On August
15
, 2012 I woke up at 7:00 am with contractions. I didn’t think much of it since for the previous
4 days, the same thing happened. I would
have contractions for about 2-3 hours, and then they would stop. I had my scheduled appointment that morning
at 11:00 am. This appointment happened
to be the appointment where the Dr’s would have me schedule a c section since I
was 41 weeks. I was checked, but I was
only ½ centimeter and 70% effaced (the same as the week before). I scheduled the surgery for the next morning
(August 16
th) at 7:30 AM with the Dr who delivered my first son via
c section. I was devastated. I had dedicated the last nine months to
preparing myself for a VBAC. My mind was
set on one. I did not want another
surgery.
My husband
and I took a LONG walk on the beach to see if anything would happen. During that amazing and beautiful walk, we
both came to peace with the fact that if I didn’t go into labor by 7:30 the
next morning, I would have to have a c section.
We decided to go out to lunch at one of our favorite seafood shops. It was just the two of us which is very rare
(my mother and sister were watching my son).
During lunch at 1:00 PM I went into labor. The contractions were a steady 4-5 minutes
apart and getting stronger.
I labored
at home for just a short time since the Dr’s were very adamant on me calling
the hospital as soon as I went into labor.
At 4:00 PM
we arrived at the hospital. We weren’t
admitted at first, they kept me monitored for about an hour to see if I would
dilate at all. I was at 2 centimeters,
so they decided to admit me (even though I wasn’t in active labor….I was a
VBAC, so they needed to take extra precautions). The Dr that was on call was very cold and
nasty. He was not open to VBAC’s at all,
and tried to scare my husband and me.
I walked
the halls, took a shower, bounced on my birth ball, etc. I was checked again at 8:00 PM and I was the
same (2 centimeters). The Dr wanted to break
my water, but I refused. For some
reason, this made the Dr very mad and annoyed at me. From this point on, he was very difficult to
deal with (to put it lightly).
I labored
in the room from this point on. Mostly
attached to the monitors, but walked around the bed, bounced on my birth ball,
sat in a rocking chair, and constantly used the bathroom (the toilet was a good
place to deal with contractions). I
forgot to mention that the room we happened to be in was FREEZING!!! The thermostat was broken, so the AC was set
to around 55 degrees! If I was cold and
in labor, I can’t imagine how my husband, mother, and doula felt. After many complaints and my husband blocking
the vents with towels, we were able to switch to a different room.
My labor
from 8:00PM-2:00AM was very painful and difficult. At around 11:00 PM, the Dr checked me again,
and I was 3 centimeters. I asked about
breaking my water at this point and for some reason he didn’t want to….it
almost seemed like he wanted to prove a point.
I was fine with it. I know that
with a VBAC, when the waters are ruptured, you’re on a clock.
At around
12:00 AM, I asked for an epidural, but the Dr was on another floor in the
OR. Finally, at 2:00 AM, the nurses got
permission from the Dr (who was still on a different floor) for the
anesthesiologist to give me an epidural.
I was completely exhausted and drained from the 13 hours of hard labor. My doula gave me a message, and then decided
to leave to get rest herself.
My mother
and I were in the room when the Dr finally came in to check me (still at 3
centimeters) and to tell me that he doesn’t understand why I would want to
prolong this. The way he said it was
very condescending and rude. I was taken
back, as I didn’t understand what he was saying. He refused to tell me what he was talking
about, and then I figured out that he was referring to me not allowing him to
break my waters. I reminded him that I
asked him to do it around 11:00 PM, and he said that I didn’t. So, I asked him to do it again. His response was “Yeah 10 hours later” and
left to go to sleep. I was lost for
words. I kept asking God why I was stuck
with his horrific Dr.
When my
husband returned, I told him what happened, and he was very upset as well. We decided to just wait it out until 7:30 AM
when my other Dr would arrive. My mother
left to get rest as well.
My husband
and I were able to speak alone for a while and came to the decision that a c
section was the way to go. I was again
devastated and felt like a failure.
For the next few hours, I was able to get rest.
At 7:30 AM,
it seemed like an angel walked through the door! It was my new Dr! I finally felt relieved, relaxed, and
safe. My husband and I told him we were
ready for a c section, since it was scheduled for him to do it anyway, and
after the night we had along with the horrific Dr. He told me that I’ve wanted a VBAC for too
long to just give up. He ruptured my
waters and checked me at around 9:00 AM.
I was 5 centimeters! He checked
me again at 10:00 AM and I was 6 centimeters!
I was rejoicing! He checked me
again at 12:00, but I was still at 6 centimeters. Since the baby and I were doing well on the
monitors, he decided to give me pitocin.
I was against it, but decided that if it was the only way to VBAC, I
would give it a try. I started dilating
1 centimeter an hour. At 4:00 PM, I
started to push, and at 5:00 PM my little baby girl was born via VBAC! Lyla Jo, 7 pounds, 8 ounces, 20.5 inches
long!
I can’t
stress enough how important it was for me to have a supportive Dr. If the second Dr never came in, I wouldn’t
have had my VBAC.
