Jackson Mark born October 15, 2013 8 lbs 15 oz, 21.5 in
Jackson’s birth was quite an exciting ride! After an unplanned and probably unnecessary C-section with my first son, I wanted to try to have a natural birth. I knew my best chance at success was to learn everything I could and do the whole thing without drugs and interventions if at all possible.
I was seeing a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) because she would allow us to have a hospital birth with the benefits of having a midwife in the room with us throughout labor and delivery. I started looking into Bradley Method classes, and a friend highly recommended Coral and the classes at Well-Rounded. Things went very well until I found out that I would have to have an X-ray of my pelvis and an ultrasound at 38 weeks to determine if the baby would fit through my pelvis in order for the hospital we had chosen to allow us to have a VBAC there. I was against doing it, but by the time I understood that it was a requirement, I was already 34 weeks along, and we felt it was too late to make a change. At 38 weeks 2 days, my CNM told me that my pelvis was abnormally small and that they’d measured the baby’s head to be in the 97th percentile (somewhere around 8 lbs). I knew from our classes that ultrasounds can be very unreliable, that babies heads can mold to fit through, and that the pelvis can change drastically depending on position! But the CNM and back-up OB told me that the hospital wouldn’t accept the liability of the added risk, and the only thing we could do was schedule a C-section. We scheduled the surgery for the following Friday, but I truly felt that it was the wrong decision. I wasn't sure it would be possible to find someone else to deliver our baby when I could go into labor any minute, but I prayed and researched. A solution all but fell in my lap. I had been talking with Sabrina Foulks-Thomas, who we later hired to be our doula, and she made a couple of connections for us with doctors that she knew were supportive of VBACs. We met with one doctor on Monday night who told me that pelvimetry X-rays haven’t been used since the 1950s and said he’d be my doctor even if I went into labor that night. The next morning, Dr. Claudia Koch called me personally and offered me an appointment that afternoon. We decided to go ahead and meet her as well, and I’m very glad we did because she was great and really put us at ease about switching doctors and hospitals so late.
During the few days that it took to line up our new arrangements, I was praying that I wouldn’t go into labor and have to make a spur of the moment decision to go ahead with C-section or just refuse and take my chances at a different hospital. Once we met Dr. Koch, it was back to praying for a swift and positive end to pregnancy! I went in for a 40 week appointment and was dilated to 2 cm and 50% effaced. I’d also been having strong Braxton Hicks contractions that were sometimes even 5 minutes apart. Every few days, they’d get close together like that, but then they’d slow back down. At my 41 week 2 day appointment, I was 3 cm, 70% and having several contractions an hour most of the time. We did a non-stress test which went fine and which agreed with me about the strength of contractions! Dr. K was pretty sure I’d go into labor that night (Friday), but we scheduled an ultrasound to check fluid level and health of the placenta, and planned to induce on Tuesday morning if I didn’t go into labor on my own. Unfortunately, we got through the weekend, and I found myself still pregnant and worried on Monday morning.
Next to C-section, Pitocin was the last thing I wanted. I’d hoped we could try drug-free methods like a Foley bulb, but I was so far dilated that there wasn’t any point. I told doctor and doula my fears, but they both reassured me that this would be nothing like my induction with my first baby. Clearly my body was progressing on its own, so Dr. K would just use the bare minimum of Pitocin and turn it off once my body took over. After a lot of prayer, I was able to let go of my worries and try to relax. We sent our three-year-old to grandma’s house so that we’d all sleep well. I managed to fall asleep at a decent hour. My husband, David, on the other hand, was too anxious to get to sleep until aftermidnight.
At around 12:45 I woke up with a contraction. It had been my pattern to wake up with them most nights so I think much of it and went back to sleep for a while. At around 1:30, I woke up with another one and had to get up. I went downstairs, got a snack, checked Facebook, and had a few other surprisingly strong contractions. I started timing. Three minutes apart. I moved around some more, trying to change positions, but they continued and the pain in my back got stronger. I tried watching TV and working or resting through contractions. I was trying hard not to jump to conclusions or get my hopes up, but I finally decided that if I had two more strong contractions, I’d go wake David up.
I only got through one more. The pain was so strong in my back that I decided I needed him right away. Since we were both really tired, I had David lay behind me and just put pressure on my back during every contraction. They spaced out to about 7 minutes apart, so we both slept between. It was great to be able to rest, but during the contractions, I couldn’t move or really cope with the pain. After about an hour, I decided I had to get out of bed and try the shower. Once in the shower, the contractions picked up to three minutes apart again, but were far less intense. We decided to call Dr. Koch since the idea is close together and more intense. I figured it was better to let her know. That was sometime around 4 in the morning. She wanted us to go ahead and come in for the 7:30 scheduled induction (not that she was going to induce at this point) just to keep us from getting stuck in rush hour traffic since we live 35 minutes outside of the city. We were more than willing. David packed up our bags and loaded the car. I worked through contractions, but I needed his help as soon as I could get it. We tried to eat some to keep up our energy. We tried watching TV. Clearly I was in active labor, because it was hard to do anything but breathe.
