Things No One Tells You About Childbirth

I was scrolling Facebook the other night and a friend posted a status about not being able to eat because she's just had wisdom teeth removed. All I could think about was being probably 18 hours into labor, painless because of a very effective epidural, and being so hungry that I would have eaten ANYTHING.
And being of sound mind (ha) I begged Nathan to go get me food.

Nathan: You can't eat, if you have to have a C-section and be put under anesthesia or something you can't have food in your stomach.
Me: I don't care, I want food.
Nathan: You will care if you have to have a C-section and they can't do it.
Me: I still want food.
Nathan: What if they have to pump your stomach before surgery?
Me: You don't seem to be understanding me. I. Want. Food. *pause* Now.

See, no one ever mentioned to me that no matter how many hours I was in labor that I wouldn't be permitted to eat. And with my nutrients going to Jace instead of me, I felt even hungrier.
Another thing no one mentioned? Labor made me very very sleepy. Now, if I had chosen not to have an epidural and was in a lot of pain, that would probably be different, but since I was fortunate enough to not feel pain, I slept a lot. It was basically my body being like "I'm doing enough work, I don't have the energy to deal with your overthinking and stressing, so sleep. Thanks."
It's completely unpredictable. I was induced at 8:00pm April 9, and they planned to come in the next morning to break my water and let the process continue naturally. So for a few times when the doctor would come in to check me I would have progressed. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, and then toward the end, not at all. For me, at least, there was no way to know what my body or Jace was going to do and in what time. Jace was not born until 5:33pm via C-section April 10.
It's so emotional. Okay, that one we are warned  about. But I still wasn't prepared, when I first laid my eyes on Jace I felt a combination of joy, awe, and terror. He was going to come home with me, I was now responsible for his happiness, nourishment, growth, and learning. I thought he was beautiful, but so scared to hurt him.

Now, what I'm telling you only comes from my experience, and my story will be very different from every other birth story, but these are just some things I felt that it was worth sharing, especially for anyone that plans to have kids.