Lynette's Story- 9 lbs., 3 oz.- HBAC

9lbs, 3oz 

21 inches

Home Birth
 
Mother's Height: 5' 6"

 
My Pregnancy: Physically I was pretty good, although I suffered from anemia quite a bit due to an inability to tolerate pre-natal vitamins. So, I didn't get any excercise and was tired a lot, also couldn't sleep and had a lot of muscle spasms. At least it wasn't morning sickness : )
 
How did I feel about the upcoming pregnancy? Although I wanted a second child very much, I was scared to death about the upcoming birth. My first was born with an unplanned cesarean, and I was terrified. I spent a lot of the pregnancy depressed, mostly because of the fear of birth in retrospect. Because I didn't gain a lot of weight in the beginning of the pregnancy and because the ultrasounds had shown her to be small for age, I had myself convinced that my baby would be petite, unlike her brother that was 8lbs., 12 oz. and 2 weeks early. The pregnancy was just stressful. We moved. I was always fatigued. I was scared. The 20 week ultrasound showed a cyst in her brian that could indicate a genetic disorder, that if present would mean she would never see 5 years old. There were none of the other indicators though, and we decided to forego further testing, as nothing therapuetic could be done except terminate the pregnancy anyway. Despite protests from family and friends and grudging support of my husband, I decided to VBAC at home.
 
The Birth Experience:

The birth was awesome. I have to say it was one of the best things in my life. It was difficult. And in the middle I clearly remember wondering why I had wanted to do this. That I could have had an elective c (since I'd had the first by cesarean) and didn't have to feel any of this. I could have told the midwife that I wanted to quit (getting into the car and sitting there while being driven to the hospital would have been another story) but I couldn't bring myself to tell my husband that after I had petitioned so hard for the home birth. And it only took 9 hours (I got up at 3am and was holding the baby at 12 pm). I only pushed for 45 minutes according to the midwife, but I didn't remember it being that long. It seemed like I only pushed a few minutes.
 
The baby came out with her hands up by her head, protecting her beautiful face, I assume : ) I did have some tearing. but that made her big head, even bigger! She wasn't as chubby as her big brother, but when I see a 6 lb newborn they look so impossibly small, as neither of mine were ever that small when I could hold them. 
 
How did you feel six months after the birth? One year? Now?

Immediately after the birth I was exhausted but exultant. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to vaginally birth, regardless of the child's size. But I did, and the second the baby was out, I thought, okay that wasn't so bad. Now, because I was so out of shape, I need to lay down. Of course I needed to birth the placenta and get a few stitches and a shower, but I was ready to relax.
 
The next 2 weeks were difficult. More difficult than the first two weeks after the cesarean, honestly. I couldn't sit comfortably, and I couldn't stand for much more than 10 minutes without discomfort. It took a while to heal. The fecal and urinary incontinence were also very demoralizing. But they healed, just more slowly than I would have wanted.
 
At 6 months out, I'd definitely say the vaginal birth was way more healed than the cesarean. I felt back to normal! I had muscle tone in my abdomen (which I didn't have with the cesarean) and things were pretty much back to normal physically.
 
What did you learn from this birth?

I learned that there is no easy way out of being pregnant : ) Some people are lucky and have easy births, but I think for most of us, it is a big deal. I was glad the midwife didn't mention the size of the baby to me before I had the birth. It may have just added to my worries. But in the end, I don't think even if she was smaller it would have made a big difference. The hard part was getting to the pushing, and then the rest was easy. Having supportive care providers is essential. They make all the difference in the world.
 
Any words of wisdom to pass on? 

Trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Birth where you feel the most comfortable, and trust in a higher power. Sometimes things are not in our control. We have to make the choices we feel are best, and then learn to accept everything else. There is nothing else we can do. And birth, and the rest of our lives, have a tendency to play out a differently than our plan. It just is. 

Oh, and exercise. I really think that makes a world of difference. I wish I had been more active.