We left for the hospital at around 6:45. The sunrise was beautiful. I didn’t care. I had about five contractions on the way that were much harder to manage without David putting pressure on my lower back. Going in, I understood how the flight or fight instinct kicks in and can stall labor. Just going into the sterile hospital environment made me feel a little panicky. I could tell I was hyperventilating a little bit. As soon as I got to my room and met our nurse, Katie, I was able to relax. She was calm and reassuring. She got me on the fetal heart rate and contraction monitors, got my capped IV in (VBAC requirements), and asked a bunch of questions. Then she did an exam and found I was 5+ cm!
Sabrina came shortly after and we worked on several positions for contractions. Dr. Koch came around maybe 10ish. She didn’t check me, which was good and bad. News of progress would have been nice, but I definitely didn’t want to hear no change. An hour or so later, something must have changed because Sabrina asked if I was starting to feel like pushing. I said maybe, but not anything strong. She still had Dr. Koch come check me. The only thing I didn’t want to hear was 8, because that’s where I stalled with my first labor. Sure enough, 8 cm, but stretchy. In all my studying, I hadn’t encountered “stretchy” so I was surprised when she said I could start pushing as I felt like it.
They suggested I try the shower for some pain relief. It was helpful, but tricky since the water temperature would fluctuate quite a bit. My monitors were not picking up the baby’s heartbeat—this is where I knew I had an exceptional doctor—Dr. Koch, herself was holding the monitor on my stomach and moving it around to try to catch the beat. She was getting splashed on and everything for probably at least half an hour. I was so exhausted that I kept nodding off in the shower between contractions. I finally decided I’d had enough and was brave enough to try get out. (Contractions got stronger whenever I moved.)
Since I was tired, they suggested that I try pushing in bed. At this point, I still didn’t have much of a desire to push, but they were sure I could start. David was behind me, doula on the right, nurse on the left, and doctor sitting on the foot of the bed. They had me hold my legs, tuck my chin, and curl up to push as hard as I could. I had to push three to four times per contraction. Pushing was very painful, and I was very tired. Dr. Koch broke my water sometime while I was pushing, but I’m not sure when. All I know is that his head was so low hardly any fluid came out. After a while, we tried shifting to my side for a few contractions. The last thing I thought I’d be doing was screaming, but I definitely did some of that. After one unhealthy scream, I remember saying (joking a little), “that was not good for my voice.” Katie thought that it was funny I’d care, but Sabrina told her I was a singer, so it would matter to me. I knew from classes that I shouldn't be screaming, because only low sounds would be helpful. That sure didn't stop me. After a few more, I returned to my back because it was the most restful. I was thinking about my “small pelvis” and “big baby” and that I should probably be in a better position, but they kept telling me I was making great progress. I’d hear, “Push as hard as you can,” and I’d try, but I was sure it wasn't hard enough. They kept saying that I’d had a really great push and that he was almost here, but I thought they were just trying to keep me from giving up. Jackson was definitely posterior (face up), hence the back labor, but he turned as he was coming out. Dr. Koch asked if I wanted to see in a mirror or feel the baby’s head. I said no! (I guess when I am in pain, I like to pretend it’s not happening…?) She convinced me to touch his head, and I really was shocked to feel it. We actually were close to the end! Things got a little intense at the end since he angled up at the last minute and I ended up tearing where you don’t normally tear, and I’m not sure what happened, but he must have practically exploded out because I heard, “Head! Shoulders!” and he was on my chest in the same second. I literally could not believe it was over.
They toweled Jackson off and he stayed on my chest for an hour. I had to be stitched up, and I was bleeding more than normal, so I needed a shot of Pitocin. (Nothing like the drip!) At some point, I asked what time he was born. Katie told me 2:03. I asked her how long I’d been pushing and she said, “You got back into bed a little after 1:00, so just under an hour.” I was prepared for an epicly long labor and hours of pushing. Even though the pain was worse than I imagined, it was over much more quickly than I anticipated.
It’s night and day difference between my C-section and VBAC. There is still pain, but I could get out of bed on my own immediately. We bonded and nursed well right away. The toughest part has been trying to remember that I’m in recovery. I’m so much more mobile that I don’t remember I should be resting until I have already done too much.
It’s crazy and sad to me that I wouldn't be allowed to have this experience in the hospital we’d originally chosen. And by the way, at 42 weeks, Jackson was just short of 9 lbs, so I doubt he was as big as they thought. Even though things weren't predictable, they were so much better than I hoped. My husband was awesome! I was almost as proud of him as I am of myself. I’m so thankful for the successful outcome, for my doctor, nurse, and doula, and for the prayers and love from family and friends. We couldn’t have done it alone!
