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VBAC
Brownie_222
member
My baby is here! (VBAC birth story)
Brownie_222
member
in VBAC
Our little girl, Ruby, was born on October 6, 2011, at 4:51 A.M. She was 9 days past her due date! She weighed 7 lbs, 3 oz and was 18.5" long.
Short story: Contractions began at about noon on the 5th. I took a nap at 3PM but woke up a few times due to contractions (probably about every 20 minutes at that point and very manageable). Lost my plug at 6PM. Went out to dinner with my husband and had contractions that I could still talk through. Walked up ten flights of stairs after dinner. At about 8PM we called our midwife to let her know we thought this might be it. She said to call back when they were about 4-5 minutes apart. Called her back at 11:30 and she said to come in to the birth center at 1, or before if we felt like we should. Asked to be checked when I arrived and was excited that I was already 5-6 cm. Went for a walk in the night air and things kicked up a notch. Came back and my water broke. Got in the tub about 3. Starting pushing at about 4:30 or so and she was born at 4:51.
Long story: I took 1 tablespoon of castor oil in yogurt the morning of the day my labor started. I wasn't super excited to do it, but was 41 weeks and a day and knew my days were numbered until I would be referred to the back-up OB. We'd done membrane sweeps, acupuncture, chiro, spicy foods galore, sex, EPO, RRL tea and those things hadn't jumpstarted labor, so I was ready to try castor oil by then. I really wanted to avoid an induction and being moved to a hospital setting if I made it to 42 weeks. My biggest fear this pregnancy wasn't about the birth, but that I just wouldn't go into labor spontaneously (was induced at 41 with my son). My care providers were very encouraging my entire pregnancy, even at the end when I really came unhinged at my 41 week appt. When I thought it might be labor, I called my parents to see if they could take our son while we went out to Melting Pot for cheese and chocolate fondue and my husband made reservations. We'd gone there the night before our induction with DS, and I thought it would be a cool story to tell later if we ate there the night before both of our kids were born. It was good juju! The waitress was really nice and I think she had a sixth sense because she said something about "lots of couples have their last meal here." I wasn't having any trouble talking during contractions at that point and hadn't said I might be in labor, so I think she was just really tuned in or something. We gave her a big tip, needless to say. We went back to pick up our son and I asked my Mom to pack a bag and come back to our house with us in case this was it. I was still really reluctant to believe it was happening, because in my mind, that was my biggest hurdle and I didn't want to get my hopes up. We got home and put our son down and then tried to sleep, but by that point (about 10PM), the contractions laying in bed weren't comfortable. So we went downstairs and I sat on my birth ball. My husband would also apply counter pressure to my back while I bent over a chair. I was doing lots of breathing at that point and was excited that this was it. I felt really good about things and like I was on top of the contractions - still totally manageable with coping techniques we'd practiced together. We packed our bag and called our midwife. We left our house about 12:30 and got to the birth center at 1. The first thing my midwife said to me was, "you're too happy." I think that was just indicative of me not over-thinking the early labor earlier in the afternoon/evening and due to the relaxation's effectiveness. I asked to be checked at that point because I worried I might not be in active labor yet since I was still too happy. I was 5-6cm though with a bulging bag. In my induced labor I only got to 4-5cm before my OB called failure to progress and recommended a c-section. So being farther along right at check-in was a big relief to me. We went outside for a walk and the stars were very bright and the moon was beautiful. It was just how I'd imagined my baby's birthday to be - a real story. During the walk things intensified and Matt called our doula to come to the birth center. She got there about half an hour later and around that time, my water broke. After that things got intense and my breathing wasn't enough to keep things manageable. I started needing more support, and I had it. There were two CNMs, two RNs, our doula and my husband. They were mostly quiet, checking baby, talking with me, getting me water/Gatorade to drink. My doula was using this glass rolling pin on my back that was amazing! My husband did the hip squeeze on me and she did the rolling pin and together those two things got me through that phase. I got in the tub at about 3 and at that point I had my eyes closed almost the rest of the time. It was really another dimension. We had music playing in the background and the playlist I created had low-key songs that were meaningful to me from various points in my life. I could hear them and they helped me emotionally, but I wasn't thinking about the music, if that makes sense. I'm really glad I had my music. At some point I started grunting and the midwives said I could push whenever I felt the urge. I was worried I wasn't complete so I asked to be checked and I was. Pushing for me was incredibly intense. I needed so much reassurance at that point. The biggest thing that kept me going was knowing my baby was tolerating labor very well. I was really focused on the baby and I was telling baby in between contractions that it was time to come out and please come out. I needed to hear different things from different people while I was pushing - sometimes I heard my doula's voice telling me, "welcome it", other times it was my midwife's voice telling me "you are doing it" sometimes it was my husband telling me I was doing a great job. I would zone in on different people's voices at different times. Everyone whispered if they had to ask someone else something. I really appreciated that. Everyone was there for me. Finally I had a contraction and push that brought her head out and during that same contraction her shoulders came out. It was pretty painful (sorry!). My husband was in the tub with me by then and he caught the baby and put her on my chest. She had tons of vernix even though she was 41 + 2. I'm definitely sure of my dates and ovulation timeframe so I know she just took longer to cook. She was on my chest while we massaged her back a bit and got her covered up. Finally I asked what it was (we were team green), and they said, we don't know, take a look and see. So I did and I discovered she was a girl. I was completely surprised because the whole time I thought it was a boy! Our son had insisted all along "sister" so that was kind of funny that he had better insight than me. When the cord was flat my husband cut it and we got out of the tub and into bed. I had a 2nd degree tear that they repaired while I was getting her to latch on. I was so in shock that I'd pushed my baby out that it was all incredibly surreal. I just wasn't back to reality yet! It took a few hours for me to realize hey, I did that. We did that. My husband was awesome and my team was awesome and I was so grateful to have had a birth where everyone was there for me (the opposite of my first birth with the exception of my husband).
It has been a week and I feel much better physically this time at 1 week than I did after my c-section. Emotionally, it is a totally different and better experience. I have no regrets, no doubts, no sadness or feelings of loss about how this baby was born. I'm also more at peace with how my first was born now.
It took a lot of emotional energy to prepare for my VBAC. Finding confidence was huge. The other big thing for me was finding supportive providers who would "let" me go to 42 weeks. I take longer than others to bake babies, and while I did have an NST and BPP at 41 weeks this time, no one ever doubted that it would happen. They said at each appt near the end, "see you soon." They believed in me from start to finish. I really couldn't have asked for a better pregnancy and birth.
Thanks for reading my story. GL to everyone!
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Re: My baby is here! (VBAC birth story)
Congrats!! And wow, 20 minutes of pushing, nice. I pushed for 3.5 hours with my VBAC.
Thanks for sharing your story. Enjoy your new little one, the second ones grow up even faster than the first!
~Sweet Girl *8/18/08* c-section ~ Sweet Boy *12/2/10* VBAC ~ Sweet Boy *8/14/12* VBAC~
VBAC Birth Story 2VBAC Birth Story
It was crazy intense at the end!
Yay! So glad to hear it worked out. My son who was a VBAC was at least 41.5 weeks, possibly 42, when he was born (I wasn't totally sure of my due date). Those last few weeks waiting to go into labor are the hardest part of pregnancy.
Congrats!!!
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
this- thank you!