Cjackord
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- Jan 18, 2012
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here it is!
my first labor was a bummer. i got to 40 weeks and the doctor told me i was overdue and theyd have to induce. they tried a couple of different things-- sweeping my membranes 3 times, cervadil, and then stretching my cervix, before finally resorting to pitocin and AROM at 41 weeks and 3 days. i opted for an epidural 16 hours in, then stalled at 8 cm. the clock ran out on me at 24 hours, and i was told it was csection time. they said that he was posterior, asynclitic, and his head was beginning to swell from pushing on my cervix. after reading the surgical report, i found out that this wasnt true. bummer, right?! recovery was as good as it could be. i wound up re-opening my incision 6 weeks postpartum and dealing with packing the wound. that was gross! i also had some serious trouble with breastfeeding (although hes 2 and still nursing!), as well as significant postpartum hair loss. so, hopefully its clear why i wanted to avoid another csection! my hormones just did not handle the csection very well!
i had some major concerns about the trustworthiness of my doctors office with my second pregnancy. so, for many different personal reasons, my husband and i opted for a homebirth. we found an amazing midwife an hour away that agreed to drive out to us. my pregnancy was normal, and both the baby and i stayed healthy. one of the requirements that my midwife has for homebirth vbacs is an ultrasound at term to measure the lower uterine segment. i really appreciated the information that i got from this ultrasound. i will admit, i am a numbers person and having a number to put my scar strength in perspective made me feel SO good.
my husband and i kept joking that my september 11th due date baby wasnt going to come until october but i was so nervous it wasnt a joke! we walked and walked and walked i KNOW that so many women swear that if you just get out and walk but by the end of my pregnancy we were going to disneyland 3 times a week (along with nightly walks around our neighborhood), and still no baby! i was so sad on september 10th when we were at disneyland and all i could think was that i was wearing myself out and had really just started to feel pregnant for the first time (in either pregnancy) and i probably had another 2 weeks. ugh! we went home and i went to bed early.
then, the next morning, i woke up at 4 am with some pretty awesome contractions. i went to the bathroom and saw a bloody show-- who knew a bathroom trip could be so exciting! i called the midwives and told them i was in labor and would give them a call when they picked up. around 11, they seemed to get more serious so i made the call! they arrived at noon and set up and then checked me at 1. i was only 3 cm (so bummed) but was fully effaced so they suggested walking the neighborhood for a bit. when we got back, i did lunges on the stairs. the midwife checked me again at 5 pm and i was 5 cm. i just labored around the house and relaxed! she checked again at 10:30 pm and i was 7 cm. i was progressing, but slowly! i really felt the urge to push and headed to the bathroom. i pushed a couple of times and my water exploded! such a great feeling! i got a couple minutes of no contractions (the midwife said that this usually signals a break before transition), so i decided to head upstairs and try to get through transition in the bathtub. i had four really good contractions on the way up the stairs and go in the tub. that sucked. majorly. i'm glad the tub is relaxing for some, but for me, i hated being confined. then i realized my contractions had changed and i was pushing (duh-- that's probably why it sucked). i hadn't intended on having the baby in the bathtub, but there was NO way i was moving! i pushed for about 45 minutes and he was here! he had a nuchal hand and cord, but i didn't tear =] he was born at 12:17 am the next day! all in all it was about 20 hours of labor, but being at home around people i love made it feel so much quicker. i can't say how thankful i am that i spent hardly minutes in transition. my c-section was for failure to progress past 8 cm last time, and i was so scared that labor was just beginning. however, being at home never made it feel unbearable and there were only two contractions that were actually painful-- squatting before transition and my first contraction in the tub. i could have done without those!
there is such a night and day difference in recovery from a vaginal birth and a csection. i was up and walking immediately after giving birth the second time. throughout the whole labor and recovery, i didnt even feel the need to take a tylenol, much less anything else. thats not to say that vaginal birth isnt hard on your body! just that i was very thankful this time to not also have a surgical recovery simultaneously.
and the kicker? his placenta was shaped like a mickey head =] all those hours of walking at disneyland MUST have done something!!!
