Abigail Rose's Birth Story

Baby's Name: Abigail Rose
Sex: F
Date of Birth: 1/20/2014
Original Due Date: 1/10/2014
Weeks Pregnant: 41 + 3
Baby's Weight: 10 lbs 1 oz
Baby's Length: 21 in
Birth Story or link to Birth Story:

Up until 39 weeks, my baby was breech. I really wanted to avoid a cesarean, but my hospital wouldn't perform a version on me because I had a cesarean scar. I found a hospital and a doctor an hour away that would allow and perform one, and it was a wonderful success. The night before my daughter was born, I became very ill with vomiting and diarrhea. I slept pitifully, but I felt well enough to go to my regular OB appointment the next day. My blood pressure had been creeping up the last few weeks and since my blood pressure now reached 140/90, plus also having protein in my urine, my birth plans were about to change. Since I was past my due date by more than a week, a gestational diabetic, a VBACer, and now showing signs of preeclampsia, my doctor had no choice but to schedule a cesarean the next day. I couldn't be induced because my hospital doesn't allow inductions for VBAC's. I was bummed because I have had wonderful, vaginal, unmedicated, natural births for my past five children, but I understood a Cesarean was necessary in this circumstance. I would never opt for a RCS unless there was a good reason, so I was OK with the plan, but I still cried tears of  regret and fear. My husband and I decided to go out for a lunch date to keep our spirits up and to celebrate the upcoming birth of our lovely daughter. Afterward, we went grocery shopping for last minute groceries and miscellaneous items. While shopping, I had a couple strong contractions. I prayed that this was the beginning of true labor. For weeks, I have what is known as prodromal labor: tons of contractions that last for a long while, then go away. It has not been easy. Unlike those prodromal contractions, these felt different and more intense. We decided on our way home from grocery shopping to pick up pizza for the kids. While waiting for our order in the car, I had a couple more contractions. I turned to my husband and said, "I am positive I am in labor!" I tend to labor super fast, so after we got home with the pizza's, we called my OB and told her to meet us at the hospital. I changed my clothes in case my water broke in the car. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 pm (we live 5 minutes away). I was 6-7 cm and 100%. No cesarean for me! Praise God!! It took the nurses 3 times to get an IV into one of my huge veins. That hurt more than the contractions. Goodness, me! They brought in an ultrasound machine to confirm if my baby was still head down. She was, so no worries for a vaginal birth. I labored easily. I lightheartedly talked and laughed with my husband, the nurses, and resident doctor. When a contraction came, I relaxed my body and calmly moaned through the hard contractions. Twenty minutes later my Dr. showed up. She suggested breaking my water, which meant my baby would come in a few minutes! She broke my water and it had light meconium, but nothing worrisome. I went into the final part of labor immediately. This part in labor is always so intense for me. The sensation of my baby moving down the birth canal and crowning is almost too unbearable. It is not painful, really, but just incredibly overwhelming! I let my body do the pushing and I pushed when I felt like it, too. In two pushes, her head was out. Then, she turned her body, but her shoulders became stuck behind my pelvis. With the help of a nurse and my husband, I pulled my knees way back to open up my pelvis. With the next big push, my Dr. reached both hands into my vagina to move her shoulders past the pelvis. I let out a huge scream while I pushed with all my might and she was out! All ten pounds of her! I only had one little stitch after all that. Praise God for the best perineum recovery! Baby Abigail Rose was born at 7:33 pm, one hour from arriving at the hospital and two hours from that first contraction at the grocery store!