon discharge.

When packing for yourself, think about what you really need ? do you need a nightgown? The hospital will have you in a gown for the duration of your stay, and most likely you?ll need to change it a few times over that period. Do you want to have to bring several nightgowns that may end up stained?

My necessities list includes:

• A camera
• Pad of paper and pen
• Phone list of friends/relatives to notify
• Shampoo and other toiletries
• Change of clothes for the ride home (note: these clothes are maternity clothes; most women continue to wear maternity clothes for at least a month after delivering)
• Magazines
• Lip balm
• Makeup

For Partners/Coaches

Your partner and/or birthing coach will probably be there a while; bring along a magazine or two, as well as bottled water and snacks.

For Baby

Newborn babies need very little, and much of it will be provided by the hospital, including receiving blankets and diapers. However, there are some items to make sure you have, and a few that you will be required to have. My list includes:

• Car seat
• Blanket to put over the car seat in case it?s cold outside
• Outfit for coming home
• Pacifiers

Don’t wait until it’s too late for those last minute things to do. Making a checklist and completing early will give you much needed peace of mind.

What are your hospital essentials?

When I got the call that I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, my visions of a completely natural, midwife-assisted childbirth with limited medical intervention felt shattered. Fortunately, a meeting with my (favorite) midwife set my mind at ease in that regard.

However, while I’ll know more after my sonogram determines fetal weight, there is a good chance that my midwife (and, more accurately, the doctors that have now been forced into the equation) won’t let this baby go a full 40 weeks gestation.

I won’t get into the side effects that I’ve read about and discussed with my childbirth instructor regarding Pitocin; there’s enough material there for a separate post. Suffice it to say, I am trying to avoid that route, although it will be preferable to a c-section if more natural remedies don’t work to induce labor.

I should add that a pregnant woman should not try natural induction methods without the advice of her physician or mid-wife. Here is a link to an article detailing why it’s not wise to try to induce labor simply because you are ‘tired of being pregnant.’

However, if you’ve passed Week 40, or have medical and physical reasons for an induction, these tips may result in an easier labor than Pitocin induction, with less medical intervention. Check with your doctor or midwife before trying any of these induction methods in earnest.

Evening Primrose Oil – A regime of 1,500 to 2,000 mg of Primrose oil by mouth (spread out 2 – 3 times daily) ripens the cervix for labor, although by itself, probably won’t start contractions. My midwife recommended I begin this at Week 35. You can also insert one gelcap vaginally at night to help ripen the cervix further. Some women who have tried this method have reported that labor began quickly afterwards. So far, I’ve experienced strong Braxton-Hicks contractions, a sign that the uterus is preparing for labor, shortly after taking the gel caps with meals.

Sex – This is probably the most-frequently recommended ‘homeopathic’ method to induce labor. And why not? You won’t have much time after the baby’s born.

How does it work? Prostaglandins in semen, help the cervix to ripen, soften and open, preparing the body for childbirth. Additionally, female orgasms releases Oxytocin, the hormone that causes contractions.

Nipple Stimulation – One midwife told me this should only be done under the supervision of medical personnel, as it can create strong contractions and the baby should be monitored throughout. Other midwives and my childbirth instructor recommended it as a safe ‘at-home’ method to try. It will only work to start contractions if the cervix is already ripe for childbirth, and can also be used for augmentation of labor. It can be done manually, with a breast pump, or orally.

Castor oil and black and blue cohash are often recommended for labor induction, but most of the research I’ve read warns mothers to stay away from these methods. Blue cohosh reaches the placenta, where it can have side effects on the baby, and may also result in elevated blood sugar and blood pressure levels for the mother-to-be.

Along with stimulating contractions, Castor Oil stimulates diarrhea in the mother-to-be, which can lead to dehydration. Castor Oil will only work, however, when the cervix is ripe, and many women report that it was effective in inducing labor. Since labor can begin at any time when the cervix is ripe, this could be coincidence, as few clinical studies have been done on natural induction methods. There are reports of higher incidents of meconium in the amniotic fluid, a danger to the fetus, after the mother-to-be takes castor oil to induce pregnancy.

From breaking waters to reflexology and massage, there are many ways pregnant woman can try to induce labor, with emphasis on the word try. Some are old wives’ tales, while others have basis in medical fact. The truth is, short of a c-section, the baby will come when he or she is ready to enter the world. But these techniques can help the mother-to-be feel ‘in control’ during a very scary time in her life, and, if the stars align properly, they might just work to induce labor.

I read every book and article I could get my hands on before going into labor, hoping to be as prepared as possible for whatever may happen. I wanted to read about every possible glitch that might happen so that there would be nothing that would take me by surprise. It was my way of trying to have some power in a potentially scary situation.

