Baby is here! VBAC attempt turned RCS

vtmezzo

Well, long story short, I was due 5/5, was scheduled for a RCS on 5/12, and got them to postpone until 5/17 since I was 1 cm and fully effaced. Began having very strong contractions off and on 5/11 (day after I starting losing MP), and they continued. 5/14 took my first trip to L&D to get checked since I was contracting so hard and in so much pain, and was only 1.5 cm. (they don't like to admit until you are at 4 cm).  5/15 ended up heading back in the middle of the night in absolute agony and was only at 2 cm. They sent me home with an Ambien to help me sleep (which did nothing) since I had an appointment with my doc the next day. This was all very disheartening since I had been walking my butt off trying to get labor progressing for 2 weeks! Not to mention RRL tea, EPO, birthing ball, Taylor sitting, pelvic tilts, sex...you name it, I did it.

*** Ladies who have also had extended early labor - my sympathies. It is excruciating. *** 

Made it to my doctor's appointment Monday 5/16 at 11 AM in complete tears, contracting very hard every 2-3 minutes and trying to hold it together. Apparently while I was breathing silently through contrax in the waiting room, another patient turned to my husband and said "she's amazing, I was NEVER that composed during any of my 3 labors". I had honestly just entered a state of barely coping. Doc checked me, I was 3-4 cm and had quite a bloody show when she did the internal so she sent me to be admitted. 

I was also informed at this time that if I didn't have an epidural and something were to go wrong, I would have to go under general anesthesia for a CS. I wasn't thrilled about it at the time, but as it turned out I was very glad I was "forced" into the epi.

Got admitted at 1:00, got epi at 1:30, and sat back to relax a little. Broke my water at 2 PM, there was some meconium, so  I was a bit worried about that. Contractions were certainly more pleasant w/ the epidural but I was worried about it slowing my labor down. Doc came back in to check me at 3, I was at a 5-6 and really pleased at how things were going. DH and I started emailing/calling family members to say "today is the day" and at 4:00 I was just in the middle of telling DH that if things kept going this quickly, we might have a baby by dinner - then all went very haywire very quickly. Nurses and docs came flying in, were turning me from side to side, and couldn't find a heart rate. Doc said, "Ok, we're doing a CS right now, stay calm, things will be fine". Of course, I was completely panicking. DH was holding my hand and saying, just breathe, everything is going to be fine. 

It's really hard to stay calm when you have about 25 people in blue scrubs literally running around and shouting things to each other - you feel like you're in an ER episode! They were able to find the baby's HR again by the time they got me prepped and then it seemed like people were breathing again. My sweet baby boy was born at 4:26, 7 lbs 14oz and 21 inches long. He cried right away and got 8 and 9 on his Apgars despite having to be heavily suctioned for meconium. I've never been so relieved in my life. I guess what happened was that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his ankle 4 times and was preventing him from dropping all the way, and the horrible contraction pain I was feeling was his head getting lodged down in there and the rest of him not following because it was caught up in the cord. The HR drama came from too much pressure on the cord during the contractions.

It was certainly not the birth experience I had hoped for, and my recovery is 10 times worse this time than I remember it being with my first, but I'm beyond relieved to have a beautiful healthy boy. In the end, that's the most important thing, and I feel content that I gave VBAC a shot. He's nursing like a champ and is a very sweet and content little guy so far. We are in love!

 Good luck to all the other VBAC mamas! 

 

lorryfach

Congrats on your little man! I hope your recovery gets better fast.

soontobe05

Sorry it didn't turn out as you wanted, but so glad you're both okay. Good luck with recovery and enjoy your new little man. 

Brownie_222

What a trip! It sounds like a hard few days of early labor then the scary decels...I am sorry you had such a rough time. Despite the circumstances, you sound like you're in high spirits and enjoying your new baby boy. I'm so happy that he's healthy and I hope your recovery gets easier stat. Thanks for sharing your story and congrats on your baby boy!

cchill01

Congratulations!  I'm sorry labor didn't turn out they way you had hoped.  But, you can feel confident that you gave it your all and had a c-section because it was medically necessary.  Glad everyone is doing well.  I hope your recovery gets better.