I had to try (gracie part 1)

Back in January, I shared Miss Rose's birth story with you in honor of her birthday on January 26. I had planned to share Gracie's birth story shortly after to lead up to the birth story of #3. I started this post, but never completed it. When I went back to find it, I found that I started it around 8am, the morning of January 28. I must have decided to kill some time before my doctor's appointment that day, following my stopped labor the night before. Once I left for the doctor that morning, I didn't come home for three days because Lily was born that afternoon!

In the fullness of life adjusting to our three-ring circus, I've never gone back to finish it, until now. I think I'll always love reading birth stories, so I hope you enjoy this one. It's long...so I'm doing it in two installments.

Here's Miss Rose's Story.

I always knew I didn't want my children too far apart. My brother and I are 18 months apart and before having children 18-24 months seemed like a great spread! But my mom was able to stay home full-time with us, and I am a working mom. When Miss Rose was 9 months old, I realized I'd have to get pregnant to have an 18-month spread--and that thought was absolutely crazy! If I was a stay at home mom, it would have been a different story.

When Miss Rose was around 2 we (I!) started planning our second child. I finally got Bean on board. He thought "one and done" was great. Typical man! When Miss Rose was 2.5 we got pregnant in our second month of trying. This pregnancy was definately different. I was pretty sick the first trimester.

I spent a lot of time reading and researching vaginal birth after c-section (VBAC). I was still disappointed that I had needed a c-section with Miss Rose because she was breech. I felt that I was a pretty good candidate for a VBAC as my c-section had not been related to problems with labor. I even switched doctors at 30-weeks in favor of a doctor who was more supportive of VBAC's and gave me better care.


One of the main risks of a VBAC is uterine rupture, where the uterus opens up at the point of the previous scar and can even tear beyond that. Initially, this situation is more dangerous for the baby than the mom. But most research I found said that if you went into labor on your own, the chances of this happening were 1%.

Going into this, I knew that I could not be induced, would not have my labor augmented and would require constant monitoring. The biggest factor in my deciding to try a VBAC was my faith in God. I knew there were risks involved, but I trusted God to lead me (and Bean) in our decisions. I trusted God to lead our doctor and nursing staff when the time came. And I determined to not be stubborn and trust the medical staff as well. Sure I wanted a vaginal delivery, but more importantly I wanted a healthy baby.


Because going into labor on my own was crucial to trying a VBAC, I did as much as I could to encourage my body. Starting around 37 weeks, I walked and bounced on an exercise ball, I got on my hands and knees and cleand floors, I did squats and lunges and I used Evening Primrose Oil. I did not try castor oil however!


I worked up until my due date, since I mostly sit at a desk. I had all my responsibilities covered though, as I waited for the baby to come. On my due date, April 4, 2007, I wasn't feeling very energetic and I decided to stay home. It was a Wednesday and at that point I was overseeing our Junior High Ministry and it was youth group night. Early in the day I thought I'd rest and go to youth group that night. In the afternoon though, I wasn't feeling great so I decided to stay home.

My sister-in-law was over for dinner that night and we were also sharing a house with my parents, so there were lots of people around. I remember while I was visiting with my sister-in-law that I was having a few contractions that caused me to catch my breath. She actually noticed and mentioned it to me, even though I was trying to minimize it--not wanting to get my hopes up.


I wasn't too hungry and the emptying of my bowels had begun. I decided to lay down in bed while the family ate dinner. Bean came in to check on me sometime after 6. I had a strong contraction just then, accompanied by a pinching feeling in my lady parts. Then a popping feeling and a small gush. I told Bean- "I think my water broke" and he froze.

I had to coach him to help me get out of the bed and get towels because as soon as I stood up, Niagra Falls proceeded to flow from me. He helped me to the bathroom, where the flow continued. Of course the house became frenetic as he quietly announced what was going on. We didn't want to alarm Miss Rose who was just over three years old. My contractions picked up in intensity and frequency.

Bean made a few necessary phone calls, including to the youth pastor I worked with, even though it was the middle of youth group. He happened to be making some announcements to the students and when he saw Bean was calling, decided to take the call. So all the students found out that our baby was on it's way!

Our good friend and my co-worker would come pick Miss Rose up a short time after we left. As we were leaving Bean ran into the house to grab an extra towel. When Miss Rose asked him what it was for he said "mama has a little juice coming out of her." While at our friend's house, Miss Rose decided to tell her 18-year-old son's friends that "my mama had juice coming out of her." Definately a story for the baby book!


And so we were off to the hospital....

Stay tuned.

Not meshing (gracie part 2)