My Healing VBAC Birth Story

Hi Mama,

I am so happy to report that after months of anticipation, I finally had my successful VBAC birth with baby number two! I was so nervous but honestly the birth turned out just about as good as I could have hope for. I’m so excited to share my healing VBAC birth story with you today!

For a little background, my daughter was breech which was why I ended up having a c-section for my first birth. She was head up and my water broke at 37 weeks so I knew I had no choice but to go through with a cesarean birth. You can read her birth story here.

With my son, I found out at 35 weeks that he was indeed head down! I had a feeling because it definitely felt different than when I was pregnant with my daughter. I could feel more pressure/discomfort in the pelvic region.

Since my daughter came at 37 weeks, I just expected that my son might come early too. I had everything ready at 35 weeks so the last month of pregnancy felt like it was dragging on! And as I got closer to my due date, I got more anxious. I didn’t want to have to be induced because I wanted the best chance of having a VBAC.

My due date was September 10, 2022. I thought for sure he would likely be born in August. But August came and went. Once we hit September, I was convinced that he was waiting for Labor Day. I was right. 😂

Each night I had been going for walks with my neighbor to try and get labor started. The night of September 4th I decided to do something called “curb walking” since it was recommended by some women as a way to start labor. You walk on the curb with one foot on the curb and one foot on the street. It feels silly. I did this at 8:30pm. Then I went home and got ready for bed.

At 2am on September 5th (Labor Day!) I woke up after feeling a pop. I recognized that pop from my first pregnancy. My water had broken. I carefully got out of bed and waddled to the bathroom, somehow making it to the toilet before the water began to gush. Thank goodness!

I woke up my husband and told him it was time. Then I called my doctor. He told me to come to the hospital right away. I was hesitant because I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. I took my time getting ready for the hospital and took a shower. At 3:15am we left the house for the hospital.

During the ride to the hospital my contractions started. They were already 5 minutes apart! Luckily the hospital is only 15 minutes from our house. We got there and were admitted. They checked me around 4:30am and I was at 3cm. I was planning to go through labor without an epidural so I made sure to get up out of the bed so I could change positions to deal with the pain naturally.

Contractions really started to pick up around 6:30am. My husband was doing counter-pressure. I even put on my favorite playlist and was trying to dance through the pain, but it was getting worse and worse. I was scared. I started telling my husband that I couldn’t do it.

When then new nurse came on at 7am, I was crying from pain. At this point I started to seriously consider the epidural. As much as I wanted to avoid it, what I really wanted was a successful VBAC birth, and I felt like the success of my birth was dwindling with every contraction. The nurse said it was likely more painful because my water broke and I didn’t have that cushion around the baby.

So I requested the epidural. I was an emotional wreck but I knew it was the right thing to do for myself. I sobbed. From both the pain of the contractions and the feeling of weakness. I really thought I had it in me to do it without any pain medication. I felt defeated. But that feeling didn’t last long. The anesthesiologist placed the epidural around 8am and after that I could finally rest and relax. I was in calmer spirits. I was also at 5cm so I was happy to know that my labor was progressing nicely and I just hoped it would continue to do so.

I was progressing about 1cm per hour and after 10am I had reached 7cm but something wasn’t right. After each contraction, the baby’s heart rate was dipping. The doctor told me at this point that it could go either way: vaginal or another c-section. In this moment is when I really felt defeated. I knew that I would do whatever was necessary to have a healthy baby, and I knew there was a chance that might mean having another c-section, but it was still a hard pill to swallow.

The game plan was to try and change positions and see if the baby would tolerate labor better in different positions. I was moving on one side and then my back again and then to the other side. We would get about 20 minutes of contractions with no issue and then his heart rate would dip again and the nurse would come back and help me try another position. This was soooo stressful!

Around noon the doctor checked me and I was at 9cm. Since we were able to manage labor by changing positions and we were progressing so well, he told me he would be comfortable with either doing a c-section or continuing for a vaginal. I told him let’s keep going. And I continued to hold my breath with each contraction, hoping baby would be okay.

At 1:40pm I was at a 10 and +2 station. It was time to start pushing. Luckily baby tolerated the pushing phase pretty well. The first few pushes were merely practice as I didn’t know how I was supposed to push. Then I started pooping and the nurse and doctor both encouraged me. Apparently I was doing something right!

I couldn’t feel pain but I could feel the movement of baby moving downwards. I could tell which pushes were better than others. My husband was right there by my side. He was holding one of my feet and the nurse held the other while I pushed. I was able to call the shots and let the doctor know when I wanted to push, so that was nice. He was really impressed with how effective my pushes were.

Finally we were almost there. They could see the head crowning so I just had to push a little longer. I was getting emotional knowing that in a few short minutes I would be meeting my son for the very first time. It gave me motivation to keep pushing because the magical moment was almost here.

My son, Alex James, was born at 2:29pm on Labor Day. He was 7lb 13oz and 19.75 inches long. When I pushed him out my eyes were still closed. The doctor said, “mom, open your eyes!”. I lost it. There he was! He was perfect. He let out a cry and they immediately put him on my chest.

That was it. That breathtaking moment was what I had wanted all along. It’s what I didn’t get with the birth of my daughter. Missing out on that moment with her gave me PTSD. But now, in this moment, holding my son skin-to-skin, I finally felt healed. I felt what every mother deserves to feel after nearly 10 months of pregnancy and 12 hours of labor. I will never ever forget this feeling. It made everything worth it.

I was able to spend some time holding him and bonding while I birthed the placenta and the doctor stitched me up. It was so comforting to have him with me after the journey he just took. I was so proud of him. I was proud of both of us. We did it and now we could be together and soak up all the love and warmth of being bonded for life.

They ended up taking him after a little while to be weighed, measured, and to get his vaccines. But this time, I was okay. I was still feeling so high after getting my magic moment with him. It was everything I had hoped for and more. My heart was full.

I was able to breastfeed right away and honestly this was another healing moment for me. With my daughter I really struggled with breastfeeding in the beginning. I don’t even remember her first feed because I was so tired and sick from the anesthesia that I was vomiting everywhere. I pretty much blacked out during her first feed. This time I was tired but I didn’t feel that at all. The adrenaline was keeping me alert and I was able to enjoy the first feeding with him.

Later we were moved to the recovery room. On the way, hospital staff were clapping and cheering for us. They even have a special hallway where the lights turn blue or pink for the new baby. I kept tearing up because I was just so happy and proud that we did it! It felt like a celebration.

So that’s my birth story. I’ll write another post talking about my VBAC recovery and how it was different from my C-section recovery.

I hope you enjoyed reading my healing birth story! If you are planning for a VBAC birth, I hope this story gives you confidence and hope that you can do it! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Read Next: C-Section Birth Trauma 

Watch: My Birth Story On YouTube 

xo
Mother of Fawn