I was late by six days when my doctor sent me over for a stress test. On the way to the hospital I was contracting about every six minutes and they were quite uncomfortable.

During the stress test they concluded that although the baby was fine I was 1 centimeter dilated and contracting every six minutes, so they gave me the option of going home until they picked up or just staying to be induced. I decided to stay because I was scared of going home and the pain getting much worse.

They gave me Pitocin and it started contractions that hurt a lot, but after about four hours the contractions slowed down to about every 10-12 minutes. So that's when they broke my water. Within a few hours I was begging for an epidural (which I was denied because I was allergic to lidocaine). I begged and even offered money for it, but nothing. All they gave me was Darvocet but it was not working. The pain was unbearable until she came out at 10 a.m., 16 full hours after the induction started.

I am now pregnant again and four days late. I am scheduled for induction at eight days late. I have checked with my family doctor and we have concluded I am not allergic to lidocaine, so the difference is that this time I am able to get an epidural if I want. And yes, I want it. I am nervous but nothing could be worse than getting induced and not being able to get drugs. So as long as I get an epidural I think I will be fine. It would also be good if it didn't take 16 hours this time. Maybe I could have her within half that time, like eight hours.