Labor: The Second Time PART 1
Labor with my second child was different than the first. I was so worried about my son that would be left at home it was hard to concentrate on the new baby. We were having our second boy and I kept worrying that I would go into labor during the day when my husband was at work and didn’t know what would happen to our older son. That was my fear.
But soon we put a plan into action and knew what we would do regardless of when I went into labor. So we were all set. My water had broken with my first son about a week before my due date and he was an 8 pound, 14 ounce baby. When our second son was measuring big, my doctor and I discussed the option of being induced.
I had been through labor before. I did not have a fear of the unknown, but I was very afraid of my baby getting too large and having a hard time coming out. I chose to be induced and my date was set a week prior to my due date. My husband and I were excited. Finally, I could plan what would happen to our older son and there would be no surprises. Hopefully.
So the Saturday that we were scheduled to go to the hospital arrived. We were all packed, with much less stuff to bring than the first time. Grandma arrived to stay with our older child and they had fun things planned. He was only 21 months and had never been away from us overnight. Still, I felt confident he would have too much fun to miss us.
Once at the hospital, it took several hours to get checked into our room. It was about 2:00pm before I was changed into my robe and lying in the hospital bed. There is something very strange about feeling fine but still being in a gown and in a hospital. Since this was my second pregnancy and my first labor had gone so smoothly, I was sure that I would be holding my baby by evening. Everything I had heard told me the second labor progresses much faster than the first. Don’t believe everything that you hear.
The first step to my inducement was to insert a gel that was supposed to “ripen my cervix.” Once inserted, I had to lay flat for at least an hour. It may have been longer than that before the nurses suggested I walk around.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
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