Had my VBAC

S&D_2005

I was able to have a successful VBAC, but I actually was the 1% that ended up with a uterine tear. Here goes my story:

 

On May 31st, at 4:00 in the morning, I rolled out of bed to use the bathroom. As I got up, I felt my water break, and immediately ran to the bathroom. I called DH's name as I was in there, and he got up right away, and called his sister to come watch DD. We made it to the hospital around 5:45, and I made DH stop to get himself some breakfast because I knew he wouldn't get a chance to eat. Contractions didn't really start until I got to the hospital and in my room. I had 2 small ones in the car, but I was still able to joke around, and text my brothers and sisters to let them know what was going on. When I was being admitted, DH and I were joking around and laughing with the girl at the desk, and a nurse walked by and said "you must be a scheduled c-section because you are way too chipper". lol.

When I got there, the nurse told us there were a few ladies that night that thought their water broke, but ended up being false alarms. I showed her the huge wet spot on my pants, even though I was wearing a pad, it soaked through. She took a little sample, and came back a couple of minutes later saying "yup, your water broke". When I was checked around 6:45 am, they told me I was only 2-3 cm dilated, and at -2 station. They suggested I bounch on a ball, and then walk to get the baby to drop. So I bounced on the ball for a couple of hours, and had to get up and hold the side of the bed whenever I had a contraction. After that, DH and I walked the halls for a while, and I thought I felt baby drop while we were doing this. All I know is, my belly was a lot lower, and I felt more pressure.

Before labor, I told DH that I didn't want the epidural, and I wanted him to be my biggest supporter, and tell me that I could do without it. There were a couple of moments where I was screaming and begging for it, but he kept saying "no, you don't need it. you are doing great!" The nurses were pretty amazing, and didn't pressure me or bring up the epidural at all.

My doctor checked me around 11 or 12. The times are fuzzy since its been almost a couple of months, and I wasn't able to post my story from my MAC.  She said there was still a little bag of water, and when she broke it, I dilated to 7. I was at 6 before she did that. She said that it wouldn't be much longer.

I did different things to make the conractions more bareable. I got into the jaccuzi, but I hated it. It helped me relax a little between the contractions, but I didn't like just sitting there, so I got out after half an hour. The only thing that helped was leaning on DH during a contraction, and resting my head on his chest as he rubbed my back and told me to breath. He was pretty amazing that day, and was such a huge help. Transition was hell, and I kept telling my husband I couldn't do it, and I just wanted some relief. I let out a few "MOTHER-EFFER THIS SH!T HURTS"!!!! But, he kept encouraging me, and telling me I was doing great. I started to feel the urge to push around 3. I was checked, and was at 10, so nurses had me do some practice pushes.

My doctor came in, and they started to get the bed setup. I did two practice pushes for my OB, and she said she could see the hair. Pushing was a huge relief. It actually didn't hurt, and it helped that I had my eyes closed, and I was able to focus on that. I kept asking DH if he could see anything, and if I was making any progress. I was worried that I would push and push, and end up with a c-section like DD. I pushed for about 20 minutes, and the head was out. With the next push, I felt my babies little body slide right out, and then I opened my eyes. They put baby to my chest, and we didn't really think to ask what it was, even though we were team green. I just remember baby staring into my eyes, and then I looked down and said "it's a boy"!! Jacob David was born at 3:49 pm, almost 12 hours after my water broke.

They took Jacob to the baby warmer to get weighed and measured, as my OB stitched me up. He was a little guy, and was 10 days early, so he weighed about 5 lbs 6 ounces, and was 18 1/2 inches long.  I kept asking the baby team if Jacob was ok because I didn't hear him cry. They had to take him to the special care nursery for a couple of hours because he wasn't breathing properly. He let out a little cry when he was still in the room, and they brought him over to me again before they took him away. I told DH to go with him, and I would be fine. He ended up being ok, he just had a lot of mucus, so they had to clear him out really good. My OB was amazing throughout the entire birth.  She was so encouraging, as were the other two nurses. She kept telling me how great I did, and that was the easiest and most beautiful birth she has ever delivered. One of the nurses was really sweet, and came up to me after everything was done and told me how great I did, and how happy she was to be able to be there and see her first VBAC. It was actually her first day working at the hospital. I loved the entire staff at the hospital, and had such an amazing experience the minute I walked in. 

Jacob developed a little jaundice, so we stayed an extra day so he could get some treatments before his pediatrician released him. He's so perfect and amazing, and I was so happy to be able to experience a natural birth. He's the sweetest boy ever, and I'm so lucky to have two healthy kids. 

Recovery wasn't bad, but I was re-admitted into the hospital a couple of days after being released. I will write another post about my tear, and the stuff I had to go through the past couple of months. Thanks for reading.

 

 

cchill01

Congratulations! 

I look forward to reading your post about the tear and recovery.  Also, about whether you're glad that you went for the VBAC.

lostaspen

Wow!  Congratulations, it sounds like a great experience!  Even though there was a tear I'm glad you and your LO doing well.  I'll be interested to read your follow up post about it :-)