{Becoming Mother II} - A Natural VBAC Birth Story
In honor of Baby #3's impending arrival, we are launching another {Becoming Mother} blog series. As my own labor and delivery quickly approaches, I find it encouraging to immerse myself in childbirth stories. I love reminding myself that women birth every day, that they survive and that they rejoice in being a mother when it's all over.
As always, this is not to promote a particular type of birth. These stories are intended to be more of a picture into "what it was really like" for these mothers in their various birth settings. I hope they inspire you to marvel in awe at God's perfect plan of childbirth.
As always, you can check out my hospital birth story with Cannon, my birthing center birth story with Cason and my reflections on both deliveries. I will be back at the end of this series with some of my favorite birth stories from fellow bloggers, as well as my thoughts in preparation for childbirth the third time around.
Let me introduce you to my friend, Amy. I met Amy way back in College Station at Danny's and my adopted mom's Sunday lunches. Our adopted mom, Susan, is Amy's aunt. We've kept in touch over the years via Facebook and I recently joined her MOPs group here in Allen, Texas. Amy has three young children and has encouraged me on more than one occasion that I can handle this upcoming stage of life just fine!
Eric and I have wanted a big family for a long time and this continues to be confirmed to us with each new baby. With the birth of each of my children came a new birth experience and with each of them I found myself learning and gearing up in different ways! Drew was my first born and I had the perfect pregnancy with him. I experienced NO morning sickness, and NO problems at all EXCEPT he was born seven weeks early, at 33 weeks. Despite the efforts of the doctors, when I started having contractions with Drew, they could not stop them. In the days leading up to his delivery, I was hospitalized and given all kinds of different medicine to slow down the contractions. One of the medicines they gave me was magnesium. It was the worst of all, causing me to throw up. Since I was medicated so heavily, I only remember bits and pieces of the story leading up to the delivery. The doctor decided we were not going to be able to postpone Drew’s birth, even though I was not anywhere close to full-term. As delivery time approached, Drew’s fetal heart rate was not varied enough, and the doctor feared a vaginal birth may lead to an emergency c-section. She felt like it was in our best interest to deliver him with a caesarean section. Although this was not my preference, I trusted her judgement and wanted the best for my baby. I was wheeled into a cold, bright, sterile room operating room. I was trying my to hardest to just breathe, not throw up (again) and stay calm while everything was happening so quickly. Drew was born weighing 4lb 15oz. He spent three weeks in the NICU growing and learning how to eat on his own.
Although we were overcome with joy (and surprise) to meet
him, I did not enjoy the experience of a c-section. To me, the procedure felt invasive, and I felt disconnected
from my baby and Eric. I also felt like I missed out on something special by
not being able to take an active part in the delivery of my child. I knew I wanted to try to do something
different for my next baby.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, Annalise, I knew we
were going to try to do a vaginal birth or v-bac, after a previous c-section. I
felt very apprehensive during my
pregnancy with knowing she could make her debut as early as her brother and we
could have another premature baby.
I also felt nervous about trying a v-bac because it was a risk and may
not work. When I went into
labor with Annalise I was so grateful that we could be excited about the
contractions instead of trying to stop them. When we got the hospital, I was already dilated to 4 cm and
not long after that was given an epidural to help with the pain. Eric and I enjoyed the company of our
families as I comfortably labored with the epidural. Our doctor let us know when it was time to push. At the first contraction he simply
watched me give this pushing thing a try.
He could clearly see that I was not working hard enough at it, and told
me for the next one to really put some muscle behind it and PUSH! That was all
I needed to hear. Even though I
couldn’t feel the pain of the contractions, I did feel the pressure. After 45 minutes of pushing we welcomed
Annalise Brooke, a full term baby at 37 weeks!
I was so much more
happy with my birth experience with Annalise. I loved staying in the labor and delivery room. I loved being able to push and do my
part and I loved not having to be stitched up from a c-section.
With my 3rd baby, Cole, it wasn’t until I was pretty far
along in my pregnancy that I decided on giving a natural v-bac a whirl. Once again I was feeling nervous about
this choice, but I wanted to give it a try because not only would I gain a full
birth experience (in my opinion), I would be able to do my part fully with no
medication blocking my mama instincts. Plus, I felt like I am a pretty tough
gal and I could do it!
I woke early that Sunday morning, July 14, 2013 to the sound
of rain pitter-pattering outside - and my abdomen contracting. This was my
third baby, and at 36 ½ weeks, and a history of pre-term labor, we knew this
baby could come anytime.
About 5:30 AM, I started timing contractions since they felt
frequent enough to jot down. At
first they were somewhere between
six to ten minutes apart, which was often enough to pay attention to,
but still hard to tell if it was real labor. I didn’t want to be one of these ladies who shows up to the
hospital with my hopes up only to be sent home.
Since I had been released off of bed rest, we had all
intentions of going to church for the first time in a long time. So I got up
that morning and started making breakfast and proceeding on as normal for our
Sundays. As I got up and moved around the kitchen the contractions slowed down
or stopped, causing me to believe that it must have been be false labor, but by
the time we sat down to eat breakfast, I became more convinced this was the
real thing. We started getting
excited and couldn’t wait to call our families to tell them that today was
going to be the day. A change in
weather seems to have a history of sending me into labor, so we jokingly
mentioned the change in barometric pressure when we called them.
I quickly realized that I needed to start getting things
ready to go to the hospital.
I mentally reviewed my to-do list: take a shower, get
dressed, finish packing my hospital bag (some things just can’t go in until the
end), print seven shipping labels for Pink Pear Tree gifts that need to be
shipped, and arrange for someone to come over to watch Drew and Annalise.
