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Hi Beth, congratulations! I'm a first time mom whose son was born July 21- so he's four months old and man the time flies! I was way nervous too, and the pregnancy forum was a great place for me to ask questions without being embara__sed! My birth experience was great- my labor was induced- they didn't want me going over my due date because I had gestational diabetes and the baby could have been huge. I had an epidural fairly early in labor and it really worked for me. I was in labor for about 12 hours and pushed for about 15 minutes- but that really isn't the stuff you remember afterwards! The first week or so you feel tired and happy, and I was surprised to find that I actually had quite a bit of energy! All the "happy hormones" do wear off after a week or two, and that's when you get tired and need some help! I wish you all the best and I hope this helps a little :)

Hey, I'm sure you are so excited! I just had my first on Aug 31st. I was induced b/c high blood pressure. After the pitocin started and the Dr broke my water the contractions were really bad. I was in terrible pain for a least an hour(I really dont remember to well) We have video and family to remind me. Once I got the epidural it only worked on one side so I could still feel the contractions but it was alot better than it was! At the time I thought-this sucks I spent $750 dollers to take away half the pain. Now that I look back I'm glad I wasn't completly numb so I could feel when a contraction came and I could push. Also I was able to feel my daughter slide out-sorry if TMI. It was the most happiest moment in my whole life! My advice for anyone who is fixing to have a baby is-GET LOTS OF SLEEP NOW. I didn't sleep the first 3 days straight b/c I so excited and the emotions are overwelming! The first couple of weeks are the hardest to me b/c you are so worried if everything is okay. Everyone's situation is different, but I wished I would have done more things for myself before my baby came, like shop, go out to eat, take a nice long bath-what ever you love to do, do it as much as you can now! Good luck to you!

Congratulations! My first baby was born on Aug 17th, 6 days late the little bugger! LOL! I thought he was never coming out. I posted my birthing story on the other thread where someone asked about that specifically. I thought it was pretty cool. I did not have any pain relief. Not sure what your choice is on that, but I was happy with it and pushed for only about 5 minutes. The pain really does go away as soon as baby comes out. It is an awesome and surreal moment when they put that little angel on your belly once it is born. I was so happy to have him out! He was very alert the whole time in the hospital. The first few days at home are crazy, people in and out, no sleep, the hormones! My son had a soy allergy, and acid reflux, never slept for the first 5 weeks, not trying to scare you! It was kinda crazy. Then he was colicky. Things are just calming down now at 3 months, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. He is the most perfect, beautiful angel I have ever seen. Just be prepared for the fact that it may be difficult to get anyhting done and you will have to pick your battles with the house cleaning for a while! Good luck to you!!!

Take the epidural! After I gave birth, I was so WEAK that I was falling in and out of consciousnes because I wanted to sleep and I couldn't move. I lost so much blood that I fainted when I got up to sit in the wheel chair for them to take me to my room. My baby was crying to eat, I was b___stfeeding but then dose off. My husband would be pacing around the room to calm the baby while I'm pa__sing out on the bed and he was waiting for a nurse to come. Everyone had left to give us time alone as parents but my husband couldn't calm the baby and was pacing around getting frustrated. So have formula available if this happens to you. My advice have some formula to give the baby to sleep after trying to b___stfeed for a considerable time and the baby is still not sleeping . You need rest to be able to take care of your baby. For me the milk didn't even come in flowing for a long time, only after 11/2 weeks. I would spend an HOUR feeding waiting for him to get satisfied to go and sleep but I was so weak while I was waiting that I would dose off. Breastfeed as much as you can and if you need more don't worry about giving formula until the milk kicks in if your like me. I did that after birth in the hospital so that I can sleep too. Some women have milk sooner but I only had colustrum and very little milk. Take lots of pictures. I took some but how I wish I took more.

my daughter was born on april 21. she was 4 days late and i also thought she would never get here i had everything ready for her. her crib, clothes, my hospital bag. make sure you pack it early on you never know. i was in labor for 19 hrs. the contractions started at 12midnight and they were always 5min apart lasting 1min each. at first i was very excited i couldnt believe i was in labor. after that they kept on until 6am when i called the dr she said to go to the hospital so they could check how far i was dilated. i got there and i was only 2cm. so they sent me home i waited until 11am and i went back by then i was 4cm. so i stayed and the contractions got stronger but i was ok they gave me pitocin to speed things up and the dr broke my water at 12pm by 4pm i was in pain so i got the epidural i LOVED it i couldnt feel anything just some minimal pain on my right but no contractions pain. so i tried to rest i hadnt slept anything but i was too excited, eventhough i was tired. by 7pm i was dilated 8cm and the doctor moved me to another room, the birthing room. we waited until 8:30 but i hadnt dilated some more i was still at 8cm and i had developed a fever. so the dr decided for me to have a c-section i was bumed out because i had gone thru all that but i was so exhausted that i dont think i could have pushed her out. she was born at 9:15pm weighed 8lbs 13oz. i was so happy i cried when i first saw her. and it has been a wild ride ever since. i loved being a mother, it changed my life completly, time flies so enjoy your baby as much as you can. sorry if its too long :) good luck!!!

