Maeve's VBAC birth

My daughter was a successful vbac! I still cannot believe how smoothly and perfectly the birth went - it was everything I had hoped for and the recovery has been so much better than a c-section. My DS was breech.

Maeve was born April 25th, 7 lbs, 11 oz, 21 in at 38 w 2 d. The 35-week u/s put her in the 92% for weight and the clock was ticking as my ob practice was worried about me delivering vaginally after my due date.

I had been having crampy off and on all day, but didn't want to get my hopes up that this was it! I only told DH. We went out for dinner and celebrated our anniversary. DH suggested I have horseradish sauce in case the spiciness helped move things along.

I woke up around 2 am feeling more consistent contractions. I dozed on and off for another two hours. By 4, I thought I should time them - thinking they were 10 minutes apart - and they were 5. We called my mom to come watch DS, the dr and the doula. We were at the hospital by 5:30.

I was using the hypnobirthing techniques to stay relaxed. Whenever I got out of the "zone" I would feel like I was going to throw up. The hospital staff was very supportive of trying to vbac, hypnobirthing and having a doula. They gave me an iv and a bag of fluids, but then allowed me to switch to a hep-loc. I was 3 cm when I was admitted. I tried the ball, but the most comfortable position was the rocking chair - I even drifted into sleep a few times.

Around 10 am the contractions were becoming more intense. DH and my doula suggested I try using the bathroom - once I got in there, every time I stood up to get out the contractions were so intense I had to sit back down. Knowing the dr was coming to check my progress, DH helped me get back to the bed. Once I got into bed, I thought I had peed a little, but the nurse said my water broke. The dr came in and confirmed that my water had started to rupture, but was preventing the baby's head from coming into the birth canal. I agreed that he could break it. I was 6 cm. The dr thought I'd be laboring for a few more hours.

At that point, things were getting so intense I wasn't sure I could continue without an epidural. DH and my doula were reminding me of all the reasons I had been laboring without the meds and how close I was getting. Then I felt like my body was convulsing, trying to push out the baby. The nurse was telling me not to push, but she checked my cervix again and I was 8-9 cm. She got the dr right away. By the time he came back, I was 10 cm and ready to push!

My DH was a paramedic and has delivered 15 babies, so the nurse asked the dr if he could assist. The dr said that he would deliver the head and dh could do the rest. After four good pushes, the baby was out! I looked down and shouted "It's a girl!"

I feel so blessed to have a beautiful, healthy daughter. And I still cannot believe how well the labor and delivery went.

Thank you for your stories, resources and support! I'm glad I found this board in time to get information and bolster my courage. I hope my story does the same for other women!

Elaine