I was due April 24, 1996, with my second child, a boy. On April 22, I went for a checkup to see if I was dilated. I was 3 centimeters, but I had had some problems with high blood pressure the past 2 to 3 weeks and this particular day it was high again. So, while the doctor had his hand up in me, he said, Lets just get you started, while wiggling his hand (to get the mucus plug loose). Then he sent me straight over to the adjacent hospital. My mom and son, 3 years old at the time, were with me. So we called my dad and tried to get a hold of my husband, who was out pressure washing a house. My aunt showed up at the hospital to help with my son while mom was with me. Everyone ended up at the hospital.

First thing that happened was the nurse tried to thread the IV in my left hand without any success. Ended up with a ponk knot. Then she successfully got in the right, after blood dripped from my hand! I got an epidural and soon after started pushing to see if my cervix would dilate some more. It did, but the baby wasn't descending. I ended up having a C-section, which was scary. Troy was born at 8:31p.m., and weighed 9 pounds and 1 ounce (the same as my oldest son). The next day, I got a headache. It ended up being an epidural headache because the anesthesiologist punctured my dura during the threading of the epidural. I put up with a headache for 48 hours. The same anesthesiologist performed a blood patch (they draw blood out of the arm and insert it into the back by performing another epidural -- it didn't hurt at all!), which ended my headache. It was gone within 45 minutes after performing the epidural.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and thanks for letting me share my story. I tend to go into a lot of detail -- even when I talk. My first child was born naturally and I was up and around in 1 and a half hours. Now I'm pregnant with my third baby due December 22, 1999. I hope I don't have to have another C-section. I will probably try to have an epidural, however, to ease the pain.