[ltehrani]

When I found out that I was pregnant with my second baby I knew that the only way that it would be possible for me to deliver her would be via VBAC. I had a very traumatic first birth experience of being induced at 41 weeks, enduring 28 hours of labor that ended in a very complicated C-section. The thought of going back to that operating room was more than I could handle not to mention the deep yearning to experience natural childbirth.
So, my 40th week was approaching with nothing happening. 1 cm dilated but no effacement. I was so disappointed. I thought that there was a very high chance that yet again I wouldn’t go into labor on my own and would have to have a c-section in my 41st week. Well, 3 days before my due date I woke up at 3am with cramps that kept coming every 3 to 5 minutes. I told my husband I really think that I am in labor after 2 hours of it not letting up. I didn’t want to get too excited so we decided to wait till a decent hour to call my doctor. I also knew that if indeed I was in labor I wanted to stay home as long as possible to try to have as little medical intervention as possible, increasing my chances of a successful VBAC.
At 9am I called my Doctor and he told me to drink a lot of water in the next hour and if the contractions don’t go away to go to the hospital. My Mom and I went for a long walk, I drank a lot of water and the contractions were still there. I got home to tell my husband we should get going to the hospital when the contractions went away. I was so upset. I thought that it was false labor. My Mom and husband suggested we go for lunch to distract me. The second we started walking the started again and never stopped. After lunch we walked some more and at 3pm the contractions were becoming quite intense so we went to the hospital.
When we got to the hospital they checked me. I was 2 ½ cm dilated and 80% effaced. I was ecstatic! I told them I wanted to try to have a natural birth so that I could move around as much as possible which I did. I walked the hallways, used the birth ball, went on all fours, then the pain got to be more than I could handle after 18 hours of labor already. I wanted the epidural. My Doctor checked me and I was 3 cm dilated and 100% effaced. He wanted me to be 4 cm before getting the epidural so I got in the shower. That shower saved me and made it possible for me to endure another hour. After that hour I was 4 cm and got my epidural. I was then able to rest which I really needed to get my strength to push. I didn’t allow myself to get too excited because with my Son I never got past 7 cm so I didn’t know what would happen this time.
After resting for a couple hours I was progressing really well and started to feel such a strong sensation down below like I had to go to the bathroom right away. I couldn’t believe it! I knew this meant that I was going to have this baby naturally. My epidural had started to wear off and they didn’t want to top me off so that I could feel the pushing which was incredible and exactly what I wanted. I wanted to feel that miracle and it was the most incredible experience of my entire life. I pushed with all my might, with all my maternal power. It was such a spiritual moment for me. That feeling of my baby coming out and that it was my body that was doing it. I must have pushed well because 20 minutes later my beautiful daughter Kaelin Eve was born at 3:11am on March 17th, two days before my due date.
Nothing in my life will ever compare to this experience. Deb, you were a source of great support and inspiration to me during my pregnancy. I thank you for your continued encouragement. It was such an empowering experience to know that I could give birth the way I dreamt of, one that I will always carry with me.