So what did none of these books or articles cover that totally took me by surprise? Although I had never thrown up from morning sickness throughout my entire first pregnancy, to my surprise I spent a good portion of my labor alternating between throwing up into a little bucket and dry heaving. The doctor and staff kept saying, “Oh, don’t worry, this happens all the time,” but what I didn’t understand is that I had never read about this phenomenon anywhere. How frustrating.

The good news was that all the throwing up actually helps push the baby through the birth canal faster. It was like forced pushing, but I had no choice. I guess that’s one way to do it.

You can add this to another possible labor issue, my pregnant friends. Apparently it’s pretty common. I will tell you that there’s nothing quite like giving birth to a baby while throwing up at the same time. It’s almost as if the inside of my body declared, “Okay, everybody out!”

Does labor hurt? Why yes, it certainly does.

You’ll hear many different stories from many different moms who talk about their own labor experiences, and one thing you’ll notice is that everyone has a different take on the subject. Some women will tell tales of horrible, gut-wrenching pain that they never forgot while other women will tell you that while there was some painful moments, for the most part everything was tolerable.

Where will you land in the pain spectrum when it comes to your labor? Chances are you will probably land somewhere in the middle. Labor is going to hurt – there is no doubt about that – but how much it hurts will depend on a lot of things:

1. Your tolerance for pain

2. Your labor

3. Any pain reduction methods you use

When I was in labor I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, this really hurts!” which turned into “Holy moley, I don’t know how much more of this I can take!” which eventually became “This hurts so much I will do anything to get this baby out of me NOW.”

Honestly, getting a tattoo on my tongue while getting continously whacked with a hot poker would have probably hurt less.

The thing about labor pain, though, is that it results in a baby and that’s what makes it tolerable. Plus – at least for me – once the labor was over the really bad pain was completely gone.

So don’t worry too much about how much labor is going to hurt. Yes, it’s going to hurt, but the pain goes away quickly and it’s all worth it. No amount of worry is going to make it hurt any less (in fact it will probably make it hurt more), so try not to dwell on it.

Labor hurts, but after you’re done with it, all other pain seems like a cakewalk.

This is my first post since giving birth to my 3^rd child, boy # 3, who was born three weeks ago today (Thursday). My little guy was born on May 1^st (aka May Day). His name is Jack.

After experiencing some painful contractions for a few hours on Wednesday night, and poking my sleeping husband a few times, I knew it was time to go to the hospital. I wasn?t certain at first if it was ?the real thing?, as I wasn?t due until May 18^th. We called my mom, my husband packed up the car, and as soon as Mimi (Grandma) pulled into our driveway, zipped off to the hospital. The drive was the longest 15 minutes of my life: the bumpy road made my contractions even worse.

We arrived at the hospital at 1:15 a.m., checked in, and I was wheeled up to Labor and Delivery. After quickly changing into my gown, I dashed to the bathroom, where my water broke, made it back onto the delivery table and the nurse checked my progress. I kid you not: She said, ?Okay, you?re going to have this baby in just a few minutes. You?re fully dilated.?

There was no time for pain meds or an epidural even if I?d wanted one. Little Jack-Man was born at 1:36 a.m., just sixteen minutes after I?d gotten to the delivery room. He was my little peanut, at 6 lbs 10 oz and 20 ?? long (kind of surprising, as my 8- and 11 year-olds weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and 8 lbs even, and were also early.)

Unfortunately, I got stuck with the one doctor in my group I was hoping not to get. Thank God the labor went quickly and she was ?outa there? after that. I got to see my favorite doc during rounds the next morning.

The little guy lost weight after birth, of course, but as of this Tuesday was up to 7 lbs 8 oz. I now have the task of growing three young boys and have been thrown back to a vaguely memorable time of late-night feedings and diaper-changes. As my 11 year old experiments with algebraic formulas in Math class, my 3 week old is busy testing the latest baby formulas (Sadly, I am unable to breastfeed this time around). Life is busy. I just keep reminding myself of how quickly it all goes and that this is the very last time I?ll watch one of my babies grow up.

Some doctors will try to estimate when labor will occur. This can be based on the dilation, the due date or it may just be a guess based on previous pregnancies. But, if you press them, they will usually acknowledge that labor just can?t be medically predicted with any accuracy. But, there are a lot of symptoms that I noticed right before labor that occurred every time. I?ve also talked to several women who said they experienced the same things shortly before going into labor.

The night before going into labor with my first two, I stayed up much of the night- cleaning the bathroom. Yes, scrubbing it, polishing it, and generally obsessing about the state of the bathroom. Like clockwork both times I went into labor the following day. This final rush of the nesting instinct has been a signal of labor for centuries, with many an old wives tale revolving around it. My doula told me she spent the night before her first labor putting up a wallpaper border. She was obsessed with the border and refused to go to bed until the nursery was just right.

