We got our VBAC! Story and Pics inside.

dangerkitty102 · September 2012

I posted my vbac birth story on my blog today. Warning, it is LONG. My doula took notes throughout the entire L&D and I included quite a bit of detail with the intention of sharing with my local ICAN group. I figured some of you ladies would be interested in the details as well, so here's the link to the full story:

https://gobinfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/rhetts-birth-story.html

Here's the short version:

Rhett Clark was born via VBAC after 24 hours of labor. I got to the point at 5-6 cm where I wasn't handling the contractions well and got an epidural about 20 hours into it, which weakened my contractions. After 2 more hours (and still stuck at a 5-6) the OB convinced me that I needed just a LITTLE pitocin to strengthen up my contractions. To my amazement, a level 4 of pit was enough to dilate me to a full 10 cm within about 2 hours. Pushing was difficult since I could feel NOTHING from the epidural, but I was able to push out my baby in 55 minutes. I got immediate skin-to-skin contact and my husband was able to announce the sex (it's a BOY! I was so surprised) and cut the cord. It was definitely the most emotional and memorable experience of my life.

Recovery from the vaginal birth has been a BREEZE compared to the c/s. I wouldn't necessarily say I was in more pain from the c/s, but I was also on more pain killers - so I was pretty out of it and just took a few weeks to really snap back to one again. With the vbac, I felt pretty much 100% by day 3. Even my 2nd degree tear has been little more to deal with than a bad papercut - not even exaggerating. And the best part is that I'm able to pick up and cuddle with my 2 year old, which is HUGE.

I hope my story encourages other c-section mamas to try for a vbac! Choose supportive care providers and hospitals and you CAN do it

Here's a pic of our newest addition when he as about 8 hours old.

nosoup4u · September 2012

Yay! So exciting! I had a second-degree tear after my VBAC also, and it felt a ton better after about two weeks. It was a lot quicker recovery than my c/s.

Enjoy your new addition!