I don’t know about you guys, but I love reading birth stories and I have been so excited to share Kennedy’s. For those of you who don’t know, I had to have an emergency c-section with Brady. You can read his birth story here. So I always just assumed I would have a repeat c-section for the next time. That was until I got pregnant and I decided I wanted to try for a VBAC.
There are several risks for having a VBAC and I am a huge hypochondriac so the fact that I even wanted to do this kind of surprised myself. My reasoning was not to “prove I could do it” but it was simply because of all the thoughts I kept having of the c-section recovery with a 37 pound 2.5 year old in tow that scared me more. I thought what’s the worse thing that could happen (yes other than a uterine rupture)? I try for a VBAC and if at any point I decide I want a c-section I will ask for it. So, at my very first appointment, I discussed the thought with my Dr. to see if it was possible for me. Sure enough, she said since my first labor was due to his cord being wrapped then I was a great candidate for a VBAC. That’s when I started to rethink this whole thing. At least I had 30 weeks to decide.
Truthfully I discussed this with my Dr. at every single appointment and had a list of questions for her every time. And, I have to say this now, if you live in the Dallas/Plano/Mckinney/Frisco area and need an OB – Dr. Bradley at North Texas OBGYN is AMAZING! She is seriously the BEST Dr. and I cannot say enough good things about her. Okay so back to the story. We finally decided to schedule the repeat c-section on Kennedy’s Due date (2-28) and if she comes on her own before then, then I would try! Good plan right? I thought so.
Fast forward to when I was 37 weeks and I went in for a weekly routine appointment to see if I had dilated. I had not, but my Dr. was concerned I may be leaking amniotic fluid. She did the test in the office to check, but still was unable to tell so she sent us to the hospital for more tests. Dr. Bradley had told me before we left that if in fact it was amniotic fluid, then she would recommend having a c-section since I had not dilated by that point. When we arrived to the hospital and we were waiting for the results, this is when all the nerves started setting in and I decided okay maybe I just want to have a c-section regardless of how this all pans out. Every bad thought was entering my mind and all the risks of things that could go wrong. Luckily, the tests came back that it was not amniotic fluid thank goodness, but as soon as we got in the car I decided okay maybe I do want to just have a c-section so I called my Dr. to see if we could push it up a week. BUT I still said “if she comes on her own – I will try for a VBAC.”
The following week on Friday I went in for my weekly check and GUESS WHAT? I had dilated to a 2! Dr. Bradley decided to do a membrane sweep at that appointment to try to make me progress faster in hopes perhaps Kennedy would come on her own that weekend. Our scheduled c-section was the following Thursday at noon. I was for sure she would come on her own that weekend due to having contractions, but nothing happened.
On Wednesday, February 20th we went to the Dr. for our last appointment before our scheduled c-section the next day. Dr. Bradley, being the amazing Dr. she is, did another membrane sweep and told me if I wanted to try for a VBAC I could go to the hospital the next morning and she would break my water and we could still have the c-section at noon (or later if need be). This would be more of a “natural induction”. Our plan was that we would not use pitocin or anything. So if she breaks my water at 7 am and I don’t progress then we will still have a c-section that day, but if I progress on my own naturally then I would have a vaginal delivery. All afternoon and evening of February 20th, I was having pretty consistent contractions, but they were still very mild and not 5 minutes apart. However, I was sure I would go into labor on my own before 7 am because they kept getting stronger and stronger. Well needless to say- it didn’t happen.
I arrived at Baylor Frisco (BEST Hospital EVER btw) at 7 am the morning of February 21st. So nervous, but I had my game face on and ready to do this. Dr. Bradley arrived around 7:45 am or so – I was dilated to a 3 at this point and she broke my water. It hurt. Not going to lie. It took 3 tries, but she was able to do it. After she broke my water, the contractions got stronger and stronger and stronger – 5 minutes apart, then 3 minutes apart. I asked for the epidural around 11:00 am. Yes I am the biggest baby there is, but Dr. Bradley also highly recommended for me to get an epidural anyway since I was a higher risk being a VBAC because if anything goes wrong at any moment when you have a VBAC, then they basically send you to the OR for a c-section immediately and she said I would have to have an epidural because if not, and something emergency happened, the alternate would be having to be put to sleep so epidural it was (not that there was any question in that from the beginning).
They checked me around 1:00 or 2:00 pm (can’t remember the exact time, but I had dilated to a 6!) This was exciting and nerve racking because it meant I was progressing on my own and that meant this baby girl was making her appearance one way or the other very soon. At around 5:00 pm I was dilated to a 9 and at 6:00 pm I was at a 10- it was go time. We waited on Dr. Bradley to come in which allowed Kennedy to drop further down. At 6:15 I started to push! If you read Brady’s birth story, this is where everything went wrong so of course I was a nervous wreck, but I had some great coaches! Drew, my mom and my mother-in-law were all in the room cheering me on. 🙂 I pushed for an hour and baby girl made her appearance at 7:14 pm! Praise the lord! She came out healthy and happy and we couldn’t be more blessed!
So far, the recovery has been SO much easier this time around. I am so happy I went through with everything and tried for a VBAC. If any of you are in the same situation and are contemplating this (and are a good candidate as I know every woman situation is different) then I highly recommend going for it! I hope you enjoyed reading!
Xoxo- Julie