Other women I?ve talked to cleaned the kitchen obsessively or even cleaned out their cars the day before labor. One friend sent her husband to the store to get a car seat despite his protests, though the baby wasn?t due for two months. She was insistent that they have it before the end of the day. She went into premature labor two days later.

In addition to the revved up nesting instinct is the clearing of the bowels. Yes, it?s not the most pleasant symptom, but I?ve found that it?s just as universal as nesting. It occurred during the very end of all my pregnancies and I?ve talked to a couple of other women who reported the same thing. I?ll spare you the details, but it is just what it sounds like. Bring a magazine.

When I was in the beginning stage of labor with my first baby I still had the remnants of modesty. My mother-in-law, who I asked to leave the room whenever the doctor came in to examine me, laughed and called to me over her shoulder on the way out of the room that I was going to have to lose my modesty if I wanted to birth that baby. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant at that point.

Fast-forward to when I was far into labor and the contractions were coming fast and furious. At one point I had about three different tubes coming out of my once-private area: a catheter, a fetal monitor, and another tube that I can’t for the life of me remember what it was for. This was in addition to the IV in my arm and the blood pressure cuff on my other arm. It was terribly bizarre, but at that point I didn’t even care. There were doctors and nurses who wouldn’t even introduce themselves to me before checking my cervix.

In the beginning I was really freaked out by this, but by the time I was far into labor all I cared about was getting the baby out of me. This doesn’t mean that you will feel the same way, and by all means you have every right to demand to at least know someone’s name before they help themselves to your cervix. Don’t be surprised, however, if you soon realize that you couldn’t care less what someone’s names or credentials are as long as they’re able to help you get that baby born.

It?s 2 a.m.; you wake up with your stomach as hard as a rock. It releases, but does it again a few minutes later. It?s 2:05 a.m. and you?ve had two contractions. Could this be it? Could you be in labor? You?ve had two more contractions and it?s now 2:30. Worried that this could be it; you wake your husband up. Sleepily, he suggests waiting an hour before calling the doctor and he goes and gets you a glass of water. You drink the glass of water and roll over to your left side and wait. After consuming the water and relaxing-your contractions have subsided. This wasn?t it-you weren?t in labor. It was a ?false alarm?.

So how do you know what is ?true labor? or ?false labor?? According to healthcare professionals, ?true labor? shows these certain characteristics:

The contractions should come at regular intervals. You should not have 2 a few minutes apart and then go 15 minutes before having another. As time passes; the contractions should get closer together.

The contractions should continue whether you stay in the same position, lay on your left side or getting up and walking around.

The contractions should get increasingly stronger. With each contraction; they should hurt just a bit more than the last.

The contractions most likely start in the lower back or thighs then move to your abdomen. True labor often symptoms pain in more than just the front of you stomach.

Other true labor symptoms include: Pressure in the pelvic or vaginal region; menstrual-like cramping; any bleeding; loss of fluid (could feel like a gush or a trickle); or flu-like symptoms (nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea)

?False? labor characteristics often include:

Irregular contractions; when you walk around or change position-they stop or become more infrequent.

The contractions get weaker and do not gain any strength. They may start out strong; but as they continue-they weaken.

?False? labor contractions are usually only felt in the front of your abdomen and usually do not move into your back or thigh regions.

With ?false? labor contractions; you really do not need to take any action. Just try to relax or drink some water or juice; grab a healthy snack or take a walk. They should usually cease upon doing one of these actions. But if at anytime you are in doubt of whether it is ?true? or ?false? labor; be sure to contract your healthcare professional. It?s always better to be over-cautious.

You are 39 weeks pregnant-you have been dilated at 2 for 4 weeks now; you?re 75% effaced; and the baby is at a zero station(not to mention right on top of your bladder), as soon as you stand up in the morning your feet swell to double their size, your hands have swollen so much that you are now wearing your rings on a necklace and you have the ?pregnancy waddle? so bad you look like a duck waddling to the pond on a bright, Spring day. You are miserable. All you want is for this to be over. You beg the doctor to induce you and cry when he says, ?See you next week.?

Sobbing, you call all your friends, family, and even the girl who cuts your hair searching for any tips or tricks to ?get things moving? on your own. Most commonly suggested tip-sex and lots of it. Even though it has not been scientifically proven to induce labor; having sex is a safe way (as long as your water hasn?t broken) to try and get labor going. Having sex creates a prostaglandin release; which is very similar to medications used for inducing labor. Also the male ejaculate contains the same prostaglandins which stimulate the cervix and could possibly get your uterus contracting.

Next they tell you to walk. Walk your butt off! Though not scientifically proven to stimulate labor-going for walks is great exercise; but be careful not to exhaust yourself. You will need lots of energy when ?Labor Day? arrives.