the only thing i will tell you to do is...finish all of the cleaning in the house, finish the nursery, finish everything you need to do in preparation for the baby at least one month before they are due...you will be tired as hell doing everything, but it needs to be done. unfortunately, i am a major procrastinator and when i was in the first stage of labor i was shopping at walmart for sheets, towels, egg crate, futon, etc for my parents (who were staying with me the first two weeks)...it was misery...i was in denial and kept telling myself that it was false labor! it was more than a week early that this was happening, and i was convinced that i would be late. give yourself time to get things done! that's all i have to say. do not be impatient! enjoy your pregnancy...it is hard hard hard work in the beginning, but it is so worth it when start to know what's going on--and you get sleep at night! congratulations!

I had my first baby on 17th Sept,after a 21 hour labor, which was induced as I was nearly 2 weeks overdue. I didn't want any pain relief but soon gave in as it was much more painful than I thought it would be. I started with gas and air, then a pethadine injection ( made me feel very drunk and talk rubbish), then finally I agreed to an epidural which was heaven! I'd been wired up to a monitor the whole time, because my baby's heart rate kept dropping after contractions.They allowed the epi to wear off a little, so that I could feel contractions and know when to push. The pushing part only lasted 20 minutes, and was the best part of my labor, because I couldn't feel much pain, even though I tore quite badly. As she was born, they realised that the reason her heart rate was dropping, was because the cord was wrapped around her neck. The midwife slipped it off, without any problems. My daughter had to be given oxygen, and I wasn't allowed to hold her until an hour later, which wasn't quite how I imagined it would be. I was relieved she was ok, but felt strangely detatched from her at first. I hated hospital and begged them to let me go, so 12 hours after my daughter's birth, we were on our way home and I finally started to feel like she was my baby. The first 24 hours with her were hard, because she needed feeding and I didn't seem to be making enough milk. I was tired beyond belief, and felt very sore all over. It was also kind of magical though, in that I couldn't stop staring at her, because she was so perfect and beautiful, and I just couldn't believe I'd made such a wonderful thing. My husband and I felt very close at this time too. ADVICE - My advice would be to keep an open mind about pain relief. I recomend the epidural, I almost enjoyed the last few hours of my labor because of it. When you feel pain, remember to try not to tense your body up. I did this and had terrible cramps in my arms and legs after the birth. Try to focus on your breathing instead. Don't worry about pooing on the bed when you're pushing, you won't even care when it happens (I didn't care).Don't get too stressed out if your baby won't b___stfeed straight away. It takes practice for both of you to get it right. The first two weeks will be exhausting for you, it will get a little better from then on, and you will get used to sleep deprivation. It took longer than I realised to get over the birth, but after 6 weeks, I started to feel almost human again. Don't worry about the housework, just enjoy your little bundle. Good luck! xxx

I agree with everyone, make sure you have the crib built and your bag packed. I had my first daughter a month early by c-section, and had to go home and build the crib before I brought her home from the hospital. The first few weeks the baby will want to eat every three hours or so. Get your husband in the habit of getting up for a feeding now and then, if you're using formula. If one of your relatives wants to come over and watch the baby while you nap, let them. And don't feel bad if you let some of the housework go for a while...I think we all do that at first.

Thanks for all your responces. I love to hear all these stories. What happens RIGHT after birth?

Well, in my hospital I was cleaned up and my ds was taken to the nursery- he had to be treated for low blood sugar. Meanwhile, I had something to eat (the BEST food I've ever had- labor makes you tired and hungry!!) When I was ready to get up about an hour later they took me to my postpartum room. I visited my son in the nursery and when his blood sugar stabilized a few hours later they brought him to me, and he stayed with me and my husband that night and the next until we went home. Good Luck!!!

I just had my son on Aug 31 via c-section. Right after he was born I had to of course be st_tched up so I barely got to see him. I was wheeled into the recovery room where my blood pressure was checked automaticly (sp) every 2min and I had these things on my lower legs that inflated and deflated to help circulate the blood. With all that said, when I finally saw my son it was a feeling beyond belief. He is my first and from the time I looked at him I knew that I was in love. I was not allowed to eat until 7pm that day and when I did it was liquid. I gobbled it down like was my last meal and like it was the best thing since "sliced bread and cheese". The time I spent looking at my son in those first few hours were the absolute best time of my life. Congratulations Beth and enjoy these last days of pregnancy bc life is going to change dramaticly once the baby is born.

