Introduction and my short VBAC story
I haven't really been on TheBump since I had my DS back in September. I am so happy to finally see a VBAC board. I spent most of my time on the September board and the Natural Birth board, but I kept wishing there would have been a place for VBAC hopefuls.
I had a very tough but successful VBAC. By the time it was over, I felt like I had been to hell and back - it was that long and hard. Originally, I planned on having a natural birth with the support of my doula and CNMs. I had done the Hypnobabies program and planned to cope with the pain with self-hypnosis and hydrotherapy. At about 38 weeks, I was correctly diagnosed with very low fluid and had to be induced. Induction started with two different kinds of Foley catheters on a Tuesday night. Dilation was incredibly slow and there were times that I wanted to quit and just get a repeat C. I had relentless back labor that felt like a knife in my back. The tub and massage helped a little, but it just got progressively worse. Fortunately for me, the CNMs and my doula refused to let me get another C despite my begging and they convinced me to get an epidural that I was sure wouldn't touch the pain. The epidural helped the back pain only a little bit, but once I started getting some hardcore boluses, I felt much better. I did need my water broken manually and I had to get "a whiff of Pit" to push me from 9cm to 10cm. But after pushing for a couple hours, early Friday morning I finally had my baby. My DH told me we had a son (we had kept it a surprise) and I just kept repeating to my baby boy "We did it! We did it!" It was such a amazing beautiful birth and the VBAC was completely worth all the preparation and pain.
I will probably visit this board from time to time and answer questions. I wish all of you luck.
Re: Introduction and my short VBAC story
Congrats and welcome to the board!
What was the reason for your c/s?
congrats! I LOVE that you said "we did it!" Every single VBAC mama I have talked to (including myself) has said that those were the first words out of her mouth after she pushed her baby out.
I'm glad even though the experience wasn't what you planned it was still worth it!
I was induced due to suspected low-fluid. I didn't think to question that ultrasound (unlike this time where I had two ultrasounds and got the opinions of two OBs and my CNM). I had awful back labor and after 36 hours, they decided to put me out of my misery and give me the c-section since I wasn't progressing at all. The two most annoying things about it were that I actually did NOT have low fluid and no one ever thought to give me a bolus so the epidural was doing nothing for my back.
I can truly sympathize. I had a very similar experience. I was induced for low fluid that actually wasn't low at all. The radiologist deemed it borderline low, and the tech didn't even think it was low during the U/S. In fact, when I told a medical resident I'm friends with and my new CNM, they both told me that they wouldn't have induced me for the number that was reported. Then, when the attending OB broke my water 7 hours into my induction, her exact words were, "Oh wow... you're a gusher. Yeah, you're fluid wasn't low at all." Ugh.
After several hours of the maximum pit drip my progress slowed considerably and my daughter started to have decels. I tried to argue it and my doctor was insistent. I was c-sectioned. I was also told by my resident friend and my CNM that my induction, especially the (lack of) steps taken after my daughter started to decel before I was sectioned was poorly handled as well.
HUGE congratulations to you on your VBAC. We are currently TTC now and I am hoping for a VBAC as well. BTW... your daughter and I have the same name.
Sarah - 12/23/2008
Alex - 9/30/2011
"I say embrace the total geek in yourself and just enjoy it. Life is too short to be cool." - Shirley Manson, Garbage