Spicy foods-there is no proven fact that links eating spicy foods and going into labor. There is no ?direct? connection between the uterus and the stomach-but still some people swear that eating peppers and hot sauce is the way to go.

Older wives tales suggest that consuming a small amount of Castor oil will get things moving. The only thing that is seems to stimulate is the bowels. It is proven; however, that Castor oil brings on terrible diarrhea, which could lead to you getting dehydrated.

Some women like to try the more herbal approach and try either Cohosh or Evening Primrose Oil. There have not been any studies that prove that either herb stimulates your uterus and promote labor. Actually, physicians are quite leery and cautious of using either one. Both are under studied and potentially dangerous.

So, as you can see-thee are quite a bit of suggestions on how to ?naturally? start labor. Before you try any ?natural? approach to jump starting labor; be sure to consult your healthcare professional first. Only you and he can determine what is safe for you and your baby.

Childbirth is a bit of a blur for me. I do remember it hurting a lot, and I do remember how grateful I was when it was time for the epidural, but other than that I have a hard time recalling the actual schedule of events from both times I was in labor. I read somewhere that it’s common for women to forget the pain and such from labor because if we remembered we would probably never do it again. That makes sense.

I do remember one thing about my labor with my son, or at least, right after he was born. I lost a lot of blood, so when the nurses led me into the bathroom for the obligatory proof that my body was functioning well enough to pee I remember sitting on the toilet and telling the two nurses that I was feeling a little woozy.

Side-note: If you have never been in labor before, you might be cringing at the thought of peeing in front of two nurses. Trust me…by then, you won’t care in the least.

Back to my story. So there I was, woozy on the toilet when the next thing I knew there were about eight nurses huddled around me and I had the strangest feeling like I’d missed something. Yes, I had passed out right there on the toilet, and apparently the nurses had to break open two containers of smelling salts before I woke back up. They helped me back to my bed and we all had a good laugh about it, and to this day it’s one of my favorite stories to tell about going through childbirth. My husband, of course, doesn’t think the story was quite so hilarious because he was a little scared by the whole thing. He was sitting in a chair holding our son when it all happened, and he didn’t like the experience of not knowing what was going on while a bunch of nurses rushed past him and into the bathroom. I get to laugh about it though, because how else can you react to passing out on a toilet?

When I was in labor with my son I lost a lot of blood. The same thing happened with my daughter?for one reason or another my placenta got stuck and the doctors had to go in and retrieve it. Yes, I said doctors (plural) as opposed to doctor because at one point I think I had three doctors standing there taking turns, frantically trying to retrieve my placenta. This was all while my poor husband stood there, mouth agape, wondering why everyone was panicking and why there was so much blood.

Okay, everyone together: Yuck!

The same thing happened with my son, and although I was a little more prepared for it I can?t say it was really any less scary. I?m not telling you this to make you nervous about childbirth, and the odds of your placenta getting stuck are probably pretty slim. The reason why I pass this story along is because I think it?s a great illustration about how you can read every pregnancy book and spend hours watching A Baby Story, but sometimes things just happen that you may have never even heard of. I had certainly never heard of something like this, and I didn?t understand just how serious it was until I noticed that my doctor?s hands were shaking. By the way, your doctor?s hands shaking is not so comforting.

The moral of the story is this: Expect the unexpected. I?m not saying that you should be utterly paranoid and lose sleep worrying about what might happen (you need as much sleep as you can get right now, trust me). Instead, what I?m hoping is that you can do your best to just roll with the punches when it comes to childbirth and later with caring for your baby. The less panicked you are, the better you can focus on the task at hand?getting that baby out of you and into your loving arms.

Your sleeping habits can definitely impact your pregnancy, and now, according to a new study by the University of California, it can impact your delivery as well. According to the new study, women who got less than six hours of sleep late in their pregnancy averaged a 29 hour labor. Women who slept for more than seven hours each night labored on average for only 17.5 hours. Another significant finding in the study was that women who slept for less than 4.5 hours on average each night had a 4.5 times greater chance of delivering via C-section.

Even if your sleep is interrupted by trips to the bathroom, leg cramps, and a kicking baby, maximizing your opportunity for rest will help you achieve a longer night?s sleep. Make a consistent effort to go to bed earlier than usual, and?if your boss, other children, or dog will let you?sleep in later than usual.

Other tips to help achieve a peaceful night?s sleep include the following, offered by the Mayo Clinic:

• Set a schedule and stick to it; varying your sleeping schedule disrupts your brain?s pattern of a sleep-wake cycle.
• Make your bedroom cool, dark and quiet.
• Choose a comfortable mattress or pillow (many pregnant women swear by body pillows).
• Create and stick to a bedtime routine, such as reading or bathing; a routine helps your body know that it?s time to sleep.

References:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sleep/HQ01387

http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=701