Cooking a Pie, and having a VBAC - super dooper long!
So here is baby Pie's birth story.....It's not a very exciting birth story. But there are things which I guess I would have been interested in knowing when I was pregnant. So, here goes. Grab a cuppa, (or two) it's really, really long :D
* - There is a lot of before labour in here, cause it's stuff I would have wanted to know when I was PG. If you want to you can skip that bit ;) - I will post in 2 parts.*
My first two labours although very different, were both spontaneous vaginal births. My third was an induction that ended in an emergency caesarean (due to some pretty major cord entanglement).
My CS was not overly pleasant and I found the recovery particularly tough after being up & about after my first two, so it was a no brainer - I would be having a VBAC. My GP was the first one who said I would need another CS - with no knowledge of my previous history, no knowledge of why I had had my CS, just that I had it - his comment 'oh well, you'll probably need another cs then' left me gobsmacked. For some reason I assumed that if that was how he felt, then that would also be how the hospital felt, and I went to my initial hospital appt prepared for a fight.
As it turned out I didn't need to worry. They asked if I wanted a repeat CS or a VBAC and gave me information to read. Over the next couple of months I did my own reading as well, and found BB ;) I had an appt with an OB and discussed options for my labour.
They wanted to put a bung in my hand, this didn't worry me, needles aren't really a big deal and I figured I could let that one go.
Length of labour was a grey area. .. They didn't want to let things go too long without any progress but weren't going to put a time frame on it either. I was fortunate in that I had laboured before - my second labour was only 2.5 hours - and I wasn't too worried about watching the clock.
Monitoring in labour was another thing we discussed, my second labour had been fantastic & quite active, I spent a lot of time upright & in the shower using water & heat packs for pain relief. I was looking forward to doing this again but I couldn't do that with continual monitoring. They were not quite as agreeable here, it was her 'strong recommendation' that I had continual monitoring; but she did concede that it was up to me in the end. I left feeling that that was probably a argument to be had in the labour room ;) seeing as I was a public patient & I had no idea who I would have.
I asked about delayed cord clamping & was told it would be left until it stopped pulsating, so I was happy with that too.
The biggest issue for me was time; all my previous babies had been 'late' and I knew that induction wasn't really an option. I wanted to have at least 42 weeks up my sleeve to go into labour, and I was told this would be ok (with some monitoring to ensure things were going ok). Also, all of my previous labours had started in hospital either induced or waiting for induction. I really wanted to go into labour at home this time.
All up, things looked fairly positive.
I continued working up until 38.5 weeks, and worked a bit from home after that. I figured it would keep me busy & give me something to do while I was waiting for baby. Plus I was taking unpaid leave, so the money would be handy.
At 40 weeks, I was pretty big. I had had a couple of weeks of pre-labour, Braxton Hicks contractions that had progressively gotten more & more uncomfortable. One night around 40 weeks, I was kept awake by hours of regular (10 - 12 minutes) contractions which went away around an hour or two after I got up that morning.
I was big & uncomfortable & fed up. Bub was still quite high & hadn't engaged but I wasn't worried, I knew that might not happen until I was in labour.
I was 'running' around the park with the kids, bouncing on the fit ball & having as much sex as I could handle (not really all that much :p) I was up & down stairs, eating pineapple & curries, drinking RLT & using EPO orally & internally.
I had been having acupuncture for back pain & at 40 weeks started induction acupuncture. I kept telling myself that all that pre-labour would be doing wonders, my cervix was probably already dilating a bit, I was going to have a wonderful labour.
Tuesday the 21st my 41 week hospital appt came around, and I asked for a S&S. The Dr was agreeable and I was almost convinced that after all that pre-labour, he would pop his head up & say 'no need! you're already dilating, and waters are bulging! baby will be here tonight!'
...erm, no. My cervix was so high & tight he could barely find it.
This was not at all what I was expecting & I promptly burst into tears... I thought this baby was never going to come, everything I had been telling myself was wrong, it wasn't doing anything at all & I was going to go through all of this for nothing & end up with another CS.
Poor Dr was at a bit of a loss what to do with me. He went & got the head OB who was fantastic. He sat me down & gave me my options. I could go in for a CS tomorrow, if I wanted; they could admit me today. Or I could wait.
Normal pregnancy is 42 weeks, he reminded me. Things can change in a week. Do you want a VBAC?
Yes, I did. After all my thinking I would have to fight to get that 42 weeks, here was the OB reminding me I still had a week up my sleeve!
He was so lovely. When he said I could go in the following Monday if nothing had changed, I asked for it to be a Tuesday so I could have the full 42 weeks. And young Dr said 'Well, the scheduled caesareans are Monday & Wednesday' but Dr C says 'well I guess if she hasn't gone into labour on Tuesday we can just call it an emergency can't we ;) " - and in doing so, he gave me another day.
I left my appointment feeling better, went home & packed up all my work stuff, took it into work & told them 'no more work'. I needed to chill out & relax & let this baby come.
Thursday afternoon DS1 had footy practice. I paced up & down the side of the field while I called friends & family to let them know what was happening (not much!) We had a busy weekend ahead of us with football, and DD1 had a physie comp on Saturday. At this stage I was actually hoping not to go into labour until Sunday, but I said to my Dad it would probably happen at the most inconvenient time!
