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VBAC
My medfree VBAC success story!
Sorry, I'm a writer. :]
So, I'll start by mentioning that I had a ton of prelabor this pregnancy starting at about 37.5w. Lots of timeable contractions and false starts, dilated to 3cm and 70 percent at 39w, 4cm and 80 percent at 40w. It was frustrating but reassuring in a way to know my body was prepping.
I went for a prenatal chiro adjustment Friday morning, 40w1d, at the urging of my doula and the doc was awesome. And very confident that I would be in labor later that day after she adjusted me; not only because of the pelvic alignment stuff, but because of some nervous system release or something. I didn't buy it; too many docs and doulas and whomever had sworn I'd be in labor by such and such a time that I was fed up with assumptions and didn't pay attention. Appointment was at 10am. Got home, H and DD1 were hanging, we went outside and filled up the kiddie pool and let DD splash. H left for work around 3, DD napped, I showered. By 5pm, I started feeling contractions but didn't pay any mind because I had had them so often leading up to that point. They felt a little stronger and different, though, so I timed them a little later and they were 7 to 9 mins apart; closer than they'd been in any of the prelabor. No biggie. DD and I played outside, came in, timed them again while sitting on the couch and they were the same. But I got up around 7:15 to get dinner for us and I had a couple that were only 3 to 4 mins apart while I was up. Weird; usually they slowed down with movement. They also were intense enough to make me shaky. I called Matt at 7:40 and told him to come home, still worried that I'd be the girl who cried labor. While he was on his way I was timing and relaxing as they were getting intense; I was feeling pretty good and pretty optimistic. I ate some dinner, played with DD, bought a new wrap.
By 8:30, they were 6 to 8 mins apart and I had to breathe through them. H got DD in bed while I started grabbing hospital bag stuff.
I called my parents at 9:30 to give them the heads up because they were coming to watch DD. I said I'd call them in a couple hours. My doula was also on her way; I told her I needed to be "assessed" because things were getting real.
By the time my doula arrived, I couldn't talk through them anymore. I was shaky and getting really hot. I went to pee at 10:15 and yelled to H to call my parents and tell them it's time...45 mins after I had told them it would be a couple hours. I was on the ball leaning over a TV table and H packed the car. Doula had me stand up for a few contractions holding onto H. My parents arrived by 11 and I decided to pee again. My doula thinks I literally went into transition on the toilet, lol. I had a wicked contraction while peeing and another right after. I got on my hands and knees in the bathroom and doula came in to help me through a couple. We decided it was time to go, as they were only 3 mins apart.
The car ride was something else. I had to be in the back seat on all fours and the jostling must've done something, because this is when the yelling started. They were so intense that I absolutely could not keep quiet through them. I tried my damnedest to use my hypnobirthing training to breathe and keep quiet but yeah...no way. They stayed 3 mins on top of each other and it took me a long time to make it up to LD because I stopped to bend over the wheelchair each time I had one. I think I almost gave the security guard a heart attack.
So, made it to LD! Got into a room by 12:30ish. Checked a little later and I was at 9cm. I wanted drugs. It was too late. I had to moan through every contraction and couldn't stand up through them, so we got on the ball again. Doula was at my low back the whole time, thank goodness. H was in front of me. Both were doing their best to talk me through proper breathing/groaning/relaxing through them. I got on my hands and knees on the bed at one point and it made the contractions soooooo much worse, I felt like baby was going to fall out of my butt. My water broke during one of them; I think it was around 2am. I flipped to my back and seemed to get a bit of a break. They stretched out just a bit. OB was somewhere through this; he was very willing to stay in the background and just monitor me and baby. Sometime before my water broke he had checked me and I was fully dilated, but he didn't urge me to start pushing; said that was up to me.
