Hi all! Well it has been a week since Russell was born. Sorry I haven't posted sooner but with recovery and my other little ones to take care of, I haven't purposed to update until now!
So......I did it! I had a successful vaginal birth after 4 cesareans! It was a grueling 38 hrs of labor, but God sustained me throughout!
I started having contractions at 1am on the 24th. They were more like waves of nausea, and I got up to walk around to see if they'd change. They didn't, so I gave my MW (who was 4 hrs away) a call. She hadn't gone to sleep yet, but we agreed we would both try to get some sleep and see how it was in the morning. So, I went back to bed and at 7 woke up to mild contractions every 8 to 10 min. I called the MW and she said she'd head our way. When she got here nothing had changed, so we went for some walks, and that got things going! Now they were 5 minutes apart and were more intense. My husband got home around 6pm and we all ate supper, then at 8:30pm headed to town. We got into our hotel room and right away DH and MW set up the birth pool. It was nice and warm, and did make the contrax more bearable, but after being in there for 4 hrs without any change, we decided to give it a rest and get some sleep. Let me tell you: trying to sleep through contrax that are 8 & 9 in intensity is NOT easy! But everybody else was able to get the rest needed to support me.
At 5:30am on Friday I told MW that I was wanting to start again. They drained the birth pool and at 7:30 I got in again. By now the MW's were suspecting a cervical lip, and sure enough, I had an anterior lip that was soft but wanting to come down with the baby's head. So I tried different positions and found laying on my side on the bed to work very well. The MW's took turns holding the cervical lip up while directing me, but it was still hard work because I was so tired already. Thankfully the Lord knew how much my body could handle and made my contractions stay 5 min apart so I had a good rest in between. So after what seemed like forever, the baby's head finally got past the cervical lip, and after awhile longer, I pushed him out. He was born at 2:36pm and as healthy as any baby that has gone through a shorter delivery. Overall, I pushed for about 6 1/2 hrs, but baby stayed strong through it all!
I am so grateful to my MW's for sticking with me, and am ever so thankful that the Lord allowed me to have this experience, even as hard as it was. He gave me strength to endure it, and just when I wanted to give up, I made some progress that motivated me to keep going.
I also have a new respect for moms who have long labors. Talk about feeling like you ran a marathon! It's taken quite a few days to feel normal again, but I wouldn't trade my natural birth for anything! 
What a gift of a new little one and your VBA4C, incredible. Share the story wherever you can!
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