Birth Update (Warning, Super Long)
It's a boy! Liam was born on his due date 11/10/11. I've been having serious braxton hicks for a while now, with lots of painful ones lately, some were even spaced out pretty regularly for an hour or two. Just enough to have me constantly wondering "is this it?". Tuesday night they were pretty bad and I had a feeling that we'd be meeting our baby sooner than later. Wednesday I had minor contractions on and off all day and figured they'd kick into gear in the evening (that is when I usually have them) and we'd be going to the hospital that night. By 11:00 there was no real action, so I went to bed figuring that it was not going to happen that night. By 12:30 I was woken up by pretty strong contractions and knew that there was no way they were not real! They were about 9 min apart and because of my prior c-section that was close enough to head to the hospital. I told my husband that I was going to take a shower and when I got out we'd call my mom (to come stay with our 2 yo) and the doctor then head out. I took a small clock with me just so I could make sure they were staying regular enough to warrant sounding all the alarms. While in the shower, they were more like every 2-3 min so I called for hubby to get my mom headed over and start getting ready to GO! Once at the hospital (about 2:30 am), they were every 2-3 min if I was standing or moving around, but only about 6 min apart if I sat or layed down. I was still only dilated 3 cm (have been for two weeks) but was having regular enough contractions that they didn't want to risk sending me home due to the scaring and potential for rupture from my previous c-section. For this reason, they also can't (or at least shouldn't) give pitocin or anything to enhance labor, so off I went to walk the halls. I walked laps around L&D for hours which at least made the contractions seem more effective. By about 10 am they decided to break my water since I was dilating a little further on my own, but things were moving so slow. At this point the contractions became so intense there wasn't even any space between them. They went right from one to the next! I hadn't wanted an epidural because I was determined to have this VBAC and the less interventions, the more likely it is to happen. After about an hour of constant contractions I decided I couldn't take it anymore and asked for the epidural. They didn't check me before giving it (wish they had) and when they finished the anestesiologist told me it would kick in fully in about 15 min. Before he was even out of the room I suddenly felt a TON of pressure. They called the doc in to check me and I was fully dilated. I felt really cheated since I had yet to feel any of the relief of the epidural! I think they figured that since I had pushed for 2 hours with my first and she never came out (she was only 6lbs) that there was no harm in telling me to bear down if I felt the urge. With the first pu**** became quite clear that this baby was definitely going to come out and they all had to scramble to get the doctor back in the room and get everything ready for the baby. I only pushed for about 20 min (the epidural never even had time to kick in) and Liam was born at 11:30. He was a little bit bigger than his sister, proving my point that every labor is different and that size was not the only factor to consider for the likely hood of my potential VBAC being a success. I'm quite proud to have proven all of the naysayers at my doctors office wrong! He is a perfect little guy and I can't believe how good I feel! Such a difference from the recovery of a c-section! I had an amazing doctor and group of nurses with me in the delivery room and I really think all of their support helped to make it so successful! I guess this is not a frequent occurence here because I've had tons of nurses pop in to congratulate me on how successful it was. I really hope to inspire others to give it a try! I know it is not the safe choice for everyone, and that there are lots of cir****tances where a repeat c-section is the way to go, but I wish more women would do the research and advocate for what they want rather than letting the doctors fear of malpractice suits push so many women into surgeries that aren't necessary. Ok, off my soap box now. Anyway, we're both doing great and we go home tomorrow where big sister is anxiously awaiting our return! Pics aren't working, will try from home.
Great Big heartfelt congratulations to you Paula on your successful VBAC! Sounds like things went as well as they could have gone!!! So glad you're feeling well! I know the difference between how you feel with spontaneous birth and a section! The difference is incredible!!
So very happy for you and welcome litte LIam!!!!
So very happy for you and welcome litte LIam!!!!
Congratulations!! So glad everything went as you wanted and you're both doing great!!
"Be present for your journey, get to know who you really are and then be your authentic self with NO apologies"
You can follow my journey at mandaschange.blogspot.com
You can follow my journey at mandaschange.blogspot.com
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