The day we met our son

To the readers...this is a long story, but if you know me at all, you know I like details! And due to my lack of sleep, I may repeat myself! Consider yourself warned :)

A little back story: When we found out we were pregnant with Karis, I knew instantly that I wanted to have a natural childbirth...by that I mean non medicated and with as little intervention as possible. However, at 35 weeks pregnant, we found out Karis was breeched. Although we did hope she would flip to the head down position, it did not happen and I had a c-section on August 20th and met my first child, Karis Ann! Many people who are in the "I want a natural childbirth" camp, tend to be pretty diehard when it comes to "their" method of doing things...I wouldn't classify myself as a diehard and in the case of my birth story of Karis, I am thankful for doctors who can perform c-sections in order for us to have welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world 19 months ago. Her birth story is as special to me as Isaac's was, you can read about her birth here: http://stevenjennyvalentine.blogspot.com/2010/09/journey-into-parenthood.html. As joyous as it was to welcome our daughter into the world - I did struggle with having a c-section emotionally - after all it's not most mother's desire to have a c-section (although I have met a couple)! Steve and I hoped for more children and I didn't want multiple c-sections, so we decided that should the circumstances be right, we would attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) once I got pregnant again. So when I got pregnant with Isaac, we immediately began asking our OB questions about her position on VBAC and if she would allow me to have one with this pregnancy. She did not seem as favorable towards the idea and so we decided it was best to search out another doctor who would allow me to do a VBAC. Thanks to our sister-in-law who works with many OB doctors as a labor and delivery nurse, we found an amazing doctor who helped make our hopes of having a VBAC a reality. Going through 12 weeks of birthing classes with our first pregnancy, were now going to prove beneficial for us!

Present Day: As my due date approached, I did begin to get a little nervous about my decision for a natural birth. I second guessed my sanity, after all most of my mommy friends deliver babies with the assistance of an epidural, what's the big deal right? I still remember when I was pregnant with Karis and a friend had asked me if I was crazy...my response was "well, maybe!" We decided on a non-medicated birth because we knew it would be the best for our baby. So I would remind myself of that as I started to hesitate if I was a bit crazy for even considering this route! Steve and I also went through all our notes and books to review what I had learned in our birthing classes from my first pregnancy so they would be fresh on our minds. We also asked a friend we go to church with if she would be with us during delivery as our doula...we knew this would be a very valuable part of our birthing experience. Last thing I did to help ease some of my nerves, was to talk with my friends who had also delivered without medication, because I knew their experiences and advice could help encourage me. The things these friends shared with me did prove to be helpful to think about during the last hours of my labor when things were really hard for me.

So on to the story about when labor began...

Steve's mom, grandma and great aunt came to Orlando to visit the weekend before Isaac was born...it was during that weekend that I was a little past 37 weeks pregnant. We had a fun time visiting with them, but it was also a busy weekend! I think because of how busy we were, I did not rest as much as I normally would during Karis' afternoon naps. I was exhausted. I had started having some contractions and thought I was going into labor. I actually prayed they would stop! Our doula had said having a longer prodromol labor meant (typically) a shorter active labor. That was encouraging and I was hoping it was true! I was happy those contractions stopped on Sunday of that weekend though, I wasn't ready to have the baby (our bags weren't completely packed and I had been exhausted with family in town visiting and wasn't feeling up for an all nighter with labor and delivery). The following Wednesday was my 38 week appointment. At that appointment we found out those contractions I had been having must have done something because I was 3 cm dilated. So the doctor basically told us "any day now" is when we should be expecting Isaac's arrival. I didn't really believe him because I wasn't having contractions anymore and it just didn't seem like it was going to happen "any time now"...especially as we rolled into the weekend and I still didn't have any signs of labor happening. In fact, I started to notice a decrease in Isaac's movement on Saturday and it really bothered me. Sunday morning, February 26th, we got up to go to church and still I had felt little to no movement of the baby and really started feeling concerned. We went to church and during the end of the service I started feeling Isaac move around and so put my mind at ease that he was ok, just probably running out of room to move. ;)

