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VBAC
If you had a VBAC,...
I am currently 38weeks 4days and my OB is willing to let me go just a few days past my due date. Baby is measuring fairly big and is expected to be around 9lb at birth. I know growth estimates can be off. Moreover I have read that bigger babies don't necessarily increase the risk of UR but bigger babies can decrease the chance of VBAC success. And the last thing I want is to labor for a while and end up with a cs anyway.
With my DD I had a cs due to fetal distress during the pushing stage. She was 8lb 2oz but she was sunny side up and her chin was not tucked. After her birth, I was so sure I wanted a VBAC and now that I'm so close to being done with pregnancy 2, I'm getting impatient and also more reluctant to wait that extra week.
I guess I'm looking for some inspiration and faith that my body can do this on its own. At what gestational age was your VBAC baby born? How big was your VBAC baby? Did you get impatient and second guess your desire for a VBAC toward the end? Thanks ladies for your insight!
With my DD I had a cs due to fetal distress during the pushing stage. She was 8lb 2oz but she was sunny side up and her chin was not tucked. After her birth, I was so sure I wanted a VBAC and now that I'm so close to being done with pregnancy 2, I'm getting impatient and also more reluctant to wait that extra week.
I guess I'm looking for some inspiration and faith that my body can do this on its own. At what gestational age was your VBAC baby born? How big was your VBAC baby? Did you get impatient and second guess your desire for a VBAC toward the end? Thanks ladies for your insight!
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Re: If you had a VBAC,...
DD1 was 8lbs13oz and I ended up with a c/s after 23 hours of labor and pushing for very similar reasons to you; her head was not tucked well and she wouldn't descend.
I had a VBAC with DD2, who came in at 9lbs even and a bigger head than DD1, at 40w2d. I was told at 33w that she was on track to be about 9lbs and I refused further growth scans at that point. I didn't want to know her size; and while I had an idea [that ended up being spot on], I refused to let an ultrasound psyche me out.
I kept telling myself that my body would not make a perfect baby that I could not deliver. I trusted that all would be okay. I was as prepared as could be and made sure to stay positive, trust my body and baby, and know that everyone would be healthy in the end, no matter what.
You're short on time, but I recommend reading some empowering books like Ina Macy's guide to childbirth if you can. Do some pelvic tilts and ball bouncing if you have one to get baby properly engaged, and during labor, change positions as often as you can. Have faith! Lots of luck to you.
DS2 was born around 41.5-42 weeks (fuzzy due date!), and he was just over 10.5 lbs. I refused a sizing u/s with him the day before I went into labor (the u/s was bc I was overdue, not due to suspected macrosomia).
DS1 was a c/s for failure to progress - he was OP/sunny-side up, and I had pushed 4+ hours with him. He was 8 lbs, 4 oz.
I hate hate hate the end of pregnancy, it's the pits! Adding the stress of a VBAC to the mix doesn't help anything. I pretty much lost my mind the last week before I went into labor, and I was stressed out that I was going to push for hours and he wasn't going to come out. It's totally normal to be worried - it really helped me to list the things I could control about my pg/labor, and the things that were out of my hands.
Have you had a few sizing u/s, or are they basing her size on one? Hang in there!!
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
Thank you for your kind words. I agree about ultrasounds being overestimates. They told me DD1 would be 8lb 11oz and she came out two days later 8lb 2oz.
I love the idea of making those two lists. My type A personality really loves lists lol. I had one growth ultrasound at 36 weeks. The tech told me that for each measurement, they take several individual calculations and then average it out so that their growth estimates are more accurate than most. It's probably still an overestimate if anything.
My csection was because dd was breech.
dd was sunny side up, but turned during labor. He was born at 38 weeks because m water broke. He was only 6 lbs 14 oz.
There were several times during pregnancy where I 2nd guessed my desire to vbac, the schedule 39 week rcs sounded rather convenient .
And to emphasize size u/s being off, my nephew was supposed to be 11 lbs, he was barely 7!
My VBAC baby was 8.5 lbs (my first was over 10). She was born at 41 weeks, 1 day. And it was an easy peasy birth! (well, as easy as birth CAN be. . . :-)
You're in the home stretch! I totally get that it is frustrating at the end but you get getting there!
My friend had 10 and 11 pound vbac babies after being told her pelvis was "too small" to fit her first 9 pound baby.
DD was 7lbs 10 ozs and a c/s
DS was 7lbs 15 ozs and a vbac. I questioned myself every day for 2 wks. He was born at 39wks 2d.
I definitely second-guessed myself at the end.
DD was born a week early and was under 7lbs. Labor was much faster the second time - I had a very long back labor with DS. Labor with DD came unexpectedly early and progressed much more quickly. She was sunny side up and they used forceps to assist with labor due to heart decelerations. Her cord was wrapped around her neck, but everything turned out fine.
My c-section -- DS was 8lb 12oz, with a large head, and was sunny side up. My labor arrested at 8cm (stuck there 4+ hours), my water had been broken over 24 hours, and I was GBS+, so that necessitated the c-section.
Having had a vaginal delivery prior to my c/s, I can tell you that recovering from a c/s with a toddler at home sucks. This time around, I'm willing to do whatever I can to avoid another c/s. Even if that means a long labor, and even if in the end the result is another c/s, I need to know I tried.
How will you feel if you don't try?
My first was 8lb6oz, born at 37 weeks. She was not positioned properly, never made it past -2 station, and I pushed for 3.5 hours before consenting to the c/s.
My second was a VBAC, 7lb12oz was born at 40w3d. I pushed for less than 30 minutes, and was in labor for about 8.
My third was a 2VBAC, 9lb 14oz born at 39w5d. I pushed 4 times and he was born, and I was in labor for 3 hours.
I was lucky and my VBAC labors, deliveries, and recoveries were nothing like my c/s. I was glad I tried and was successful.
This was me too. I had to try, no matter what. I just wanted my chance. If I ended up with another c/s, then at least I would feel better about my first c/s. And if I got my VBAC, then super.
I was angry with myself for agreeing to the c-section after a 60 hour induction. So, I would have been soooo angry with myself if I gave up before I even started.
Positioning is everything! U/S are inaccurate! Second babies can be smaller! You can do this!
Thanks ladies for all your encouragement. We will see what my body decides to do in the next few days. I have my rcs scheduled in just a few days (my ticker is off). I am comfortable with the date of the scheduled cs.
I would like to try for a vbac, so here's hoping I go into labor on my own in the next couple of days!!! Either way, I'm so excited to meet my baby!
DS was 9 lb 7.5 oz and sunny side up, labor went awesome, but I had been in prodromal labor for like a week, so a lot of progress was made by that point. I was 41 wk 2 days-- he was a VBA2C
DD1 was sunny side up and 8 lbs 3.5 oz-- my current OB told me I probably totally could have had her normally. DD2 was a scheduled c/s because this was prior to the updated ACOG guidelines, so my OB didn't feel comfortable having me go beyond my due date.