I got the balloon they used it to take me from 1 cm to 5 cm it is very painful they will tell you you'll get used to it after a bit. DONT BELIEV THEM! I had a nurse suggest my epidural before doing it but I decided not to and within 1 min I was in unbearable pain like screaming couldn't concentrate pain. it hurts to move and i definitely suggest getting epidural or pain meds before they do it. I had my baby lass than a month ago so the pain is still pretty real for me. omg thinking about it makes me cringe lol