Julia's VBAC
Julia’s birth story really starts 13 months and 6 days before her birth, when my first child was born via an unplanned cesarean (Luke, see above story). His birth was a part of my journey, and the best day of my life, but it did not happen as I had hoped or longed it would. His birth relates to hers because it both affected and limited by birth choices and options as I was and will forever be a VBAC Mama after my C Section.
Despite ecological breastfeeding and my cycles having not yet returned, I was shocked to find that I was pregnant before my son was even 5 months old. I was due just 13 months after the birth of my first child. My husband and I were thrilled, if surprised! I had another wonderful, easy pregnancy, and my only sorrow was learning that a birth center birth was not an option for us as the will not take VBAC Mothers in the state of Pennsylvania. That crushed me as I felt that birthing in a hospital was the direct cause of my first birth ending in a c section. I did feel lucky to have an OB who was supportive of my choice to VBAC and encouraged me to do so.
I had an appointment at 39W2d in which I was told that while I was “Maybe 1-2 cm dilated” my cervix was still “really thick and posterior and labor won’t be starting anytime soon”. I was crushed as I was really hoping for better news and I was already getting pressured to schedule my RCS for the day after my due date (which was Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008). I stopped at the store and picked up some castor oil on my way home. That night I took it. It did what it does, and I went to bed around 10. I woke up at 3 to contractions. I got in the shower ~ they persisted. They were every 4 or 5 minutes and had my attention. I crawled into bed next to my husband and told him that our baby wanted to be born and I thought that he should wake up. I cried with happiness as he hugged me and we anticipated what lie ahead of us. We called my Mom and asked her to come over to be with my sleeping son. We had a 30 minute drive to the hospital, and left around 5:30 am. Contractions were every 3 minutes or so. I WELCOMED them as to feel my body organically doing what it was meant to do was exactly what I needed to gain confidence in my ability to have a VBAC. We got to the hospital and got checked in. I was thrilled to hear that I was 5 cm with a bulging bag of water at about 6:30 AM. I was immediately hooked up to the fetal monitor and got through a couple of hours of contractions tied to the unit. At that point they “let” me walk for 20 minutes. Nate (my husband) and I were having a great time out in the hall ~ dancing through contractions and laughing with disbelief that this was happening ~ that we were back at this hospital just 13 months later birthing another baby. The nurses said that I ‘had’ to get back on the monitor for another hour at that point. I begged them to let me have intermittent monitoring, but they said that it was required with a VBAC and they did not have telemetry units. They checked me and found that I was 7-8 cm, that was around 10.30 AM. I flashed back to my last birth and the pain of being trussed up in active labor and immediately said that if I had to be in bed on monitors for the next hour I would like an epidural. It was placed and worked well. My water broke in a gush not long after that.
My dilation slowed some with the epidural and being in bed, but my contractions continued to come like clockwork without any augmentation~ By 2 PM I was feeling some pressure and I was checked and found to be complete. I felt disbelief ~ after a much unwanted CS, and then 13 months of combating doubt of my bodies ability to birth, here I was about to push a baby out of my vagina. By this point my contractions were coming every 4 minutes. I started pushing, and within 4 sets of pushes I could see my babies head in the mirror. I loved pushing and found it exhilarating ~ I felt like an active participant in my child’s entry into the world (this is an important feeling to anyone who has been through a CS!). One long contraction where I felt and saw myself stretching around my babies head ~ and another push and there was suddenly a babies head emerging from between my legs. I will never forget the slightly insane laughter that welled up out of me ~ even as this was happening I could not believe that this was happening. Nate and I just looked on laughing and wondrous as this beautiful wet slippery body emerged from my body ~ I helped pull her body out/up and was the one to announce “It’s a GIRL!” in utter shock (boys run rampant in my husbands family) as I brought our baby to my chest. I wept with joy at the marvel of this warm wet slippery little body in my hands. The placenta was swiftly and easily delivered, and I was thrilled to learn that I had had no tearing. She came immediately to my breast and did not leave it very often for the next 2 years ☺. I was able to introduce her and announce the fact that we had a daughter to my son and my parents moments after her birth. Our daughter, Julia Elise was born at 2.36 on March 19th, 2008. She weighed 8’4 oz and was 21 inches with a 14 ¾ inch head at 39w 3 days. Her birth was the most empowering day of my life as I reclaimed my faith in my bodies ability to birth vaginally.
