Hellobee

Grace Natalie was born on February 21st at 4:31pm. She weighed 7lbs, 2oz and measured 20in long. We are all so in love!

On Friday the 20th, Liam and I ran a few errands and had a picnic in the park. He had fun running around playing and I tried to keep up. On our drive home at around 12:30, I noticed a couple of milk contractions, but figured it was nothing. After he went down for his nap, they started becoming more frequent and regular, so I timed them. They were about 3-4 minutes apart, but not painful at all. This lasted a couple hours, so I texted my doctor (she’s awesome and we text back and forth a lot) because she had told me to go to the hospital if they were 5 minutes apart for an hour. I told her what was going on and she said to trust my gut and if they weren’t painful, I could probably wait to head in until they were.

My husband left work early and I started packing, just in case. My mom agreed to take Liam for the night regardless so that we wouldn’t have to worry if something happened in the middle of the night. We debated for hours whether or not to go to the hospital, but I was nervous about waiting too long, especially since my delivery was slightly more risky, being a candidate for a VBAC. We headed there at around 10pm, waited far too long to be seen by a triage nurse, and cried when told I was only 1cm dilated. They called my doctor who said they could admit me and start the epidural and pitocin if needed, just go straight to a c section, or go home and wait a bit longer. We decided to go home and when the discharge nurse told me this might go on for a few days, I almost punched her.

At home, I had a half a glass of wine (doctor’s orders!) and a bath. My husband turned on all of our battery operated candles around our bedroom and put on some soothing music. He slept and I tried as the contractions continued. At the time, I was frustrated that we had to go home, but looking back, I’m really glad we had that extra night of rest in our own bed.

My husband snapped this picture of me at breakfast during a contraction. I think my face says it all…

In the morning, the contractions had gotten a bit more painful and slightly closer together, about 2-3 minutes apart. We decided to meet my mom, brother, and Liam for breakfast and by the time we got to the restaurant, the contractions were very painful. I could not talk, walk, or do anything through them anymore. I thought for sure I was making good progress, but when we went back to the hospital at around 10am, I was only 1-2cm dilated. I cried again. This time, my doctor said I should be admitted and she also headed to the hospital. When she saw me through a few contractions, she could tell how strong they were and ordered the epidural. I was worried it would slow down my labor and that I’d need pitocin, something we were hoping to avoid, but I was also in a lot of pain and she thought it might relax me and help me progress.

The anesthesiologist was not my favorite person. He came in and immediately started telling us about all the risks of getting the epidural with a VBAC, scaring the crap out of us. My doctor had left the room, but my husband texted her to come back and I felt so much better once she was there. She calmed my fears and told me she thought it was best I did it. The first one he put in caused my ears to ring, something he said he had never seen before, but had read about in “the books.” That was awesome to hear, let me tell you. I really thought I was going to die or be paralyzed in that moment, but he removed it and it went away. He tried again and this time it worked correctly, but I was still so scared that something would go terribly wrong.

When my doctor checked me after the epidural, I was 3cm dilated and she decided to break my water. I think this was around 1pm. There was a little meconium in the fluid, so we knew the baby would need to be suctioned a bit before I got her skin to skin. She gave us a couple hours to rest (we were both too anxious to sleep, but we did rest our eyes) and when she came back and checked me, I was at 8cms! I was soooooo happy to hear that news. She stuck around chatting with us and told me to let her know if I felt any rectal pressure.

Pretty much right away, I started feeling strong pressure down there with each contraction. She wanted to check me again, but I wanted her to wait because I didn’t want to be disappointed. About 30 minutes later, I was 10cms and ready to push! I did a few practice pushes and then we were ready for the real deal. I don’t know how many pushes it took, but I’d say it was less than 5 contractions before Grace was born. What I was so worried would be a long and tortuous labor and delivery, ended up being quite fast!

They took her to a warmer in the corner of the room to be suctioned while I was stitched up. She said I had an average amount of tearing and at one point I heard her say second degree to the nurse. I don’t know what that means and I’m not googling it. Sometimes it’s best to just not know.

Our first snuggles.

Her Apgars were 8 and 9 and finally I got to snuggle my baby. I kept saying, “I can’t believe that just happened” over and over. I was, and still am, in shock that I actually had a VBAC. I really didn’t think it was going to happen, especially after such a slow start. But it did! And we are both healthy and I am so happy.

When I look back at Liam’s birth story and think about how sad I was about having a c-section, I want to go back and give myself a hug. I wish I could have been more accepting of that situation, but if I had, I might not have tried for a VBAC and then I might not be as blessed as I am now.

So far, recovery is going really well. I’m sore, but in much better shape physically and emotionally than after my c section. My milk is in (ohhhh is it ever!) and nursing is going so well. Grace is beautiful and Liam is adjusting pretty well to his new role as big brother. I’m terrified for my husband to go back to work in a week and a half, but I know we’ll survive.

I have two kids! Wow!!