We came home and I had wanted to take a nap and Steve said go lay down and I'll take care of Karis when she wakes up from her nap so you can rest. So to ensure I was actually going to get some rest, I put earplugs in so I wouldn't even hear Karis when she did wake up from her nap. I'm thankful for a husband who encouraged me to rest and that I had put those earplugs in because an hour and half into my nap (around 2:00pm) I woke up to contractions. At first I didn't think anything of it because Braxton hicks contractions were pretty normal at this point and so I closed my eyes to go back to sleep. The contractions however started to feel like they were coming and going in a regular pattern so I decided to glance at the clock and time them. I did this for a half hour and they were about 7 minutes apart. After 30 minutes of this I decided to get up. I told Steve I thought I was starting to have some regular contractions and so we started timing them on his contraction calculator app on his phone. We had plans to go to Rob and Lauren's for dinner that evening and so we got stuff together as normal to head over there. My contractions continued, we headed over to their house and while dinner was being prepared, the contractions started to get closer together. At this point, I still wasn't convinced I was in labor because they didn't really hurt. Steve on the other hand was ready to jump in the car and head to the hospital right at that moment. Lauren was getting really excited and began sending messages to both our doctor and nurse (nice thing about our L&D nurse sister in law!). I knew we would probably end up going to the hospital that evening because Steve was pretty adamant about it at this point. I told him I needed him to chill for a little while until we had time to eat dinner...because if in fact this was labor, I wanted to have energy (food in my tummy) to last through labor. Rob (the chef) made our food quickly and Steve and I ate and left shortly thereafter. I still thought it was a bit much but our doctor had told us at my 38 week appointment that if my contractions were close together (like they had been that afternoon) that we would need to come in to get checked out because once I was at 4 cm, I was considered in active labor and they would want to monitor me the entire time because of my previous c-section (which makes having a VBAC a greater risk). This was the main reason Steve was concerned about getting me to the hospital, for mine and the baby's safety. We got home, grabbed our things (picked up a few things around the house per my request) and dropped Karis off at our friend's, Matt & Lyra's house for the night. I was still "in denial" as Steve says because I even told Matt and Lyra that this was probably nothing and we would probably be back in a couple hours to pick Karis up! So around 6:15pm we were finally headed up to the hospital. It's a 30 minute drive and I spent the time in the car removing nail polish off my fingernails while Steve talked to my brother about our tax information (my brother does our taxes for us). You'd never think we were on our way to the hospital to have a baby! I sent out a couple text messages letting some family/friends know we were headed to the hospital to see what was going on and one to our doula. I told our doula in the text it wasn't urgent for her to head up to the hospital and that once we knew something further we would let her know so she could plan accordingly.

Once we arrived at the hospital, we filled out some paperwork and started waiting. Lauren had sent a text and asked if we knew anything yet (because if I was staying she would start to head to the hospital to be with us). I sent a message saying we were waiting...not too much longer after that got another text message from Lauren telling me that she had contacted our doctor (who was at the hospital) and that we would be called up shortly. Sure enough, next thing we know I'm back getting vitals taken and examined without even filling out the remaining paperwork. Our doctor had apparently called down to triage to tell them I was waiting...he wanted to know if I was going to be staying or not. Because he was off at 7:00pm though, if I was staying he wouldn't be delivering our child, but one of the mid-wives for his group who was on call that night, would be the one to deliver the baby.

Sure enough when they examined me I was 4-5cm dilated...so Steve called Lauren and texted some other family to let them know we were staying at the hospital and hopefully having a baby soon!

Most of the details after this are a bit blurry to me but what I do remember was one of the best experiences I could have hoped for in a VBAC experience! Another perk of my sister in law being a L&D nurse at Winnie Palmer hospital, is that she was able to pick a nurse for me whom she thought would be a great nurse during my desired natural childbirth experience. She picked a fabulous nurse and we were so thankful for that! Lauren was present for labor and delivery as "aunt Lala" and also our photographer! She had asked me previously what type of pictures and video I wanted and I told her take whatever...and she did! She wasn't afraid to snap photos or video during some really hard parts of labor...I really didn't even care because when she was doing it, I didn't even realize it because I was 1) in pain and 2) focusing on relaxing through contractions that I didn't even see her taking video and pictures most of the time! She was also our updater for the family, sending text messages throughout the whole process keeping people informed of my progress. Here is the progression of text messages she sent out:

9:28 pm-Midwife just came by and recommended that she be up and walking. Isaac's heartbeat is perfect and they will check her in about 2 hours. I don't remember what time Heather, our doula, arrived exactly but it was sometime around this..we were so glad to have her there!