Despite ecological breastfeeding and my cycles having not yet returned, I was shocked to find that I was pregnant before my son was even 5 months old. I was due just 13 months after the birth of my first child. My husband and I were thrilled, if surprised! I had another wonderful, easy pregnancy, and my only sorrow was learning that a birth center birth was not an option for us as the will not take VBAC Mothers in the state of Pennsylvania. That crushed me as I felt that birthing in a hospital was the direct cause of my first birth ending in a c section. I did feel lucky to have an OB who was supportive of my choice to VBAC and encouraged me to do so.
I had an appointment at 39W2d in which I was told that while I was “Maybe 1-2 cm dilated” my cervix was still “really thick and posterior and labor won’t be starting anytime soon”. I was crushed as I was really hoping for better news and I was already getting pressured to schedule my RCS for the day after my due date (which was Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008). I stopped at the store and picked up some castor oil on my way home. That night I took it. It did what it does, and I went to bed around 10. I woke up at 3 to contractions. I got in the shower ~ they persisted. They were every 4 or 5 minutes and had my attention. I crawled into bed next to my husband and told him that our baby wanted to be born and I thought that he should wake up. I cried with happiness as he hugged me and we anticipated what lie ahead of us. We called my Mom and asked her to come over to be with my sleeping son. We had a 30 minute drive to the hospital, and left around 5:30 am. Contractions were every 3 minutes or so. I WELCOMED them as to feel my body organically doing what it was meant to do was exactly what I needed to gain confidence in my ability to have a VBAC. We got to the hospital and got checked in. I was thrilled to hear that I was 5 cm with a bulging bag of water at about 6:30 AM. I was immediately hooked up to the fetal monitor and got through a couple of hours of contractions tied to the unit. At that point they “let” me walk for 20 minutes. Nate (my husband) and I were having a great time out in the hall ~ dancing through contractions and laughing with disbelief that this was happening ~ that we were back at this hospital just 13 months later birthing another baby. The nurses said that I ‘had’ to get back on the monitor for another hour at that point. I begged them to let me have intermittent monitoring, but they said that it was required with a VBAC and they did not have telemetry units. They checked me and found that I was 7-8 cm, that was around 10.30 AM. I flashed back to my last birth and the pain of being trussed up in active labor and immediately said that if I had to be in bed on monitors for the next hour I would like an epidural. It was placed and worked well. My water broke in a gush not long after that.
My dilation slowed some with the epidural and being in bed, but my contractions continued to come like clockwork without any augmentation~ By 2 PM I was feeling some pressure and I was checked and found to be complete. I felt disbelief ~ after a much unwanted CS, and then 13 months of combating doubt of my bodies ability to birth, here I was about to push a baby out of my vagina. By this point my contractions were coming every 4 minutes. I started pushing, and within 4 sets of pushes I could see my babies head in the mirror. I loved pushing and found it exhilarating ~ I felt like an active participant in my child’s entry into the world (this is an important feeling to anyone who has been through a CS!). One long contraction where I felt and saw myself stretching around my babies head ~ and another push and there was suddenly a babies head emerging from between my legs. I will never forget the slightly insane laughter that welled up out of me ~ even as this was happening I could not believe that this was happening. Nate and I just looked on laughing and wondrous as this beautiful wet slippery body emerged from my body ~ I helped pull her body out/up and was the one to announce “It’s a GIRL!” in utter shock (boys run rampant in my husbands family) as I brought our baby to my chest. I wept with joy at the marvel of this warm wet slippery little body in my hands. The placenta was swiftly and easily delivered, and I was thrilled to learn that I had had no tearing. She came immediately to my breast and did not leave it very often for the next 2 years ☺. I was able to introduce her and announce the fact that we had a daughter to my son and my parents moments after her birth. Our daughter, Julia Elise was born at 2.36 on March 19th, 2008. She weighed 8’4 oz and was 21 inches with a 14 ¾ inch head at 39w 3 days. Her birth was the most empowering day of my life as I reclaimed my faith in my bodies ability to birth vaginally.