xp: loong vbac birth story (and pic!)
pitterpatter129
member
Birth Story!
Went in at 7:30am for an induction. Was 60% effaced and at 3cm when I got there. They started me on very low dose of pitocin since I was a vbac. I labored for awhile, just chatting with my husband and doula. The contractions weren?t really anything strong or horrible. My doctor came in and checked me and said I was still the same, so they increased the pitocin. He also broke my water and assured me that he didn?t do ?timers? just because of broken water. He said that was outdated and I could labor as long as I needed to. He talked to me about epidurals. He was very pro-epidural, saying in his vbac patients it usually helped a lot. I had registered for one, but wasn?t positive when or if I would use it and he said okay. I didn?t see him again for awhile. They kept increasing my pitocin and I decided to forego anymore cervical checks for awhile. The nurses were VERY respectful of my birth plan and were sooo sweet. I loved the nurse that was with me for almost the entire time. She actually went off duty about 2 hours before he was born! I labored mostly in a chair with a heating pad on my back. I had the same horrible back labor with this baby as I did with Nate. Turns out this one was OP too! My doula was awesome and so was my husband. They encouraged me to breathe during the contractions and then we just picked up our conversation right after! The nurse asked me if I wanted my epidural and I told her maybe in a little while. After about 30 minutes, I decided that, yes, epidural good. The anesthesiologist got there pretty fast. He was very nice too and stayed afterwards to chat and make sure it worked. The nurse asked if I wanted to guess what cm I was at and I guessed a six, thinking that they had checked me about 2 hours before I was still not completely effaced and still at a 3. I was at a 9! I got to a 9 before I got an epidural! They were all completely shocked. They called my doctor, who came by to check me and called me an overachiever. He told me the baby was still pretty high and also was OP. He wanted me to start pushing right away so that he could turn the baby. So he left and I pushed for awhile. Then he came in and turned baby right around with no issues! Love him! He talked about my narrow pelvic bones and how baby needed to come down some more. He said he?d probably see me in about two hours. I think they called him back in about 45 minutes because baby was down further. He called me an overachiever again. I pushed after that for about 2 hours. The nurse said you could see baby?s head and the doctor assured me that there was absolutely no chance of a csection at that point!! I was so tired and my pushes weren?t strong enough, so he did use forceps to get baby out and did a little episiotomy also. I don?t know if it was because of the forceps or if it always hurts that badly, but OH MY GOD. Pushing that baby?s head out was sooo painful. I kind of lost it for a minute, yelling and hyperventilating. Doctor stopped and made me shut up and look at him. He said something like, ?You?ve been in control all this time. Stop it and push this baby out.? LOL So I did, with some help. They all told me to reach down and feel the baby?s head. Soo gooey! And they had me pull him out and up onto my belly. I got to hold him and kiss on him while they cleaned him up a little. The doctor sewed me up. He also cut out a little septum I had, but I?m pretty sure he did that before he used the forceps. I had originally told them to delay weighing and cleaning, etc. until later, but everyone in the room was so nice and happy and comfortable, I was perfectly fine letting them do all that stuff. They were right next to me. It was also nice that they didn?t cut the cord right away. He was on my tummy for a long time before they cut the cord. I guess that?s just a typical birth procedure for my doctor. By the end, my epidural had pretty much completely worn off. They had to give me some extra numbing meds to sew me up. So, I was out of recovery and on my way pretty quickly after bonding for awhile. My doula was great in helping breastfeed. Everyone at the hospital has been absolutely awesome. Compared to my first baby, this has been night and day. Caleb is in the nursery right now getting his hearing screening and bilirubin count done. If everything checks out okay, my OB has already cleared me to be discharged tonight if baby?s pediatrician clears him! We might get to sleep in our own beds tonight!
Oh yeah, Caleb was born at 8:18 on the same day (Valentine's Day) and was 8lbs 0oz and 20in long.
Re: xp: loong vbac birth story (and pic!)