I stayed on my back for a long time because it felt good, though contractions were still intense and close. Things are fuzzy here. I tried to relax and breathe baby down. H and my doula were both urging me to flip back onto my knees, because that was the position that I had the most pressure, and I was terrified, because that was also the position that I had the most pain. But I knew I had to. I just wasnt having enough pressure on my back/sitting. So, I braved it...and barely made it to my knes before the contraction to end all contractions hit. And didn't stop. And the pressure was insane. I started yelling "No, no, no! I don't like it!" haha. I turned back around and literally couldn't stop pushing. It was time.
The bed came apart real quick and we started pushing. Baby was having some decels during contrax but no one seemed too concerned. They gave me oxygen and we started pushing. Ouch. I thought we pushed for a good hour or two, but it was only 810 pushes, and because the contractions were only 23 mins apart, it went fast. In 2025 mins, she was out. During my last push, I yelled at one point, "I can't, I can't push anymore!" And everyone pretty much yelled at me in unison that I didn't have a choice. Her head was already out and I didn't even know it, my OB was laughing. So, one more push and she flew into the world and was plopped into my belly. It was amazing.
Amelia Jane stayed in my arms for a couple hours, snuggling and nursing. We got her measurements later, and found that she was 9lbs even, 20.5".
Getting my VBAC feels unreal. Having done it med free feels insane. Although I totally would've gotten an epi had there been time, I never once doubted that I was going to push this baby out. And no one else in the room doubted it, either; the support was so important and I couldn't have done it without H, my doula, and my OB.
Amelia is a doll and we're smitten! DD1 got to meet her yesterday and just lit up; it was like all the pieces finally fell into place. I love every bit of this new family. :]
Also, as just a little extra motivation, I believe I'm the fourth mama from June '13 to have a successful VBAC!
So, I'll start by mentioning that I had a ton of prelabor this pregnancy starting at about 37.5w. Lots of timeable contractions and false starts, dilated to 3cm and 70 percent at 39w, 4cm and 80 percent at 40w. It was frustrating but reassuring in a way to know my body was prepping.
I went for a prenatal chiro adjustment Friday morning, 40w1d, at the urging of my doula and the doc was awesome. And very confident that I would be in labor later that day after she adjusted me; not only because of the pelvic alignment stuff, but because of some nervous system release or something. I didn't buy it; too many docs and doulas and whomever had sworn I'd be in labor by such and such a time that I was fed up with assumptions and didn't pay attention. Appointment was at 10am. Got home, H and DD1 were hanging, we went outside and filled up the kiddie pool and let DD splash. H left for work around 3, DD napped, I showered. By 5pm, I started feeling contractions but didn't pay any mind because I had had them so often leading up to that point. They felt a little stronger and different, though, so I timed them a little later and they were 7 to 9 mins apart; closer than they'd been in any of the prelabor. No biggie. DD and I played outside, came in, timed them again while sitting on the couch and they were the same. But I got up around 7:15 to get dinner for us and I had a couple that were only 3 to 4 mins apart while I was up. Weird; usually they slowed down with movement. They also were intense enough to make me shaky. I called Matt at 7:40 and told him to come home, still worried that I'd be the girl who cried labor. While he was on his way I was timing and relaxing as they were getting intense; I was feeling pretty good and pretty optimistic. I ate some dinner, played with DD, bought a new wrap.
By 8:30, they were 6 to 8 mins apart and I had to breathe through them. H got DD in bed while I started grabbing hospital bag stuff.
I called my parents at 9:30 to give them the heads up because they were coming to watch DD. I said I'd call them in a couple hours. My doula was also on her way; I told her I needed to be "assessed" because things were getting real.
By the time my doula arrived, I couldn't talk through them anymore. I was shaky and getting really hot. I went to pee at 10:15 and yelled to H to call my parents and tell them it's time...45 mins after I had told them it would be a couple hours. I was on the ball leaning over a TV table and H packed the car. Doula had me stand up for a few contractions holding onto H. My parents arrived by 11 and I decided to pee again. My doula thinks I literally went into transition on the toilet, lol. I had a wicked contraction while peeing and another right after. I got on my hands and knees in the bathroom and doula came in to help me through a couple. We decided it was time to go, as they were only 3 mins apart.
