I'm trying to decide if we should hire a doula. We are very, very strictly budgeted right now because of some unexpected expenses, trying to eliminate our debt, as well as trying to make sure we have enough money set aside to cover expenses while I'm on maternity leave.
I had hoped for a natural childbirth with SB and BW, but my labor was an induction that I didn't handle very well. I feel like I can honestly say I never felt a true contraction. I went from not feeling anything, to feeling some dull period crampiness to feeling a constant, unrelenting pain. There were no peaks and valleys, no breaks. I made no progress the majority of the day (I was dilated to a 3 prior to the induction) and when I finally made it to 4, the doctor okayed the epidural and I asked for it immediately. Once I received the epidural, I snuck in a little nap and went from 4-10 in about an hour.
I learned from my labor with SB and BW that DH is a very passive birth partner. I think he wanted me to ask for help and tell him what to do, and if I didn't say anything, I didn't need anything. I'm very indecisive myself, so that last thing I wanted to be doing when I was in pain was giving someone else suggestions on how to help me. We didn't receive any suggestions from the nurses on positions or anything to help with the labor process at all, so I felt very alone in the process.
This second time around, I'd really like to go into labor naturally and give birth without pain medication. I have a reasonable chance of having a fast labor - I progressed very quickly once I started making progress with my last labor, and my mom had 2 quick labors. So I'm debating the doula. I'd really like one, but the cost is deterring me a bit, and DH doesn't really seem too on board with it yet. I probably need to discuss it seriously with him again, but like most things, I'm procrastinating. If we aren't going the doula route, I need to prep more for doing things on my own and giving DH more direction.
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