Anna Helen, named after her maternal great grandmothers, arrived on Sunday March 18th. She was 8lbs and 19 inches, and absolutely perfect! It was a VERY short labor, and she made quite an entrance . . .
I had been having regular pre-labor contractions for over a week, but never close together. We joked that maybe all that activity would make my "real" labor a little shorter. Little did we know . . .
Sunday the 18th at 4:30 a.m., we made our way to the hospital for a VBAC. Contractions were mild at that point but 5 minutes apart. My midwife expected things would move quite slowly, considering this was my first vaginal birth. And, unfortunately, when we arrived, contractions slowed way down. We weren't even admitted to the hospital. Rather, they put us in a delivery room and I tried to sleep for a few hours, hoping that things would start again. I really didn't want to get sent home!
Just an hour later, things did start up again, and in a hurry! At 6:15 a.m. I heard a "POP" My water broke. Instantly, in one contraction, I went from mild cramping, to the strongest possible contractions. And, I dialated from 2 cm to 10 cm in less than 5 minutes. I was complete and I HAD to push . . . but there was no midwife, no doctor, no VBAC prep, nothing . . . Things got so intense immediately that I really I don't recall much, but my husband reports that it was a more than a little chaotic in our room! Not wanting to deliver the baby, the nurses had me hold my pushing for at least 10 minutes. That was agony! Finally, my midwife arrived and after 3 contractions of pushing, Anna arrived. A perfect baby girl!
In the end, Anna was born at 6:41 a.m. My entire labor was 25 minutes long. Although I got my VBAC, everything went so quickly, that it was a pretty frightening experience. And, I shudder to think what would have happened if my water had broke at home. My hospital was 45 minutes away. I have the GREATEST respect and admiration for all you home birthing mamas, but we were NOT prepared for a home birth. Plus, I ended up hemmoraging pretty badly after Anna's birth, so it could have been real trouble. But, in the end, we count our many many blessings for our perfect Anna Helen and for my health, and for our beautiful family. Life is very good!!
I had been having regular pre-labor contractions for over a week, but never close together. We joked that maybe all that activity would make my "real" labor a little shorter. Little did we know . . .
Sunday the 18th at 4:30 a.m., we made our way to the hospital for a VBAC. Contractions were mild at that point but 5 minutes apart. My midwife expected things would move quite slowly, considering this was my first vaginal birth. And, unfortunately, when we arrived, contractions slowed way down. We weren't even admitted to the hospital. Rather, they put us in a delivery room and I tried to sleep for a few hours, hoping that things would start again. I really didn't want to get sent home!
Just an hour later, things did start up again, and in a hurry! At 6:15 a.m. I heard a "POP" My water broke. Instantly, in one contraction, I went from mild cramping, to the strongest possible contractions. And, I dialated from 2 cm to 10 cm in less than 5 minutes. I was complete and I HAD to push . . . but there was no midwife, no doctor, no VBAC prep, nothing . . . Things got so intense immediately that I really I don't recall much, but my husband reports that it was a more than a little chaotic in our room! Not wanting to deliver the baby, the nurses had me hold my pushing for at least 10 minutes. That was agony! Finally, my midwife arrived and after 3 contractions of pushing, Anna arrived. A perfect baby girl!
In the end, Anna was born at 6:41 a.m. My entire labor was 25 minutes long. Although I got my VBAC, everything went so quickly, that it was a pretty frightening experience. And, I shudder to think what would have happened if my water had broke at home. My hospital was 45 minutes away. I have the GREATEST respect and admiration for all you home birthing mamas, but we were NOT prepared for a home birth. Plus, I ended up hemmoraging pretty badly after Anna's birth, so it could have been real trouble. But, in the end, we count our many many blessings for our perfect Anna Helen and for my health, and for our beautiful family. Life is very good!!
COngrats on your VBAC. I held off on pushing also waiting for the MW (at home, though) and I agree it was agony - I tore my throat up growling through those ctx! Welcome Anna Helen!
