You will be wired up! 2 monitors on your belly (one for baby's heartbeat, one for your contractions), a blood pressure monitor, pulse monitor, and an IV. If you need induced, they'll start you on a medicine called Pitocin that makes contractions stronger. It's scary, but breathe and relax. If you choose to get an epidural, they will also give you a urinary catheter because you lose feeling from the waste down and won't be able to walk to the bathroom. That doesn't hurt at all.
Have you ever gotten Novocaine at the dentist? Did it work? Novocaine doesn't work on me, so if you're the same then TELL YOUR DOCTOR! The stuff they give you to numb your back before they put in the epidural is made of the same stuff as Novocaine, so if you're intolerant to the anesthetic you'll feel the catheter go into your back. That was the only truly painful thing about my labor. If you're ok with it, it's no big deal though, easy peasy :) I don't recommend looking up what happens when they put one in, because it looks worse than it feels. It's not bad at all, especially if the numbing stuff works.
You'll have a lot of visitors, sometimes when you're in pain. Don't be afraid to (politely) ask for some time to yourself. Reassure them that you'd love them to visit as soon as you're comfortable.
If you have a C-section, it'll take about 45 minutes to get back to the operating room. You'll be too high to notice. Once you get back, they'll prep you and he/she'll be out in no time! The hardest part about a C-section is waiting to be stitched up. Again, you're too high to count time, but all I can tell you is it felt like an eternity. My boyfriend got to take the baby to the recovery room and I waited by myself for the doctors to finish. I only got to see a glimpse of my baby and it killed me to wait. They told me it would be about 45 minutes. Then you have to recover for an hour, but you can bring visitors if they're not too busy. Feel free to sleep now, you deserve it.
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