my first labor was a bummer. i got to 40 weeks and the doctor told me i was overdue and theyd have to induce. they tried a couple of different things-- sweeping my membranes 3 times, cervadil, and then stretching my cervix, before finally resorting to pitocin and AROM at 41 weeks and 3 days. i opted for an epidural 16 hours in, then stalled at 8 cm. the clock ran out on me at 24 hours, and i was told it was csection time. they said that he was posterior, asynclitic, and his head was beginning to swell from pushing on my cervix. after reading the surgical report, i found out that this wasnt true. bummer, right?! recovery was as good as it could be. i wound up re-opening my incision 6 weeks postpartum and dealing with packing the wound. that was gross! i also had some serious trouble with breastfeeding (although hes 2 and still nursing!), as well as significant postpartum hair loss. so, hopefully its clear why i wanted to avoid another csection! my hormones just did not handle the csection very well!
i had some major concerns about the trustworthiness of my doctors office with my second pregnancy. so, for many different personal reasons, my husband and i opted for a homebirth. we found an amazing midwife an hour away that agreed to drive out to us. my pregnancy was normal, and both the baby and i stayed healthy. one of the requirements that my midwife has for homebirth vbacs is an ultrasound at term to measure the lower uterine segment. i really appreciated the information that i got from this ultrasound. i will admit, i am a numbers person and having a number to put my scar strength in perspective made me feel SO good.
my husband and i kept joking that my september 11th due date baby wasnt going to come until october but i was so nervous it wasnt a joke! we walked and walked and walked i KNOW that so many women swear that if you just get out and walk but by the end of my pregnancy we were going to disneyland 3 times a week (along with nightly walks around our neighborhood), and still no baby! i was so sad on september 10th when we were at disneyland and all i could think was that i was wearing myself out and had really just started to feel pregnant for the first time (in either pregnancy) and i probably had another 2 weeks. ugh! we went home and i went to bed early.
then, the next morning, i woke up at 4 am with some pretty awesome contractions. i went to the bathroom and saw a bloody show-- who knew a bathroom trip could be so exciting! i called the midwives and told them i was in labor and would give them a call when they picked up. around 11, they seemed to get more serious so i made the call! they arrived at noon and set up and then checked me at 1. i was only 3 cm (so bummed) but was fully effaced so they suggested walking the neighborhood for a bit. when we got back, i did lunges on the stairs. the midwife checked me again at 5 pm and i was 5 cm. i just labored around the house and relaxed! she checked again at 10:30 pm and i was 7 cm. i was progressing, but slowly! i really felt the urge to push and headed to the bathroom. i pushed a couple of times and my water exploded! such a great feeling! i got a couple minutes of no contractions (the midwife said that this usually signals a break before transition), so i decided to head upstairs and try to get through transition in the bathtub. i had four really good contractions on the way up the stairs and go in the tub. that sucked. majorly. i'm glad the tub is relaxing for some, but for me, i hated being confined. then i realized my contractions had changed and i was pushing (duh-- that's probably why it sucked). i hadn't intended on having the baby in the bathtub, but there was NO way i was moving! i pushed for about 45 minutes and he was here! he had a nuchal hand and cord, but i didn't tear =] he was born at 12:17 am the next day! all in all it was about 20 hours of labor, but being at home around people i love made it feel so much quicker. i can't say how thankful i am that i spent hardly minutes in transition. my c-section was for failure to progress past 8 cm last time, and i was so scared that labor was just beginning. however, being at home never made it feel unbearable and there were only two contractions that were actually painful-- squatting before transition and my first contraction in the tub. i could have done without those!
there is such a night and day difference in recovery from a vaginal birth and a csection. i was up and walking immediately after giving birth the second time. throughout the whole labor and recovery, i didnt even feel the need to take a tylenol, much less anything else. thats not to say that vaginal birth isnt hard on your body! just that i was very thankful this time to not also have a surgical recovery simultaneously.
and the kicker? his placenta was shaped like a mickey head =] all those hours of walking at disneyland MUST have done something!!!
Congratulations mommy!! 
