Taylor Margery VBAC birth story

Baby Taylor Margery arrived on 9/13!! 9 lb 6 oz and 21" of perfection. Born 7 am on the dot. We are so in love with this baby girl. 

On Monday night, 3 days before my due date, at around 10:30 I sat down on the bed next to my husband and said with a sigh, "we finally finished the to do list!"  I had just finished packing the hospital bag and felt ready for my husbands business trip the next day (just a day trip). I had been having more frequent Braxton hicks contractions the past few days and had a burst of energy which I now know was my nesting instincts kicking in.  Around 11 I thought my water may have broken but turns out it was just my bloody show. Contractions started right away and were very different than the Braxton Hicks radiating down my thighs. Since this was my first labor I was still unsure if it was true labor. I tried to get some sleep in the recliner but only lasted through 1 contraction before going downstairs to bounce on the labor ball, and start timing the contractions at 11:22. I felt a little silly counting them so early but, since I was a VBAC, my doctor encouraged me to go to L&D ASAP once my contractions were regular. After about 30 minutes of timing I felt pretty certain this was it but I asked my husband what he thought. We decided to time for 15 more minutes or so. They were already 5 min apart and 1 min long. I couldn't believe it was starting so fast. At 12:20 we started making calls for a friend to come watch our son so we could head to L&D. We also let the doula know that it was go time so she could meet us there. Our friend arrived quickly and we headed out the door for what should have been a 20 minute drive. We got caught behind a train that started, stopped, and reversed twice before we finally turned about. We finally got to L&D at 1:30am. We got to triage and after an unusually long internal exam, we found out that I was already 5 cm and fully effaced. I was in shock!  After never having even a single Braxton hicks contraction or dilation or effacement with my first (scheduled cesarean for breech presentation) I had no idea what to expect and had this totally irrational fear that my body didn't know how to labor.  From there they hooked up the external monitors since I'm a VBAC (which we had some trouble with getting readings on throughout the labor), got my IV hooked up for antibiotics (GBS+), and I moved over to L&D. Everyone was super supportive and positive about my birth plan. No one offered me drugs (I wanted all natural) and everyone made sure my husband got to announce the gender after delivery (surprise gender). Things were pretty intense and my doula did a fantastic job talking me through contractions.  I kept waiting for transition and never really realized when it hit. So I was surprised when I felt pressure in my bottom around 5:30. I told my doula and I was scared because I didn't want to push before I was complete and end up swelling.  I just didn't think I could possibly be complete this fast. The midwife came in to check me after I asked them to wait another 20 minutes or so. I felt like I couldn't move to my back so, bless her, she agreed to at least try to check me on my side.  She confirmed that I was complete and could push if I needed to.  At 5:55 my water finally broke and exploded fluid in dramatic fashion. The whole crew was assembled and ready for me to really start pushing shortly thereafter. By that point I was naked, covered in amniotic fluid and still in disbelief that my body was really laboring and about to deliver. After about 45 min of pushing they brought in a mirror so that I could watch and it really helped me see what was working and how close I was to meeting baby. Little did I know the baby's heartbeat was dropping so the urgency was higher than I knew (my doula told me after). I pushed 2 more times and then pulled out the baby Courtney kardashian style. Such a relief!  Soon after I delivered the placenta and my doctor announced that I wasn't pregnant anymore and that I got my VBAC.  Being stitched up was much more painful than I expected. It took almost a full hour. Even though I was technically stage 2 it was just under stage 3 so my dr. Spent a lot of time teaching the resident about it.  I am so overcome with gratitude about the whole birth team and my birth experience.  I feel so empowered by going natural and allowing my body to do what it was made for!  For mommas who want a VBAC my biggest advice is to trust your body, find a supportive practice, and get a doula!