Danny and Susan arrived to help out with the kids around
10:30, and by this point contractions were strong enough I needed to lie down
and focus. After another hour, we left for the Presbyterian Hospital in
Allen.
Dr. Andrew Shimer was on call that weekend, and we called to
let him know we were on our way.
When we arrived at the hospital Eric had a nurse get a wheelchair for
me, and they took us up the 3rd floor.
Holly, the nurse, took us to the waiting room. After asking
routine questions, Holly examined my cervix and found I was dilated to 4. She
moved me to Room 12, one of the newly renovated rooms, in the Labor and
Delivery Department.
I also had
decided in the last month that we wanted to have a natural v-bac birth - with
the natural birth being new to me.
We gave the staff our birth plan, and they helped us settle in for a while.
During this time I tried several different positions for laboring, I already
knew that lying on my side was pretty comfortable. I also tried sitting Indian style, but found it hard to get
comfortable and breathe through the contractions. The nurses brought in a ball,
and we tried laboring on it. I was able to sit, rock back and forth, and lean
forward, finding some balance during the contractions.
During this time, Eric read me Scriptures that we had prepared
in advance on fear, anxiety, and comfort, while Scripture Lullabies played on
the iphone. This was one of
many of my favorite parts of the birth experience.
Calling on God by reading His word, and tapping into His
power during such a physically painful time, was one of the most spiritually
moving experiences of my life.
After about two hours I was checked again and had only progressed to a 4.5. Dr. Shimer came in and talked to us
about breaking my water. He told
us that it would help the labor progress faster - but it would also help my
contractions be stronger. Because
I had only progressed ½ a centimeter, we decided to let him do it. Once my water was broken, I could tell
almost immediately that the contractions had changed. They were harder.
I rolled over to my side, and that would be last time I moved before we
had Cole. Eric stepped away to the
bathroom shortly after this, and I felt another contraction coming on. This one was so strong, I had a
difficult time breathing and focusing the way I’d learned. I began to feel like
I didn’t know what to do. I did know I needed Eric because the labor was
quickly becoming more than I could handle alone.
I called out to
Eric several times, and the 3rd time he heard me and came running. Eric held my hand and I couldn’t really
talk. He encouraged me to breathe
deep, but the contractions seemed to be right on top of each other. I felt the urge to bear down and found
some sense of relief that way. I
remember thinking, I can’t do this, if this is what 5 feels like, I will not be
able to do the transitional phase (moving from 7-10 cm). But I couldn’t even
get those words out, the pain was too intense.
I really think
God gave me the words when I uttered “something is happening,” because that is
not what I was thinking. I was
thinking, I can’t do this, and this is awful, but God gave me the right words.
Holly, who’d been standing there fanning me since my water broke, asked if I
wanted her to check me again. Once again, I couldn’t muster any response in my
attempt at focus and survive through contractions. Eric told them to go ahead
and check, and they said I was ready to push. Holly told another nurse to go
get the doctor. It only took about
five minutes for me to move from a 4 ½ to a 10! When Dr. Shimer came in, they told me to roll from my side
to my back so I could start pushing.
Because the contractions were so strong and close together, it took two
or three more contractions before I could move. Dr. Shimer looked at me and
said in an all-business kind of way, “when you roll over, we are going to have
this baby.” He told me to
take a deep breath in, hold it, and push until we counted to ten. I had Eric’s hand on my left, and in
the heat of the moment, I reached out and grabbed Holly’s hand with my right.
With each contraction I would push three times for ten seconds. It only took three contractions before
we had a baby. Somehow the labor
was done - and there was baby Cole!
At 36 ½ weeks, he was my largest baby at 7lb and 19 inches long. Due to Cole’s rapid decent through the
birth canal, he came out with some bruising around his little mouth, feet, and
hands, but he was perfect.
I wanted a natural v-bac birth, but at the end I didn’t know
if I could do it. Praise the Lord,
the end didn’t last very long at all.
All of our families, who were still at home, couldn’t believe it when we
let them know he was here. The
last update they had heard was that I was only at a 4, so baby Cole beat them
to the hospital.
I can definitely see God’s hand in Cole’s pregnancy and
delivery - through the special (not so random) people He put me in contact with
about natural births and natural v-bacs, and the help from my mom and
mother-in-law while I was on bed rest. God gave me awesome nurses in the
hospital, and He gave me the correct words to speak at the end of the labor
when the pain was taking over. I praise Him for these things and the many
answered prayers.
Now the question we must ask is, would
I do it again? I think I would. I
feel like I did finally get my full-birth-experience by doing the natural
v-bac. I have a huge sense of
accomplishment and since I was walking around within an hour or two of
delivery, my recovery time was practically non-existent.
I would tell other women considering doing a natural vaginal birth, or natural v-bac, to do your homework in advance so you know what to expect and how to handle the contractions. I followed the Bradley Method of childbirth, and used Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. Talk to other women who have been through natural childbirth. I found loads of support from ladies who had already gone through this. Talk to your spouse and make sure both of you are on the same page about childbirth since he is your partner in this experience. Finally, pray, pray, pray! God will give you all the strength and direction to know if natural childbirth is the right choice for you. Best of luck!
I would tell other women considering doing a natural vaginal birth, or natural v-bac, to do your homework in advance so you know what to expect and how to handle the contractions. I followed the Bradley Method of childbirth, and used Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. Talk to other women who have been through natural childbirth. I found loads of support from ladies who had already gone through this. Talk to your spouse and make sure both of you are on the same page about childbirth since he is your partner in this experience. Finally, pray, pray, pray! God will give you all the strength and direction to know if natural childbirth is the right choice for you. Best of luck!