The car ride was something else. I had to be in the back seat on all fours and the jostling must've done something, because this is when the yelling started. They were so intense that I absolutely could not keep quiet through them. I tried my damnedest to use my hypnobirthing training to breathe and keep quiet but yeah...no way. They stayed 3 mins on top of each other and it took me a long time to make it up to LD because I stopped to bend over the wheelchair each time I had one. I think I almost gave the security guard a heart attack.
So, made it to LD! Got into a room by 12:30ish. Checked a little later and I was at 9cm. I wanted drugs. It was too late. I had to moan through every contraction and couldn't stand up through them, so we got on the ball again. Doula was at my low back the whole time, thank goodness. H was in front of me. Both were doing their best to talk me through proper breathing/groaning/relaxing through them. I got on my hands and knees on the bed at one point and it made the contractions soooooo much worse, I felt like baby was going to fall out of my butt. My water broke during one of them; I think it was around 2am. I flipped to my back and seemed to get a bit of a break. They stretched out just a bit. OB was somewhere through this; he was very willing to stay in the background and just monitor me and baby. Sometime before my water broke he had checked me and I was fully dilated, but he didn't urge me to start pushing; said that was up to me.
I stayed on my back for a long time because it felt good, though contractions were still intense and close. Things are fuzzy here. I tried to relax and breathe baby down. H and my doula were both urging me to flip back onto my knees, because that was the position that I had the most pressure, and I was terrified, because that was also the position that I had the most pain. But I knew I had to. I just wasnt having enough pressure on my back/sitting. So, I braved it...and barely made it to my knes before the contraction to end all contractions hit. And didn't stop. And the pressure was insane. I started yelling "No, no, no! I don't like it!" haha. I turned back around and literally couldn't stop pushing. It was time.
The bed came apart real quick and we started pushing. Baby was having some decels during contrax but no one seemed too concerned. They gave me oxygen and we started pushing. Ouch. I thought we pushed for a good hour or two, but it was only 810 pushes, and because the contractions were only 23 mins apart, it went fast. In 2025 mins, she was out. During my last push, I yelled at one point, "I can't, I can't push anymore!" And everyone pretty much yelled at me in unison that I didn't have a choice. Her head was already out and I didn't even know it, my OB was laughing. So, one more push and she flew into the world and was plopped into my belly. It was amazing.
Amelia Jane stayed in my arms for a couple hours, snuggling and nursing. We got her measurements later, and found that she was 9lbs even, 20.5".
Getting my VBAC feels unreal. Having done it med free feels insane. Although I totally would've gotten an epi had there been time, I never once doubted that I was going to push this baby out. And no one else in the room doubted it, either; the support was so important and I couldn't have done it without H, my doula, and my OB.
Amelia is a doll and we're smitten! DD1 got to meet her yesterday and just lit up; it was like all the pieces finally fell into place. I love every bit of this new family. :]
Also, as just a little extra motivation, I believe I'm the fourth mama from June '13 to have a successful VBAC!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: My medfree VBAC success story!
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
BFP #2 7/13/2011 ~ EDD 3/16/2012 ~Aubree Olivia (9lbs 1oz, 21 inches) 3/15/2012 VBAC (39w6d)
BFP #3 5/15/2014 ~ EDD 1/16/2015~Addison Isabelle (9lbs, 0oz, 21 inches) 1/25/2015 2VBAC (41w2d)
BFP #4 7/20/2016 ~ EDD 3/25/2017 ~ Malachi Mathew (10lbs 0oz, 22 inches) 4/4/2017 emergency csection (41w3d)
M/C #2 - October 2016
MMC #1 - April 2016
Skio, I amso happy for you! I've been looking for any news on your labor because I knew how much you wanted this and I'm so glad you got it! I never did post my birth story (tried once and got itimed out and lost it, grrr), but I got my VBAC, too, on May 24th. Though not completely med free, I did manage with no pain meds, so power to us and feeling EVERYTHING! Congrats on your beautiful girl, and love her name!
congrats!
Aw, congrats to you, too!
And thanks, everyone.