Hi beth, after birth here in australia you kinda lay there with baby in arms excited, exhausted, overwhelmed, i then took a shower and found i was walking like i'd gotten off a horse, a bit painful, when baby wanted room service that nite a friend had to pick her up for me who stayed with me cause i couldnt get up haha, it hurt too. Like others have said ur on an adrenalin rush for the first week or more then the tiredness kicks in, i had an 11 hr labour .. from 11pm she was born 10.25, no epidural, but gas and pethadine and neither really do alot, internals are worse than any of it i think..... Good luck and may your labour be a short one,

I'm in the UK and stright after the baby is born they place him on your belly for skin to skin contact. They usually leave you to bond for a short while then come and weigh baby and get him cleaned up. Then I was told to go have a shower so they can clean my bed up. With me going home straight away I just stayed in the delivery room. I can't believe they still take babies away from their mums in America! The first few hours are the most important. It would kill me to have him took away just after I delivered him.

i had a c-section, right after they taped me up i went to the recovery room where they checked my bloop pressure automatically every few min. then my nurse will come every few 15 min to push on my belly to get any excess blood out of the uterus. did anyone lese had this done to me that was the most painful part. i got to hold my baby 3hrs later!!!! the feeling that you get when you see that little face its unbelievable eventhough you are tired and had gone through hell that little face makes it worth it. goog luck!!

Hi, Beth. I agree strongly with what Tina said. Get everything ready about a month before your due date. My son was due 11/26, but came almost three weeks early on 11/7. I had planned to finish my shopping, nursery, bill paying, etc the week he actually came. so when we got home, not everything was quite ready or in place. It was a little unnerving for me, since I am really particular and like everything to be done a certain way. Also, I advise you get out, go shopping, see a movie, see your friends and family, go out to dinner with your husband, etc as much as you can because there will be no time or way for any of that when the baby initially arrives. As for the birth experience, mine went pretty well. My water broke at 1 AM on11/7. Like Tina, I was in total denial and did not want to go to the hospital, but the OB told me to pack my bag and get moving. We got to the hospital around 3 AM or so and I was admitted to labor and delivery once they determined that it was my water that broke. Can I just say that I had not had my cervix checked before and that was the WORST part of the whole experience for me. Anyway, I was contracting pretty regularly on my own, but the doctor and nurse did not think that they were not strong enough, so I got Pitocin around 9 or 10 AM, after which I got the epidural. The pain with the Pitocin was just too strong for me to handle. It was making me weak and exhausted. The epidural was weird because my left leg was dead and the right one had some feeling and movment in it. I could also feel the contractions coming on in my right groin. It took a while for me to dilate, but I got to 10 cm around 3 or so in the afernoon. Baby was out at 4:28 PM after quite a bit of pushing. I thought I was going to pa__s out when I tried to deliver the placenta, which is not hard to do, but I was just so tired and lost a bit of blood that I was feeling dizzy. I sustained a 4th degree tear (the wall of tissue separating my v____a and rectum was ripped in half- I know, TMI) which took 45 minute to sew. In the meanwhile, they were checking the baby over because he had an abnormal heartbeat in utero that they needed to a__sess once he was out. I finally got to hold/see him after they finished my st_tches, and that was when I tried to nurse him- talk about awkward. Anyway, the first night was bad- I puked form the mineral oil they gave me to soften the stool. I was in a good deal of pain from the delivery. They kept waking me up every three hours to feed him, and I was so tired because I did not sleep at all Sunday night/ Monday morning. Come Wednesday, I was crying my eyes out because I did not want to leave the hospital. I was terrified to take him home. Once we got home, I hit rock bottom. I was so exhausted and hormonal. Luckily my MIL came over Thursday and took care of him in between feedings so I could sleep. After that, I slowly got on track and now I have somewhat of a routine. I hope my story doesn't sound too bad, because I thought my labor and delivery was pretty good overall- I have an exceptional team of people working with me. The first week was bad because of the exhaustion and because I felt lousy from the tear and b___st engorgement. Anyway, I've gone on long enough- good luck to you, Beth!

Straight after the birth, I just lay there, with my numb legs in stirrups, watching the nurses fussing over my daughter whilst the midwife st_tched me up. Me and Max were a bit worried about the baby, but every time we asked if she was ok, they said, "Yes, baby's fine, don't worry", and I'm thinking, "Well if she's fine, why does she still need oxygen and why can't I hold her?" Eventually, they handed me my baby and left me and Max alone with her, for a good 30 minutes. Then they bought another bed in and helped me to climb onto it, which wasn't easy, because my numb legs felt heavy and were flailing all over the place. The hospital porter wheeled me down to the maternity ward and joked that he'd probably see me back there in a year, and my imediate response was, "NO WAY!" They parked me in the ward and put my daughter next to me in her cot, gave Max 5 minutes to say goodbye, then chucked him out! That was the awful part. I needed my husband more than ever, and they wouldn't let him stay. I was left alone to sleep, but I couldn't. The ward was too noisy, and I was a bit shell shocked and tearful, so I just sat there, watching my daughter breath.