Birth Story - Part One

The birth of Caroline Marie was absolutely amazing. After Katherine was born via c-section due to being breech, I knew I wanted to have a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-section) if at all possible. In my case I felt that a c-section was truly necessary, but I did not feel that it meant I would automatically have to repeat the experience. My OB from my pregnancy with Katherine said that if other babies were not breech I was an excellent candidate for a VBAC, he just does not do them. So, this entire pregnancy I did what I could to prepare for that. I did all kinds of research, switched from the previous OB to a midwife and I saw a chiropractor weekly, which specializes in maternity care.

Knowing that babies are full term at 37 weeks but often go to 42 weeks with no problem presents a frustrating dilemma for pregnant women – When will this baby arrive?!?! I am a planner and by nature not a very patient person so this was driving me crazy. I have been very blessed with both pregnancies to have a fairly easy time. I do not get very sick at the beginning, gain much weight by the end or have too many of the horrible pregnancy symptoms that can make life miserable. At the end though, heartburn flared up and I was not sleeping well. Add that to the exhaustion of taking care of Katherine and I was ready to give birth.

A week before my due date Katherine got sick with a stomach bug and I got a little bit of it as well. This was frustrating because I was so ready to have this baby but knew that this was not an ideal situation to labor so I actually prayed that I would not go into labor. After we were both well by Wednesday I was very anxious and ready to deliver as my due date was approaching.

Tuesday I had an appointment with my midwife, Lindsay. Everything looked great. Squeak was in perfect position with her head down, back to my front and engaged very deeply. I was dilated to 2 cm and 80% effaced. This was great news. I told Lindsay that after checking the call schedule, I decided that I wanted to go into labor on Friday since that was when both she and my OB were on call. I told her that I was praying for that day and trying to visualize my birth happening on that day. As I left, she said, “See you Friday Christy” and we laughed.

With Katherine we took a Bradley Method childbirth preparation class to prepare for a natural, unmedicated childbirth. This time I did not take another class but did additional preparation using Hypnobabies, which is hypnosis for childbirth. I had a friend who used it and my chiropractor is using it for her upcoming birth as well. Every day I would listen to Hypnobabies tracks on my ipod and practice my relaxation exercises to prepare. There were many people in the Hypnobabies yahoo group who had experienced totally pain free childbirth. I was skeptical about having this great of an experience but was hoping that it would really help me to be able to relax during labor and delivery and to cope with the pain of childbirth.

One thing that Hypnobabies includes is a “fear release” session. This is helpful to release any fears that you have relating to the delivery. I realized that my main fear was that I would not go into labor and I would end up with a c-section. I was trying to do everything I could to start labor. I even went as far to schedule a massage that is supposed to trigger contractions and labor. It was scheduled for Saturday so I never had it. As I was going through the fear release exercises, I realized that what I really needed to do was spend some serious time in prayer. I was trying to control the process when it is really God who is in control. I had to give up the timing to Him. I did pray very specifically and when I was done I felt so much more at peace about the timing of labor and my desire to control it. One verse that came to mind though I could not place the passage at the time was the idea that our days are numbered by God. We typically think of that in relation to the end of our life but our days are numbered from the beginning and He is in control of when life begins. I found the verse in Job 14:5. It says, “Our time on earth is brief; the number of our days is already decided by you.”

On Friday I had appointment with my chiropractor Dr. Cindy. Squeak was still in perfect position. After our appointment, Katherine and I went to George and Shannon’s house for lunch and to play with the cousins. At about 1 when I went to the bathroom I had “bloody show” and lost my mucous plug. Shannon said for her that meant going into labor in the next 2 days. I was hopeful that it would mean the same for me. At the time I felt more crampy and had some feelings that I thought could be contractions. But since I did not have labor with Katherine I was not sure.

The rest of the afternoon was not eventful. I planned to come home and take a nap and then eat a healthy dinner. I thought that if I was going into labor I wanted to be as well rested as possible and I needed to have a good meal to prepare for the physical challenge of a long labor. I did take a nap and at 4:50 I was woken up by a contraction. It was really the first one that was uncomfortable and different than contractions I had previously experienced. While I was taking the nap, I was listening to one of my Hypnobabies CD's called "Baby Come Out" so maybe it was working.

Earlier in the day we had invited Jesse and Amy and their kids over for dinner. We figured that if we were not having a baby then we might as well have a fun evening with friends. By the time they came over at 6, I was pretty sure I was having labor contractions. They were uncomfortable but not painful and nothing that I could not continue to talk through. Luckily they are close friends so it was not too odd that I was beginning labor while they were here. I was not able to eat much because I felt pretty sick to my stomach. I felt bad that we were not able to really have great conversation but of course they understood. I was not able to time contractions or begin my hypnobabies practice.

To Be Continued . . .