Lincoln's due date was October 1st and the entire pregnancy I positive that I was going to have the baby early.
Oh how wrong I was.
My entire pregnancy I was told that I could not be induced because of my prior C-section. If I did not go into labor on my own before 41 weeks, it was an immediate C-section. I was told at one point they could break my water and see if that would put me into labor but that was very back and forth.
So obviously as my due date approached I really started to make sure I was doing everything I could to go into labor. Curb walking, eating dates, stretches, bouncing on my yoga ball, etc. I was 2 weeks out and I had my membranes stripped (I was really trying everything!) and the doctor said that baby was still high. The doctor told me that I needed to schedule my C-section and they had someone call me later that day. I did not answer that call. My entire pregnancy I had been positive and hopeful but that news sent me spiraling. That following week was so hard for me mentally. Soon after that doctor appointment I heard about the Miles Circuit which is meant to naturally induce labor and lower the baby. I did it for a week and a half and a couple of times I felt contractions and could time them but they never progressed.
I went to my last doctor appointment and luckily I had dilated even more and the doctor I was assigned to that day was literally a miracle. He actually took time to listen to me and he told me that I could be induced with pitocin. A huge relief came over me and we scheduled my possible induction for the following Friday when I would be 40 weeks + 6 days. But I was still planning on doing everything I could do naturally induce labor. I continued to do the Miles Circuit and everything else. On Wednesday morning I woke up with cramping which kept me up for 2 hours but it died down and nothing more for the rest of the day. But let me tell you, the stress of going into labor was significantly lowered. Thursday afternoon the hospital called me and we officially scheduled my induction for the next morning.
Friday morning came dark and early. When I got set up in my room they told me that they were going to try and break my water first and see if that would put me into labor and watch over the next 3-4 hours and then re-evaluate. I was dilated to a 4 and they broke my water 8:45am and contractions followed pretty soon afterwards which I took as a really good sign. I lasted an hour before asking for an epidural. At 10:40 they could see my contractions had slowed (because of the epidural). I had dilated to a 5 and they started the first round of pitocin which they increased by 2 degrees every 30 minutes.
About an hour later they checked on me again and I was still a 5. They got a peanut ball for me to use. The baby was moving around a lot, but he wasn't dropping low enough. I started to get worried. If those things didn't improve in a certain amount of time would that result in a C-section?
The doctor came in 40 minutes later and wanted to use a tool to see how strong/effective my contractions were being. Well, the peanut ball worked because he never even used the tool. I was totally dilated to a 10! We were all in complete shock! How did I go from a 5 to a 10 in less than an hour? Miracles are real! However, the baby's head was turned a little to the right- just like Hudson was (and why I needed a C-section).
The nurses had me lie on my left side to get baby in a better position and then switched me to my right. I was on that side for less than 5 minutes when they immediately switched me back to my left side because baby's heart rate started to instantly drop when I was on my right. ARE YOU KIDDDING ME?! That is exactly what happened with Hudson when I was in labor with him. I could not lie on my right side because his heart rate would also drop. It was slightly funny at the similarities between the two. The nurses said my uterus must be in a certain shape for these things to happen during both of my pregnancies. I was somewhat freaking out but at the same time I felt calm. I just felt it was going to work this time. To have baby's heart rate go up the nurses had me drink juice and slushies. Generally I prefer water, but I started to down any sugar drink I could to make sure the heart rate stayed in a comfortable spot.
I had two nurses instead of one which I think was a small miracle. They were patient and willing to try different things instead of having it be "go time." At 1:43 they had me start practice pushes and they asked if I was ready to do start pushing. Only if baby was! I started to push and my progress was minimal. Only millimeters of progress. And apparently I have a very prominent pubic bone and it was making it tricky for the baby to get past that. The nurses had me take a break for me to catch my break and to hopefully have baby lower more. During my break I could feel the epidural start to wear off. I didn't push the button for more because I was hoping that not using more would help the baby progress more.
The contractions got stronger and eventually I pushed the button. I waited and nothing. I pushed it two more times spaced out and they just felt worse. The nurses came in to check on me and I told them and after speaking with the anesthesiologist I needed to wait a few more minutes and then they could up my dose. When it was time to up my dose and could push the button they also wanted me to start pushing again. I asked what they would suggest and they said try without the higher dosage. We started again at 3:35 and they said my pushing became much more effective because I could feel it and the pain wasn’t so bad because it had somewhere to go instead of just sitting and feeling all the pressure. But still thankful for that epidural because without it the pain would have been much worse. I am 100% an epidural kind of gal!
At 4:09 the head was crowning and I was able to touch his head. One of the nurses ran to get the doctor and the doctor said he would be there in 3 minutes. All these nurses came in and three minutes passed and no doctor. They were asking where he was and looking for him. They were all telling me not to push and I wasn't, but I could feel the baby coming with every contraction. The head nurse showed up and told me that we were not waiting for the doctor anymore and we were going to push the baby out. I didn't do much pushing and as soon as he was out they placed him on my chest. I was so shocked to think that I had actually done it! I just had a successful VBAC and I was holding my baby as they were clearing out his airways. I could not believe it. That was my only wish with Hudson-- to hold him right after he was born but the C-section prevented that. I was so desperate to have it this time and I still can't believe it happened. It was so beautiful to have our baby boy here. Andrew was able to cut the cord. The doctor came soon afterwards and I pressed that more epidural button so he could stitch me up- and I didn't feel anything at all. Like I said-- 100% an epidural gal. I had a 2nd degree tear and was very swollen but I would do it all again!
Our sweet Lincoln Garrett
4:16pm, 7lbs & 5 oz, 21 in long
I loved giving birth in the form of a VBAC. I felt so much more connected and part of our baby's entrance to this world. With my C-section I was more loopy with the extra drugs so when Hudson was born I felt very tired and not fully present. I remember his birth but I don't feel that I was an active participant. From that day, I knew I wanted to try for a VBAC. I am still in shock.
Healing this time round is a lot harder than my C-section which really surprised me. After my C-section I could walk and my pain was minimal. Maybe I just had a good C-section? But this time it's much harder to walk and I feel much more uncomfortable.
