I've been putting off writing out the birth story, mostly because of the time it will take. So here's a brief summary.
I went into labor Friday night having contractions every 10 minutes for 2 hours. I tried to go to sleep, but couldn't for some reason. By the time Josh got home from work at 11:30 the contractions became more 'real'. By midnight I knew I needed to get in the bath. They started coming every 2-5 minutes and we called the midwife. She came over and I laid on the bed relaxing and contracting. I only felt them in my cervix and a little in my back. They were pretty intense and required deep breathing and vocalization. We eventually filled the pool and I labored in it for probably 3-4 hours. I was thinking, 'Man, this is easy!' They hurt, but were completely manageable. At some point my body started bearing down on it's own a bit. I felt some water leaking as I had contractions, but didn't have a noticeable gush.
At some point I got out of the pool to encourage more action. I could feel the baby moving down and was definitely having some pushing urge. I continued with things like that for the next few hours without much progress. Eventually the contractions intensified to the point where I couldn't not push. I still felt like, 'I'm doing this. I can do it'.
I pushed on the toilet and tried to snack and drink as much as possible. After an hour or two (based on my weird sense of time) I was starting to feel discouraged. It seemed like the baby had moved down to a certain point but wouldn't move down farther. I tried to rest on the sofa. My midwife gave me a tincture to relax me, which worked, but the contractions would just wake me up and my body would push. I went back to the toilet and pushed some more, feeling like the baby just had a ways to go. My midwife decided to check the heart rate again at this point, and it was going down a little more than she was comfortable with. I told her that I just had a feeling it wasn't working and felt like we should transfer. I had put it off for hours and knew I didn't want to do it, but was at the point where I couldn't go on. We threw together a bag and headed in.
Because I was a VBAC the hospital would not let me deliver him vaginally. At the hospital I continued pushing against their wishes and felt some progress, but as soon as anesthia was ready I was wheeled into surgery. I was crying and asking them to just let me push some more, but I also wanted it to be over.
The surgery went great and we were holding him as soon as he came out. Someone was always with him and they respected our wishes as far as eye ointment and testing went.
Other then the first 5 minutes in the hospital (where I was being roughly checked and given and IV and being asked questions in the middle of intense contractions) it was a great experience. I wish I'd had a VBAC, but I tried SO hard and went through so much of labor that I truly feel empowered. I am angry at the system for it's stupid policies, but my doctor and nurses were kind and respectful.
I would still recommend homebirth and VBAC to all moms! My time at home was so wonderful. I floated through the contractions and loved getting to feel the pushes. I have no regrets about that. I will cherish the memories of laboring in the pool with my husband and midwife beside me. And I love my baby. He is healthy and perfect and sweet as can be. I am so grateful that we were able to bond immediately after birth and spent almost every second together in the hospital, and every moment together since.
Okay, so that wasn't so abridged!
I went into labor Friday night having contractions every 10 minutes for 2 hours. I tried to go to sleep, but couldn't for some reason. By the time Josh got home from work at 11:30 the contractions became more 'real'. By midnight I knew I needed to get in the bath. They started coming every 2-5 minutes and we called the midwife. She came over and I laid on the bed relaxing and contracting. I only felt them in my cervix and a little in my back. They were pretty intense and required deep breathing and vocalization. We eventually filled the pool and I labored in it for probably 3-4 hours. I was thinking, 'Man, this is easy!' They hurt, but were completely manageable. At some point my body started bearing down on it's own a bit. I felt some water leaking as I had contractions, but didn't have a noticeable gush.
At some point I got out of the pool to encourage more action. I could feel the baby moving down and was definitely having some pushing urge. I continued with things like that for the next few hours without much progress. Eventually the contractions intensified to the point where I couldn't not push. I still felt like, 'I'm doing this. I can do it'.
I pushed on the toilet and tried to snack and drink as much as possible. After an hour or two (based on my weird sense of time) I was starting to feel discouraged. It seemed like the baby had moved down to a certain point but wouldn't move down farther. I tried to rest on the sofa. My midwife gave me a tincture to relax me, which worked, but the contractions would just wake me up and my body would push. I went back to the toilet and pushed some more, feeling like the baby just had a ways to go. My midwife decided to check the heart rate again at this point, and it was going down a little more than she was comfortable with. I told her that I just had a feeling it wasn't working and felt like we should transfer. I had put it off for hours and knew I didn't want to do it, but was at the point where I couldn't go on. We threw together a bag and headed in.
Because I was a VBAC the hospital would not let me deliver him vaginally. At the hospital I continued pushing against their wishes and felt some progress, but as soon as anesthia was ready I was wheeled into surgery. I was crying and asking them to just let me push some more, but I also wanted it to be over.
The surgery went great and we were holding him as soon as he came out. Someone was always with him and they respected our wishes as far as eye ointment and testing went.
Other then the first 5 minutes in the hospital (where I was being roughly checked and given and IV and being asked questions in the middle of intense contractions) it was a great experience. I wish I'd had a VBAC, but I tried SO hard and went through so much of labor that I truly feel empowered. I am angry at the system for it's stupid policies, but my doctor and nurses were kind and respectful.
I would still recommend homebirth and VBAC to all moms! My time at home was so wonderful. I floated through the contractions and loved getting to feel the pushes. I have no regrets about that. I will cherish the memories of laboring in the pool with my husband and midwife beside me. And I love my baby. He is healthy and perfect and sweet as can be. I am so grateful that we were able to bond immediately after birth and spent almost every second together in the hospital, and every moment together since.
Okay, so that wasn't so abridged!
and congrats on that baby boy, he's so cute! 
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