Macie is here!

I am so glad to say that I was able to deliver Macie Vaginally! Haley was born via C-section so this one was a V-BAC! (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). The road to get my V-BAC wasn't an easy one. I went to my OB Doctor that delivered Haley and asked him if he did V-BAC's and he said yes. That we would continue to talk about it. If this baby's heart beat dropped then I would get another C-section. I am totally fine with a C-section if the purpose is to save the Mother or the Baby's life. Every appointment he would ask me if I still wanted to V-BAC and I would tell him yes. We kept seeing each other. The week before my 35 week appointment I felt like I should change doctors. I thought to myself I can't change doctors because I am so far along. I will change after I have this baby. I didn't like his new nurse so I placed my desire to get a new OB based on the nurse.
  Then in my 35 week appointment my doctor said that we really needed to talk about this. I was like okay. He got out a paper with the risk's of doing a V-BAC and told me horror stories about mother's and babies dieing and uterus exploding and such.  Then proceeded to tell me that he is only on call once every six weekends. That his weekend that he was on call was this coming weekend and the next one would be in the middle of June. My due date was May 29th.  Then he told me the the ON CALL doctors don't do V-BAC's and if I were to go in after hours then I would have to get an automatic C-section. I told him that no doctor can make someone have a C-section. You have to sign paperwork for that. That I would just ask for a hospital doctor instead. He told me if I didn't agree to have an automatic C-section then he really considering DROPPING me at a patient. He said that would be putting his on call doctors in a predicament. That wasn't FAIR TO THEM. Wasn't fair to THEM huh? What about the person sitting right in front of you wanting to V-BAC the whole time. What kind of a predicament are you putting her in by saying she has to agree to get cut open for no medical reason.
  He further told me he hadn't V-BACed anyone in 2 years and the person he did V-BAC they had previously V-BACed twins with another doctor and before that he didn't do V-BAC's at all. I asked him if he would go on special ON CALL for me. He said that's not how it works. Then I asked him to call up his colleges and ask them if they would do a V-BAC for me. He wouldn't call and ask them. He just told me it wasn't safe. What he meant to say was it isn't convenient!
  He said that if I wanted to V-BAC I would need to been induced to make sure he was there. Anyone who has read ANYTHING on V-BAC's knows that inducing a birth is like a quick ticket to an second C-Section.
     I left the office feeling trapped and pushed into a corner. If he would of only told me that he doesn't do V-BAC's in the beginning. That is nothing that he is comfortable with. Then I would of happily said Thank you for delivering Haley but I am going to have to find a different Dr for this baby. We would of parted on great terms.  Now, I was 35 weeks and I didn't know what to do. Luckily, I posted my frustration on Facebook. I was referred to a person who referred me to the UNT Midwives. I called and they took me in. They accepted my insurance and I continued my birth plan with them. I felt so good about the decision! It was awesome! The office staff was happy and the midwifes were happy. They all treated me like their best friend. They took me under their wing! I was excited again to press forward with my birth plan. No Automatic C-section!
   I started having contractions on Sunday the 24th here and there. When I went to my Midwife appointment on Tuesday they said the baby was really low and my cervix was really soft. They scraped my membranes and told me they didn't think I would make it past tonight. Well, Wednesday morning at 3am I had a SUPER painful contraction. It woke me up and knocked my socks off. My dear sweet mother came over and slept in my bed so I could let Haley sleep in her bed so I could go to the hospital. Well, I got there and they hooked me up and I was having contractions and the baby's heart beat wasn't dropping. I was still only a 2 so they sent me home. Then Thursday morning I woke up having contractions and I started timing them. They went from 10 mins apart to 6 mins apart to 3 mins apart all in 4 hours. I called to see if I should come in. They said are you timing the length of your contractions? I was like OH I didn't know that. They had to last a min too. Well, they were only lasting between 30-55 seconds (the painful part). I thought that it wasn't labor yet. Then everything stopped for like 1 hour and I took a nap. Then I woke up to another painful contraction. We started timing them and they were close together but not the right length. Then I noticed that my stomach area would stay tight longer then the pain. So I called to see if the length part included the unpainful  part of just having a tight stomach. The answer was yes! They told me I could go into maternal observation if I wanted to get checked. I said I wasn't going to go right now but maybe later. I wanted to time the length for an hour. I kept on having gaps in time and intensity and such and it just wasn't working for me. Then at around 11:40 or so I had a super painful contraction that was so bad I was like this HAS to be LABOR even if the time is off. I called my Mom and  she left work and came over to my house. Haley was napping so I didn't have to wake her up. I got to the hospital and they checked me and I was a SEVEN!
   It was labor the whole time! Yay! I was moving on to the Labor and Delivery Floor! The baby's heart beat was staying constant even through the most painful contractions! I was so proud of her! Way to take the contractions! I was going to go natural because if I wanted a V-BAC my chances of it being a success increase without drugs of any kind. I was breathing and making it through. After they decided to break my water my contractions were longer, stronger, and on top of each other. I was getting light headed and I felt like my body was so weak. At 5pm I asked my nurse if it was too late to get an epidural. She said it wasn't too late. Then I asked my midwife if she thought it was okay if I got one. She said that she thinks it would be a good idea. To help my body relax and breathe. She told me if you are going for a V-BAC it isn't good to get one in the beginning stages of labor. I was in transition and that is a good time to get one. I did and let me tell you I loved it. My body was still pumping out the contractions and I went from a 7 to a 10 and had the baby in an hour! That's how well my body was feeding me contractions! Macie Makenzie was born at 6:05pm! We are so happy to have her in our family!
   The recovery has been night and day when comparing to a C-section. I could walk that same night I delivered Macie. I could hold my baby right after delivery!  With a C-section your arms are tied down. You get to watch everyone hold your baby first. Macie was able to hang out with us almost the entire time at the hospital. She only left maybe four times and she came back with in 30-45mins each time. It was a totally different experience and I would choose a vaginal delivery over a C-section any day of the week.

We love you little Macie!! Welcome to our family!!