I second the gum suggestion & a birthing ball made a world of difference. I’d bounce through contractions & it really helped. I never made it completely without an epidural but I only had it for 30mins each time...just enough to get me to dilate those last 1.5cm & I’d have them shut it off. You’ve got this!!

Deep breathing and ice chips helped me through

I was induced unexpectedly even though I wanted to go into labor naturally and avoid the epidural. Induced contractions are much more painful and they come on faster than when you go into labor on your own. Since this is your firstborn, try breathing through all of the contractions and just use your own pain tolerance as a guide for what you decide to do. Your nurses will likely ask you for 1-10 pain estimate, I got an epidural at around 7. So just soldier through those last stages and remind yourself that you made it this far, why not finish strong? Also remind yourself that each one brings you closer to meeting your baby. Not only during contractions, but ESPECIALLY while pushing.

It’s really all up to your pain tolerance. I was against it at first, I made it to 15 hours natural and then started calling for a epidural and it made my remaining 14 hours a breeze. It’s all up to you though, you’ll know

Take gum in with you and chew it through contractions. That helped me and it kept my mouth from drying out lol.