10:55pm-5-6cm, baby's head is lower, bag of water still intact. She is back up and walking. Steve and I walked the halls a lot. They let me have my IV taken out and that made moving around a lot more pleasant. Smiles and lots of chit chat throughout uncomfortable contractions...that's Jenny for ya :) I also got to have water and jello throughout labor which kind of surprised me, I didn't realize I would be allowed to have water. Some of my chit chat would happen while I was sitting on the labor ball eating jello-that is a very clear memory.

12:20am-She is definitely hurting a lot more now but managing very well. Lots of walking going on and lots of breathing through contractions. No more exams at this time. I think around this time is when I stopped walking and stayed in the room and attempted several different positions. I remember at one point Heather telling me to relax and me saying, "HOW?!"

12:51am- 6-7cm, midwife just ruptured her bag of water. Steve is providing awesome support! Ready for some hard and hopefully fast labor. Leaning on the edge of the bed was probably the most comfortable position at this point to labor in.

1:42am-She's getting serious...just told Steve to "shush" :) Ha, I don't remember this specifically but I do remember it happened at one point mostly because I was trying to focus on relaxing and I guess his talking wasn't helping at that point!

2:36am- 7-8cm At this point, I definitely looked at Steve and said, "I can't do this"...to which he responded, "YES you can!" Later on after Isaac was born he said Heather said, "You have to do this, and you are doing this!" Again we were glad to have her there!

3:28am - 10 cm and ready to push!!! When the midwife checked me and said I was "complete" I was said, "what does that mean?!" I was so exhausted by this point and didn't realize that meant I was 10cm...they said it means you're ready to push.

It was fun to re read through her text messages because I really had no sense of time or when things were taking place. I was merely focused on laboring!

Since we decided I wasn't going to have an epidural...I was expecting to have a really tough labor. I knew it was going to be hard work but wasn't sure really what to expect. I have to say that my experience with contractions was not bad at all really until they broke my water. When the midwife checked me and said I was 7 cm, she also said they could break my water. I was a bit hesitant with them doing this at first but decided I wanted to get this process going. They broke my water around 1:00am Monday morning. After this is when labor got real difficult but I made it through with the awesome support of my husband, my doula and encouraging words from both our nurse and Lauren. The other things that really helped me focus and relax through the contractions was to think about the things that my friends had said about labor. At one point, it even helped to say, "5, 6, 9" in my head over and over during a contraction. See our daughter was just learning how to count when I went into labor with Isaac and she would count, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9!" Obviously missing several numbers in there but for some reason when all I could think about was wanting to get to 9 cm, it helped to say, "5, 6, 9" in my head! I also really enjoyed music during some moments and would sing things in my head that were playing out loud on our iPod. Funny note about our iPod play list...I had made a specific list for my labor and Steve put it on our iPod. Apparently he forgot to remove some RTS lectures from the iPod, so every once in a while it would go from music to lectures...Lauren was good at clicking past those so we could get back to music ;)

When I was finally able to push, I only pushed for 17 minutes they tell me. Apparently that is good! I had no clue...my only focus was getting the baby out quickly. I kept hearing my friend Jennifer's voice in my head saying, you will feel relief once the baby is out. Another thing that helped was thinking about what Traci told me her mom would tell her during labor (so thanks Tami-your advice to Traci helped me out!)

Isaac was born on Monday, February 27th at 3:46am. It was an amazing experience to deliver him and a joy to be able to see him right away laying on my chest once he came out (this was something I didn't experience with my previous c-section with Karis). Later that day, after some rest, Lauren and Rob brought Karis and their girls up to meet Isaac. It was fun to see Karis meet her new brother!

I definitely will hope to deliver the rest of our children like this, it was an amazing experience and I'm thankful the Lord sustained me through the entire process. There were so many moments where Steve and I either said it out loud or thought it, that many moments were answers to prayer that we (and others) had been praying would happen. The recovery from my VBAC has been a stark night and day difference from my c-section with Karis and having a 19 month old to chase around the house now, I'm thankful that the healing process was a speedy one! If you ask me, I would definately say I'm an advocate for a VBAC and natural childbirth, but mostly, I would encourage any soon to be mom to do their research, know what you want, and be confident in the decision you make.

I will end with a few pictures Lauren took and a link to her blog showing a video she made with the pictures and video: http://thevalentinenest.blogspot.com/2012/02/welcoming-isaac.html