Inspiring VBAC – Part 1

I want to start this year with an amazing VBAC birth story, shared by a mom on the Hypnobabies Yahoo Group.  It is a few posts long, with great pictures.  Enjoy!

Wed, 5/11/2011 – 40w2d

I noticed that “Waffle” was more active than usual as we watched TV and got ready for bed. I started having a sharp stabbing pain that felt like if I didn’t go to the bathroom RIGHT THEN that my bladder would explode. Off to the bathroom I went, but as usual, not much happened. Then, as I got ready to stand up, I felt a small pop and a little leaking. At first, I thought it had just been a gas bubble because when it popped I had a huge relief of pressure in my lower abdomen. And I thought the leaking was just me needing to pee more because “Waffle” had moved (also thinking this had changed the pressure feeling). I sat there for a minute and felt some more leaking, but just a trickle. I also noticed it had a warm sensation. All of a sudden I had a flashback to when my water had broken in my first birth, and it occurred to me that maybe that’s what had happened. It was 10:15 PM. Since amniotic fluid has a distinct smell (or lack there-of), I checked for it. The fluid on the toilet paper had no color, and it had that musky, sterile smell. I was pretty sure what it was, but I was still in denial that it was happening again.

I ran to the computer, hoping one of my doulas was still online and that I could check in with her there instead of having to call or text message since it was so late in the evening. I was SO happy to discover that Nichole was on Facebook. I quickly messaged her and we discussed the situation. I told her I thought my water had broken, but that I just didn’t feel sure because if it did it was a slow leak (as opposed to the dramatic gush I experienced with my first birth). She had me check and see if I could tell where the fluid was coming from. While I was following her suggestion I felt a small gush (like my bladder releasing, but without the sensation) and my hand was suddenly covered in fluid. Once again, I smelled it. Yep, it had that “smell”. I ran back to the computer to report my findings. We talked about whether I wanted to tell anyone (including Joel) about what was going on. I decided not to call the midwives (because I already knew they had a pretty generous 48 hour PROM policy, so I had plenty of time to do things on my own before they needed to be involved), but decided to talk to Joel about making other calls.

I went back to the bedroom and woke up Joel (who had fallen asleep waiting for me), and told him what happened. At first, he got really excited, but then he quickly calmed down and remembered how long our experience was with our first birth. We discussed calling my parents, since they were going to come stay with Eli. We decided to call them and tell them to leave in the morning, since they had a 7 hour drive. I called two of my back-up babysitters to try to give them a heads-up in case we needed them in the middle of the night, but neither one answered their phone. I figured I would deal with that if it became necessary, which it never did.

We went to bed, and of course, my husband was asleep within 30 seconds. He always is. I turned on my Hypnobabies nightly tracks – starting with “Baby Come Out” (which I had been listening to for two days) and did my best to get some sleep. I knew we had a long road ahead of us.

Thur, 5/12/2011 – 40w3d

In between making trips to the bathroom every 30-90 minutes, I managed to sleep about 4 hours through the night (with the help of my Hypnobabies tracks). Around 5 AM I couldn’t sleep anymore, but I rested and just enjoyed being alone with my baby and my thoughts. At 6 AM we called my parents to let them know nothing had changed, and they headed out on the road shortly after. Around 7 AM Eli woke up and we all just hung out around the house. I played around on my birth ball – sitting and bouncing on it at times, and leaning over it others. I made a conscious effort to play with my son and spend this precious time with him, and we talked about how baby Talia was coming to live with us very soon.

Sometime that morning I had gone onto the ICAN of Atlanta forum and posted about what was going on. I wanted to be able to share my excitement and nerves with women who understood how I felt. I was hesitant to post about it because I was still in denial that my water had broken, and I didn’t want to look completely stupid if it turned out that was not the case. I think in my heart I had come to terms with what was happening, just not in my head. I also made a post to the Hypnobabies and HBAC yahoo groups (not sure if I did this the night before, or that morning). The only other person that I told (because several hundred people weren’t enough) was my friend Katie. She was in charge of notifying the women who had attended my Blessingway when I was in labor so that they could all send good thoughts and prayers for me and my baby.

