A few of the details from the day that Juliet was born...
Leading up to June 5th, I had been having contractions regularly. Every morning they would start and by mid-day they would be regular and strong. They would stay that way into the evening... usually 3-5 minutes apart. I thought that one of those nights they would just keep getting stronger after I went to sleep and I'd wake up knowing I'd have to get to the hospital, but every morning I woke up and the strong contractions had fizzled out.
Finally at my doctor's appointment on Tuesday June 4th, I told my doctor about the contractions and he said that the next time that happened, I needed to come to the hospital. He said that I was pretty far progressed (5 cm) and he would be surprised if I made it overnight without coming to the hospital. However, the contractions on Tuesday were a little more than 5 minutes apart and never got closer together so I just ignored them and went to sleep. On Wednesday however, the contractions were between 3-5 minutes apart by 4:00 so I followed the doctor's orders and went to the hospital, even though I was still very comfortable. Even though my last delivery was a c-section, my doctor suggested that we do a VBAC for this one because all the conditions were so favorable for it. I'm told that he rarely suggests VBAC unless he is sure that it will be successful so I felt confident in his recommendation but I was still nervous that I'd have to do 24 hours of labor and then a c-section like I had with Bella!
We probably got to the hospital between 5 and 5:30. They hooked me up to the monitor while we answered registration questions and my contractions were 3 minutes apart, but only moderate in strength. When they examined me, I was no further along than I was at my doctor's appointment, but they told me to walk around for an hour and they'd check again. So around 6:30, they checked and I had not progressed noticeably and they said I was free to go, but they suggested I stay another hour just to be sure. Since I wouldn't make it home for Bella's bedtime anyway, we decided to stay another hour just to be sure... I walked around for an hour and when they checked at 7:30, I was 8 cm. I was still very comfortable and was surprised to find out there had been a change.
At this point, my doctor arrived and I was admitted. They started the process and bloodwork needed to request an epidural. I emailed work at 7:50 to let them know I was beginning maternity leave officially. My doctor suggested I walk around more since it had seemed to be working so well, but when I went to get up, my water broke. This was around 8:00. As soon as my water broke, the contractions got painful immediately. I was hooked up to get my first dose of group b strep antibiotics so all the doctors and nurses left while that ran its course. All of a sudden, I felt like I needed to push during contractions so I had Anthony go get the doctor. He came back and checked and I was 10 cm and fully effaced and ready to have the baby - no time for the epidural or the second dose of antibiotics! The last half hour was no fun, but I was relieved to see when they started to get the scale ready for the baby with the baby blanket and baby clothes so I knew she would be here soon. At 8:35, she arrived! She was in the perfect position and was a textbook delivery.
I got to hold her right away, which is something I didn't get to do with Bella in the operating room! Anthony got to cut the cord too. Even though he said he didn't want to, the doctor insisted. And the first thing Juliet did? She pooped all over me.
So, while a "natural" delivery wasn't in the plan, I am so thankful that the VBAC was successful and we have a healthy baby!
Welcome Juliet Marie!
