Successful VBA2C! (LONG!!)

So 3-4 years later when my husband & I decided we wanted a child, I decided I wanted a vaginal birth. There are 3 hospitals in the area I live in & only 1 preforms VBACs. Unfortunately, none of these hospitals were really an option for me as I had never delivered vaginally & have had 2 csection, and the other two don't support them. Had I known 3 years ago, with my 2nd, I would have fought for a VBAC then.

I then looked into midwifery, but once again, my insurance wouldn't cover it.

My OB (whom had been my OB since Baby #1) didn't support me.

I called numerous OB's trying to find someone who would support me through but was shot down at almost every turn.

I had awesome support from my husband & my family though. They believed in me, and they wanted to see me happy. And I knew I didn't want to be cut open again. So I didn't give up.

I told my OB my decision, I was going to deny my csection. The hospital could not force me to have surgery. Despite his colleges telling him to discharge me as a patient, my OB stood by me, and made appointments for me to speak with many different doctors about my risks. I also did tons of research about VBACs and everything I found made me more comfortable with my decision.

The only catch was that my body had to do it. I could not have pitocin or anything to induce, which was fine by me since I blamed the pitocin for my first child.

At 37 weeks I was almost 1 cm and Dr tried to strip membranes. I continued drinking red raspberry leaf tea & taking evening primrose orally & vaginally.

At 38 weeks I was a small 2 cm and Dr stretched my cervix & I continued with the tea & primrose, also did some pumping, walking, sex, bouncing on my birth ball. I lost my mucus plug the next day.

At 39 weeks I was still at a 2, just more open and Dr was able to strip me. I continued with everything I had been doing, but decided to quit pumping. I didnt really like the contractions I got from them as they wernt real, just annoying. The night before my due date my husband & I had sex & did the primrose. The next morning I started losing my mucus plug again. Throughout the whole day I was having contrations 10 mins apart. Around 6-7pm that night they came closer together and were about 7 mins apart. Around 9 pm they really started to get painful so I woke my husband ( he works graveyard) and we called my mom & decided to head over to her house with our 5 yr old.

I then kinda started freaking out, because, to be honest, even though this is what I wanted I was super terrified. What if I failed? What if I couldn't do it? What if the worst happened?? So pulling up to my moms I was balling & the contractions were hurting. But, my mom had no problem snapping me back in place while my husband put our daughter back to bed. She got me a glass of wine & we sat and talked between them, and then she helped me breathe through them. We went on a few walks, got in the bath tub, walked more, and once they were 2-3 minutes apart and lasting about 1 min & 20 seconds we knew it was gonna happen. Around 1am we climbed into her bed and tried to get rest while we could. But about 3 am I really couldn't take it anymore, I wanted to know if I had dilated any, I needed to know what was going on with my body. My husband called our Doula & we piled in my moms car & went to the hospital.

Finally there & checked in & in a room my nurse checked me. I was STILL 2 cm! I cried. I was so upset with my body, to be putting me through all this with no change. My mom once again got me under control. I HAD to keep control, or they would have told me I needed a csections, baby would get in distress, whatever, anything to keep me from a VBAC. We continued to labor on, in the shower, in different positions, my husband rubbed my back, my doula talked me through them, my mom held my hand. The next time I was checked I had progressed to 3-4 cm. I wish I could tell you the time, but after we got the hospital the contractions were so intense I lost track. I did however recieve a pain reliver in my IV, fretenol I believe, or something that sounds like that.. It helped a little for the first 45 mins or so, but not too much, enough to relax me and give me motivation to move around like I needed to as baby was in a -2 station.

Around noon I was checked again and had reached a 5 cm. And I chose to give into the epidural. Prior I really didn't want too.. I didn't want anything to stop this, and if anything was to go wrong, I wouldn't be able to feel it. But it was getting so much harder to stay in control & focus through the pain. By 1:30pm I finally recieved relief from the contractions. I took an hour to rest and then spent time on my knees swaying back & forth trying to drop baby lower. Soon after I had my bloody show, and it seemed things flew by from there. Soon I was at an 8 and the on call Dr came in & broke my waters (that was one of the downfalls with not having a dr to support me, I had no idea who was going to deliver my baby, I got lucky though and it was my OBs partner, so I knew her & she knew my plan).

My nurse had talked to me about letting the pushing part last as long as I could before I started pushing, something I guess they do with first time moms. I told them when I felt like I needed to poop (amazingly, I could still feel down there with the epidural, very thankful for that) It was about 5 pm when they checked me and I was at a 10 & baby was ready! I pushed for about an hour and at 6:08 pm on November 29th I had a beautiful messy baby on my tummy, still connected to me

I am so thankful God granted me this expirence. I got everything I wanted in a delivery, and I wouldn't change a thing.

To you moms wanting a VBAC & recieving no support, don't give up, you know your body best. Just educate yourself & believe in yourself