Thinking about it now, I realize that although I didn’t know 90% of the people who I told about the beginning of my birthing time, I somehow felt deeply connected to them. They were genuinely excited for me to be at this point, and I knew that they were all cheering me on. At the time, I think that knowing that all over the world there were women who were thinking of me made me feel strong and energized. Now, it just makes me teary-eyed with thankfulness.

Anyway, back to the story. Around 8 AM I got in touch with Nichole, who wasn’t too thrilled to hear I had only slept 4 hours that night. She promptly told me to take a nap (she also recommended a visit to the chiropractor, but I had seen her the day before and she doesn’t work on Thursdays). I did as I was told because I didn’t know what else to do, but also because I was just tired. The novelty of my water breaking had worn off (thankfully) and there was plenty of work ahead of me. I took a nap for a couple of hours and then joined my husband and son for lunch.

Earlier, Nichole and I had started talking about things that might encourage labor to start (now that I was rested). Since acupuncture had been mentioned to me a week earlier, I decided this sounded like a good option to consider. I quickly got back on ICAN and contacted a few women who had experience with it in hopes of finding a practitioner who could see me that day. Elaine got back to me pretty quickly and directed me to Acupuncture Atlanta in Buckhead . I called them up and explained my situation. Immediately, I was given the direct phone number to a acupuncturist and she told me she could see me at 4 PM! I wasn’t too crazy about shelling out $100 on a therapy that may or may not work, but at this point I was willing to try anything. The website for the company also has lots of good info on acupressure, so while Eli napped Joel did some acupressure on me. I had a few mild episodes of cramping during this, but nothing exciting.

Around 3 PM my parents arrived from Florida and Joel and I left for our first round of acupuncture. Since I am scared of needles (I know, ironic for a nurse), I made sure to bring my mp3 player (to listen to Hypnobabies) and my Blessingway beads. I wrapped the necklace around my wrist twice to form a bracelet. Having it with me, feeling the beads, and thinking of each of the women who had gifted them to me was very calming. I never felt alone or scared or even the least bit worried.

(The beads that kept me sane. I don’t write about it in the story, but I wore these on my wrist from the time we went to this acupuncture appointment until I was in active labor and had to put them down because I was afraid I would break some of them. They were THAT important to me and my experience)

The acupuncture appointment was a really cool experience. Most of the needles she placed didn’t hurt (except my little toe, but she explained that’s because there isn’t a lot of flesh to anchor the needle in), and it was really cool to feel my uterus immediately reacting to the stimulation. My baby was moving all over the place, I was having mild and sporadic contractions, and I was feeling very encouraged. The whole procedure took about 40 minutes. During that time, the acupuncturist gave Joel some tips on doing acupressure and she gave us a moxi stick to use at home if we needed it (which we never used). She also told us that if we needed another treatment we could come back the next day for free. We decided to set the appointment and told her we would call if something happened. So glad we made that appointment!

(Acupuncture treatment #1…taken on my cell phone)

 

When we got home, we laid down for a nap. I turned on my Hypnobabies tracks, once again, and they worked like a charm and I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was excited to notice that the cramping was still coming every so often (maybe every 15 minutes)! We got up and went to dinner with my parents and Eli. I asked to go to Sweet Tomatoes because I knew I could get some soup and other nourishing foods for (what I thought would be) the long labor ahead of us. Because of the crampiness, I didn’t have much appetite, but I managed to eat some chicken soup and a few other things. My toddler EASILY ate enough to make up for me not eating! After dinner, we headed home to finish packing the car and put Eli to bed for the last time as an only child.

Around 8:15 PM we left for the hospital. It was a quick drive, with very little traffic. I felt bittersweet about the whole thing. I really like that going to the hospital was such a non-event for both of my births (it is especially nice to do paperwork without the distraction of labor), but at the same time, I was hoping that THIS time I would get to be one of those women who would dramatically stop every five feet and lean on my husband or doula or the wall in the throws of a contraction. I wanted so badly to be in labor on my own (I sort of was, but it was very early, piddly labor). Oh well, maybe next time!