Kyle's Story- 10 lbs., 9.6 oz.- Hospital VBAC

10 lbs., 9.6 oz.

21 inches

15.5 inch head

Hospital (VBAC)

Mother's Height: 5'5

How was your pregnancy?

Great!  I only gained about 35 lbs and, unlike with my first pregnancy, my blood pressure stayed low.

How did you feel about your upcoming birth? 

I was both excited and nervous.  My first birth experience was a traumatic c-section and I was just hoping to have a more positive birth.

Description of your birth experience:  

Eli Thomas was born via VBAC Friday, October 27th at 12:36 am. He weighed exactly 10 lbs. 9.6 oz. Mike and I are still in awe. Few things in life have struck as more miraculous than Eli's birth. Joseph's birth was a miracle, but in a different way. It was a miracle because he is alive. Eli's miracle was in the way he came out.

I went in to see my midwife, Kathy, on Thursday, five days after my due date. I was 90% effaced, 2-3cm dilated, and sick of being pregnant. I was also starting to get very scared that I was doomed to have another c-section. My cervix had been ‘ready’ for labor for weeks and nobody knew why the baby wasn’t coming.

After much discussion with Kathy, it was decided that we would head to the hospital and take the unorthodox approach (for a VBAC) of breaking my water and starting me on a little bit of Pitocin. Kathy broke my bag of water at 1:30pm. She was amazed at the quantity of amniotic fluid that escaped. At the time, she remarked that maybe my baby wouldn’t be very big after all. My gigantic belly seemed to be mostly filled with water.

At the same time she broke my bag of water, she inserted an internal monitor to measure the strength of the contractions on my scared uterus. I wasn’t thrilled with it, but I accepted it as my alternative to a c-section. If I had wanted an intervention-free birth I would not have chosen a hospital for my delivery. Especially with my c-section history.

While I did get a few nice contractions after breaking my water, the tiny amount of Pitocin Kathy started me on really got things moving. I was impressed with how I handled the contractions. Our doula was wonderful and really coached me through it. I got to about 4cm and then stopped progressing. It was decided to increase the dose a little more. Labor REALLY began in earnest then and when I was about 5-6cm, I knew that I wanted an epidural. It was my instinct and I went with it. I knew the risks, but I also knew from previous experience that my body handled the epidural medication well. In addition, I was tired, nervous, and still sort of expecting my birth to result in a c-section anyway. I figured an un-rushed, well-applied epidural would be a step toward having a less-traumatic surgery. The epidural was great. While I couldn't really get out of bed, I could still move my legs and feel most of my contractions, I could even do kegel exercises. The pain medication just took the bite out of the pain.

After the epidural, labor progressed really well. I could tell I was in transition when I started getting nauseated and feeling the contractions a lot more. I'm grateful I felt these things.

Around 11pm I started pushing. Because I had a lot of feeling in both my legs and bottom, I pushed effectively. At least, I made progress. It was the hardest thing I have ever done physically. To be honest, even while pushing I wasn’t convinced my baby would exit vaginally. I was waiting to stop progressing, or for the baby’s heartbeat to plummet, or something else to happen that would end my labor and result in another surgery. This was probably a defense mechanism. If I ended up with another surgery, I didn’t want it to be accompanied by the emotional trauma of Joseph’s unexpected c-section.

An hour and 10 minutes after starting to push, the baby nurse came in, Mike dawned his ‘catching’ clothes and Kathy told me that there was no turning back. A few pushes later, Eli came into the world in his daddy's arms. After cutting the cord, they immediately put him on my tummy to nurse while I delivered the placenta and Kathy stitched me up (3rd degree tear from a 15.5 inch head). They let Eli nurse before weighing him. He was MUCH bigger than anybody expected him to be and while he nursed, there was lots of speculation as to his size. When they weighed him at 10lbs, 9.6oz the nurse had to do it twice, just to make sure. He passed his some meconium before being weighed, and I wonder how much more that would have added.

For most of my pregnancy, we referred to our little boy as Thomas. Thomas was the name of my maternal grandfather – a very kind man who is dearly missed by anyone who knew him. But when our big guy came into the world, Thomas didn't seem to fit. This baby was his own person. We want him to be kind and intelligent and all the things my grandfather was, but we want him to make his own distinct mark on the world. Eli Thomas seemed to fit perfectly.

In many ways, Eli's VBAC was the one that shouldn't have happened. I had every intervention under the sun, but it was a truly miraculous birth. My midwife told me afterward that if she had had any indication that he was over 10 pounds, there is no way she would have let me deliver vaginally. Yet, she's glad she didn't know. I have a third degree tear, but my recovery is so far MUCH easier than my c-section. Eli's apgar scores were 9 and 9 and he is perfectly healthy.

Our whole family feels incredibly blessed with the birth of our second son. In addition to our skilled midwife and doula, we owe so much to the many, many people who were praying for us and thinking about is. There is no question in our minds that they helped produce our miracle.

How did you feel after the birth (first month)? 

A little sore, but overall pretty good.  Emotionally, I was on a very good birth 'high'.

How did you feel six months after the birth? One year? Now?  

Good.  Eli is 21 months old now and I have started to question why I was induced.  I know that if we are blessed with another child, I will probably homebirth.  But with Eli's pregnancy, I wasn't at a place emotionally/spritually that I could accept homebirth as an option.  Joseph's birth was SO traumatic that all I really wanted from Eli's birth was the opportunity to push him out and regain my power as a woman.  A power I felt I lost when Joe's hearbeat plummeted and they had to cut him out. 

What did you learn from this birth? 

That my body is amazing.  That many doctors/hospitals/nurses define 'normal' in very narrow terms (I was scolded by a nurse at the day after Eli was born for producing such a big baby. Umm. I only gained 35 lbs. and we were both perfectly healthy the whole 9 months.  I was also told that he would be diabetic - he's not- and that I couldn't possibly breastfeed such a large baby - I did.)

Any words of wisdom to impart?  Trust your body.  It can birth your baby.