Anyone else trying for a VBAC?

PGASTL

My c/s was after 20 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing - LO was facing my side and would not rotate her head to descend. She was really wedged in there and even during my c/s my Dr. said there's no way I was pushing her out.

So, now DH and I have talked about trying for a VBAC this time for the following reasons:

Recovery time: (not being able to pick up and hold LO for 6 weeks seems impossible, not to mention the other physical aspects of caring for a toddler).

Risks of major surgery (yes, there is a slightly increased risk of uterine rupture with attempting a VBAC, but it is only slightly higher than that of having a repeat c/s).

The possibility of a 3rd child. The risks of having a c/s increase quite a bit when it's the 3rd one and if DH and I decide to have a 3rd child, it would be great if that didn't necessarily mandate having a 3rd c/s. In face, if I did HAVE to have a c/s this time, then we most likely would not have a 3rd child.

Now, I am also not one to push things. I am very thankful to live in a time where a c/s helped me delivery my child safely and we could have both died if vaginal was the only way. I am only willing to do very moderate induction methods if it really seems like my body is ready and I am a favorable candidate from all aspects - otherwise I will choose a repeat c/s for sure.

Anyway, sorry that was so long! Anyone else trying one? The VBAC board is not very active, but I do check it out every so often & was wondering if anyone on my Dec board was in the same boat.  

pitterpatter129

I just vbac-ed with this LO!!  It was an awesome experience and I'm so happy I chose to vbac.  I posted my birth story on the vbac board -- since it's not a very active board, I'm sure it's near the top.   Good luck!!

watermellens

I'm so torn with what to do - my docs have said that it's up to me, but my concerns are that I'll have another 10 lb baby (and how on earth will I be able to push that out?!?) and how the recovery will feel different. I didn't have to worry about tearing or stitches before and I'm nervous about that now (though it wasn't a worry last time when I thought I would deliver vaginally). I guess I just have heard too many stories since then.

My recovery from my c-section was so easy. Ugh. I'm so torn.

pitterpatter129

watermellens:

I'm so torn with what to do - my docs have said that it's up to me, but my concerns are that I'll have another 10 lb baby (and how on earth will I be able to push that out?!?) and how the recovery will feel different. I didn't have to worry about tearing or stitches before and I'm nervous about that now (though it wasn't a worry last time when I thought I would deliver vaginally). I guess I just have heard too many stories since then.

My recovery from my c-section was so easy. Ugh. I'm so torn.

Yeah, mine was NOT.  That made the decision easy for me.   For what it's worth, I had to have an episiotomy this time because they had to use forceps.  Even with all the stitches in my vaginal area (I also tore a few other directions), it's been soooo much easier than a csection recovery.  After a week, I'm off pain killers and driving again.  I kept both the kids by myself yesterday and ran to Target and the gas station.  Also, getting to hold baby right after he was born all gooey was awesome.  However, this baby was almost exactly the same size as my first.  N was 8lb6oz and 21in and C was 8lbs 20in.  I was also pretty sure of the vbac because I did dilate all the way and N even crowned with my first labor!  He was just turned funny and I didn't push effectively, so they did a csection.  We bascially had the same thing happen this time, but a different OB = forcep delivery, which was nice.  The tearing hasn't been a huge deal though compared to csection stitches.  Also, if you want to have a third baby in the future, the risks accompanying a third csection increase by a LOT, whereas the vbac risks are minimal, even less scary than the risks of a second csection.

PGASTL

watermellens:

I'm so torn with what to do - my docs have said that it's up to me, but my concerns are that I'll have another 10 lb baby (and how on earth will I be able to push that out?!?) and how the recovery will feel different. I didn't have to worry about tearing or stitches before and I'm nervous about that now (though it wasn't a worry last time when I thought I would deliver vaginally). I guess I just have heard too many stories since then.

My recovery from my c-section was so easy. Ugh. I'm so torn.

My c/s recovery was so easy too! (Compared to what I expected for a c/s). Now, when I visited two other friends the day after they delivered vaginally I realized how different our experiences were - they were up and moving around and at that point I still had my epidural in and wasn't allowed to stand yet.

Overall though, for a c/s I felt surprisingly "normal" and once I left the hospital only took the ibuprofen once and didn't need the pain pills at all. (And I am totally not a med-free martyr!)

PGASTL

pitterpatter129:

watermellens:

I'm so torn with what to do - my docs have said that it's up to me, but my concerns are that I'll have another 10 lb baby (and how on earth will I be able to push that out?!?) and how the recovery will feel different. I didn't have to worry about tearing or stitches before and I'm nervous about that now (though it wasn't a worry last time when I thought I would deliver vaginally). I guess I just have heard too many stories since then.

My recovery from my c-section was so easy. Ugh. I'm so torn.

Yeah, mine was NOT.  That made the decision easy for me.   For what it's worth, I had to have an episiotomy this time because they had to use forceps.  Even with all the stitches in my vaginal area (I also tore a few other directions), it's been soooo much easier than a csection recovery.  After a week, I'm off pain killers and driving again.  I kept both the kids by myself yesterday and ran to Target and the gas station.  Also, getting to hold baby right after he was born all gooey was awesome.  However, this baby was almost exactly the same size as my first.  N was 8lb6oz and 21in and C was 8lbs 20in.  I was also pretty sure of the vbac because I did dilate all the way and N even crowned with my first labor!  He was just turned funny and I didn't push effectively, so they did a csection.  We bascially had the same thing happen this time, but a different OB = forcep delivery, which was nice.  The tearing hasn't been a huge deal though compared to csection stitches.  Also, if you want to have a third baby in the future, the risks accompanying a third csection increase by a LOT, whereas the vbac risks are minimal, even less scary than the risks of a second csection.

It is so cool you were able to have a VBAC! I am going to have to look into the actual risks of a 3rd c/s so I have the information.

pitterpatter129

Check out your local ICAN group. I found our's fb page and they were really helpful!