After we found out we were pregnant, I decided I was going to VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and the hospital where Kaylor had been born, had a strict no VBAC policy unless your Dr. was in the hospital the whole time you were laboring. So on my first Dr.'s appointment, I told my Dr. that I wanted to VBAC, and he said 'That's certainly something we can talk about as your pregnancy progresses." Again, that smile. But that wasn't good enough for me.
So on the way home, I called my mom, who no longer worked for that hospital, and she made a couple of calls and that's how we found out about the VBAC policy. So I got an appointment at a large practice, in a different (closer city) to talk with one of their midwives. My mom went with me, and for my mom, it was love at first site with this midwife, who went on to be the midwife in attendance at E's birth. She was just too chatty for me, but as my pregnancy progressed, and I got to know her more, she really grew on me.
This time I was determined to VBAC, determined to do it naturally. I didn't take any *childbirth* classes this time. I read. I read "Gentle Birth Choices" by Barbara Harper. I read "Ina May's Guide to Giving Birth" by Ina May Gaskin. I talked to Lisa Goldstein. I talked to Pamela Hunt at the Farm.
This time my labor started while I was cleaning. I recognized it, and it was like labor should be, a progression. Progressed all day and into the night. I finally went to bed about 2 am. About 3:30 I woke up and couldn't lay there any more.
I walked. I leaned on the counter in the kitchen. I tried my exercise ball, but that didn't do much for me. I sat on the toilet. I used the toilet (which alleviated some of the fear that I would you know what during the actual birth). For the last few hours I went back and forth between the toilet and the tub.
I paged the midwife on call. It wasn't my favorite. But it was my 2nd favorite. So Aaron slept. And I was just chillin' in the bathtub. When he finally got up, he called my mom. He called his parents, who were going to watch Kaylor for the big event. My mom eventually showed up, (after being up ALL NIGHT and just having gone to bed, as it turned out, is what she did the night before Kaylor was born too) to drop Kaylor off at the in-laws. I remember them standing in the bathroom doorway, talking about getting me to get out of the bathtub. I was fine in the bathtub. I didn't want to move.
But eventually I moved, and got ready and got in the car. Once in the car, I lost my focus. Aaron was driving like a maniac (like normal...) and had the flashers on, and was yelling at the other cars (like normal) and it wasn't helping me regain any focus.
We went in thru the ER sometime after 7 am, and I'd lost it at that point and told the ER desk lady to go ahead and have the anesthesiologist meet us up there. They offered me a wheelchair, but I knew I had to keep moving to keep things going. So I walked. I wanted to take the stairs, but Aaron wouldn't let me. We got in our room, and I was begging for an epidural, waiting on.. guess who, my fave midwife to show up, as the other's call was up and it was her turn. So they start doing bloodwork and IVS and all, and it was a good distraction for me, b/c I wouldn't have been able to concentrate and mellow out like I had been able to do in my own bathtub.
So the midwife shows up, with huge dangley earrings, and pink streak thru her hair, and this bright sweater. I keep looking at her earrings thinking, 'How can she deliver babies with those things smacking her in the face?'
She tells me, 'You really don't want an epidural. It'll take them 20 minutes just to get it placed. You can have this baby in 2 minutes.' I was coherent, but she did say 2 minutes, so 2 minutes meant 2 minutes.
So then we discover that the video camera are dead. And the batteries in my camera are almost dead. Great. So my mom sits over in the corner manning the dying camera. I pushed. After 2 minutes, and no baby, I pushed harder. In total it was thru about 4 contractions maybe. But out came a head, and then the rest of Eowyn at 8:30 in the morning.
I don't know if I did you know what, but I didn't care. I did tear, which was another although not quite as big of a fear. She stitched me up and when I asked how many stitches, she said 'Oh it's just a number..'
I was sore, and I didn't want to move, but I looked good in the pictures, (or so I think) and I was proud of myself. E latched on and nursed until she was 22 months old, and would have nursed longer, but I was pregnant with Finn...
So on the way home, I called my mom, who no longer worked for that hospital, and she made a couple of calls and that's how we found out about the VBAC policy. So I got an appointment at a large practice, in a different (closer city) to talk with one of their midwives. My mom went with me, and for my mom, it was love at first site with this midwife, who went on to be the midwife in attendance at E's birth. She was just too chatty for me, but as my pregnancy progressed, and I got to know her more, she really grew on me.
This time I was determined to VBAC, determined to do it naturally. I didn't take any *childbirth* classes this time. I read. I read "Gentle Birth Choices" by Barbara Harper. I read "Ina May's Guide to Giving Birth" by Ina May Gaskin. I talked to Lisa Goldstein. I talked to Pamela Hunt at the Farm.
This time my labor started while I was cleaning. I recognized it, and it was like labor should be, a progression. Progressed all day and into the night. I finally went to bed about 2 am. About 3:30 I woke up and couldn't lay there any more.
I walked. I leaned on the counter in the kitchen. I tried my exercise ball, but that didn't do much for me. I sat on the toilet. I used the toilet (which alleviated some of the fear that I would you know what during the actual birth). For the last few hours I went back and forth between the toilet and the tub.
I paged the midwife on call. It wasn't my favorite. But it was my 2nd favorite. So Aaron slept. And I was just chillin' in the bathtub. When he finally got up, he called my mom. He called his parents, who were going to watch Kaylor for the big event. My mom eventually showed up, (after being up ALL NIGHT and just having gone to bed, as it turned out, is what she did the night before Kaylor was born too) to drop Kaylor off at the in-laws. I remember them standing in the bathroom doorway, talking about getting me to get out of the bathtub. I was fine in the bathtub. I didn't want to move.
But eventually I moved, and got ready and got in the car. Once in the car, I lost my focus. Aaron was driving like a maniac (like normal...) and had the flashers on, and was yelling at the other cars (like normal) and it wasn't helping me regain any focus.
We went in thru the ER sometime after 7 am, and I'd lost it at that point and told the ER desk lady to go ahead and have the anesthesiologist meet us up there. They offered me a wheelchair, but I knew I had to keep moving to keep things going. So I walked. I wanted to take the stairs, but Aaron wouldn't let me. We got in our room, and I was begging for an epidural, waiting on.. guess who, my fave midwife to show up, as the other's call was up and it was her turn. So they start doing bloodwork and IVS and all, and it was a good distraction for me, b/c I wouldn't have been able to concentrate and mellow out like I had been able to do in my own bathtub.
So the midwife shows up, with huge dangley earrings, and pink streak thru her hair, and this bright sweater. I keep looking at her earrings thinking, 'How can she deliver babies with those things smacking her in the face?'
She tells me, 'You really don't want an epidural. It'll take them 20 minutes just to get it placed. You can have this baby in 2 minutes.' I was coherent, but she did say 2 minutes, so 2 minutes meant 2 minutes.
So then we discover that the video camera are dead. And the batteries in my camera are almost dead. Great. So my mom sits over in the corner manning the dying camera. I pushed. After 2 minutes, and no baby, I pushed harder. In total it was thru about 4 contractions maybe. But out came a head, and then the rest of Eowyn at 8:30 in the morning.
I don't know if I did you know what, but I didn't care. I did tear, which was another although not quite as big of a fear. She stitched me up and when I asked how many stitches, she said 'Oh it's just a number..'
I was sore, and I didn't want to move, but I looked good in the pictures, (or so I think) and I was proud of myself. E latched on and nursed until she was 22 months old, and would have nursed longer, but I was pregnant with Finn...
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