Well, Dillon is almost 2, so I thought I would finish typing out his birth story! My first two sons were c-sections, unplanned and planned, respectively. As I wrote about before here, it was not the way I wanted, or even necessarily needed to go.
Fast forward to November 2013, I find out I’m pregnant. I’ve read a lot more, I feel a lot more informed and I’m determined to at least be given the chance to let my body just do its thing. Enter OBGYN North in Austin, TX, oh my goodness, I love love love all of the Doctors, midwives, nurses, all of the staff there. So lovely, so encouraging. They do VBA2C on a case by case basis. I knew it would be a long shot, but I just wanted a chance. And they were with me and for me the whole way. I made sure I didn’t gain too much weight, I took the supplements, drank the teas, learned more, kept telling myself I could do it, did all I could in my power to ensure a successful VBA2C. With only one small issue of high blood pressure around 37 weeks, things were looking good.
I went in for a check up at 40 weeks, 4 days to see that things were looking good to go, ya know, at some point. 🙂 She swept my membranes to try to get things going and bless the Lord, it worked. I woke up at some point in the middle of the night with a sharp pain and went back to sleep, not thinking anything of it. Around 7am, I woke with the boys and felt the same pain. It was so low, short and stabbing, I honestly thought it was gas for a minute! When the next few came the same way, lasting about 30 seconds, I had that “OMG, wait, these are contractions!” moment, immediately followed by the “Sweet Jesus, am I actually about to do this?!” moment. My water broke slowly over the course of the morning, so for a few minutes I didn’t even realize that’s what it actually was.
I had Justin take the boys to Home Depot for the kids building workshop cause contractions were about 10 minutes apart, lasting about 30-40 seconds with short little ones in between. I took the time to pack my bag, finally, fix my hair and try to ignore them for a little while. Around 1230, I called the Dr for the second time, told her that my water had broken & contractions were 7 min apart, lasting 40-60 seconds. (Attempting a VBA2C, they wanted me to call in earlier than you normally would.) She told me not to rush, but I needed to get my stuff together and make my way to the hospital. By 330pm we had finally gotten the boys squared away and I was all checked in and settled. I had to be hooked up to the monitors, but was still able to move around freely, I even snacked and drank. Very different from my first birth experience of lying on my side and being fussed at when I got up to go to the bathroom. Dr. Sebastyn told me to put the exercise ball to the side and just sit and watch tv for a bit since we were probably looking at things picking up around 10pm or so, based on my contractions. She didn’t want to check me since my water had already broken, for fear of infection. So I watched tv until it annoyed me. I think I turned it off and slammed the remote down, poor remote, it wasn’t its fault I was having strong contractions! I thought I would listen to some music. After one song from the mix I made, Bloodstream by Stateless, I just had to get up and walk around. As soon as I did, I knew we were getting close.
The pain intensified and I couldn’t stand up straight during the contractions. It was right before 7pm and I wasn’t sure I could take this pain for 3 more hours and then go through delivery. Epidural was an option that I wasn’t sure I was going to go with, since their side effects mimic symptoms of uterine rupture, which is a serious risk with a VBAC. They will stop and perform and emergency c-section if it looks like your uterus is in distress. The option was on the table, though, if I needed it. When I asked the Nurse to get Dr. Sebastyn to check me, I could hear in her voice that she thought I was asking too early. But, she got her and I was 9cm and 85% effaced! That poor Nurse started prepping the room so fast!
By 805, the pushing was underway! I had my eyes closed for probably 95% of the delivery, it was calming and definitely helped me focus. I switched positions and few times and was given oxygen to help breathe more effectively. Somewhere close to 10pm, Dr. Sebastyn was out of the room and the Nurse told me to stop pushing because the last two times I did, Dill’s heart rate dropped some. Side note, not pushing through a contraction hurts WAY worse than pushing through it. When they told Dr. Sebastyn, she started talking to us about vacuums and such, which honestly scare me due to a friend losing her son due in large part to misuse of a vacuum. Justin told her as much and she assured us that they use them safely and sparingly. She checked me before making the call and when she did, she excitedly told us that we would not need any interventions and he was going to be here in the next few minutes! Those last pushes were rough and the last two? Sweet. Lord. Ow. But, when he made his debut at 1010pm, all was right with the world. He was 8lbs. 5oz, 21 1/2in and perfectly adorable and snuggled up to me without even crying. He gave them the cutest little cry, so they would know everything was right with his lungs and he just snuggled, stared and nursed for the next hour or so while the Nurses and Dr. Sebastyn gave me hugs and high fives for a natural delivery after two c-sections. I knew that it could have ended in a c-section and if it did, that was fine. I don’t feel like superwoman or anything, I was just determined to let my body decide which way to deliver Dillon. So, hey, if you’ve had a c-section, but feel like you can try for a VBAC, talk to your Doctor or midwife about how to increase your chances. It’s definitely possible and I’m so thankful for the encouraging staff at OBGYN North and Seton Northwest Hospital for getting me there!
12pm, between contractions
Some 10hrs later, holding Daddy’s finger
A Story Unfinished... 