After 2 years of being MIA on this blog, we are happy to announce a new addition to the family, baby Carrot (a.k.a. baby C)! Read along for how we prepared for a natural VBAC at our local hospital, how it went and more!
The mindset for a natural VBAC
If you haven’t read up on our first birth story of baby G, please go check it out! I mean, it was quite a wild (and long) ride. It eventually ended up in a Cesarean that I have no regrets about, but I definitely wanted a different outcome the next time around.
This time, we decided to give ourselves the best chances for a vaginal birth without an epidural. It was an attempt to avoid the risks associated with repeated C-sections, as well as minimizing any interventions that might lead towards it.
As people on the Internet say, there is no trophy for a natural birth, nor for a VBAC. But I can honestly say, I was so darn proud of myself when I did it! But looking back, it was all in the Sovereign hands of my Lord and my God!
The labor day
Okay, I know you came here for, the Birth Story, so here it is!
It was just another night with my huge pregnant belly. I was in week 36, and 3 days along. That evening, I decided to bake a random almond flour cake recipe with much improvisation (not recommended). Anyways, toddler G loved the icing and majority of the cake was sent to the fridge. The next time I would have a slice from it was few days after (I think you’ll know why).
Tell me about contractions!
At 11pm, it was finally bedtime for toddler G. As I stayed in his room leaning on my exercise ball, I found myself having 3-4 painless contractions before G fell asleep.
The frequency of contractions got me thinking that maybe something is coming. Maybe this is the beginning of another prodromal labor marathon. At this point, I took a Tylenol Extra Strength to take the edge off any coming pain. Also I took some gravol, a motion sickness tablet to get some sleep.
My husband helped me with double-hip squeeze through one contraction surge when it got a bit more intense, and went to bed to get some rest.
A serene labor process at home without epidural
It was about 2am. I was alone in the living room and started intentionally coping with natural methods with each surge of intense sensations (in hypnobirthing terms). While on my knees leaning on the couch, I read through a bit of a parenting book. Next I switched to watching videos of baby G to keep my oxytocin going.
At about 3 am I got in touch with my doula Sarah. She advised me to keep tracking the contraction frequencies, get in a bath and stay hydrated.
Wake up! It’s time!
Around 4 am some bloody show appeared while I was in the water (Yep, it was not quite 37 weeks at this point!) . Soon after, the contraction tracking app told me it was time to go to hospital.
All that was mostly a relief than alarming. I cannot believe this IS the big day and no prodromal labor marathon this time, I excitedly thought.
I let out the loudest scream I could from the bath tub and hoped my hubby could hear me from his deep sleep, WAKE UP! WE HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!
Transitioning to the hospital
The next hour was a lot of scrambling. Our new baby carseat was still brand-new-in-box so my still-sleepy hubby unboxed and installed it. Along with the hospital bag, which was a huge suitcase, he packed some extra pillows, blankets and towels.
It seemed like over another 3-4 surges, hubby gently woke Toddler G up, packed his change of clothes and brought G to the car. By God’s grace my night owl mother-in-law was able to pickup the phone at 5am and ready to watch Toddler G before the sun came up.
Our doula Sarah met us at the hospital around 6am, with the comb I so dearly needed at the moment for some acupressure in my hand. She was also there for me when my hubby had to walk away to re-park the car. The hands-on support through transitioning between beds and advocating for me in the hospital setting was invaluable.
During this time I tried to do slow breathing, listened to my labor playlist of hymns and hypnobirthing recordings, and visualized walking in the nearby forest, feeling waves at a beach, etc.
The final stretch (literally)
When my hubby joined us again in the delivery room, he and Sarah took turns to give me counter-pressure hip squeezes. I loved the strong hip squeezes since my last labor experience and hubby was so glad this time he got some help.
One variable in birth that I was anxious about was possible a Group B strep (GBS) presence that routinely calls for antibiotics during labor. By the Lord’s grace, we got the GBS negative result in the delivery room. So if a natural birth happens, baby can benefit from all the good bacteria through the birth canal.
Near 7 am, I was feeling shaky in my confidence for a natural VBAC attempt. Would my current breathing relaxation technique adequate to sustain me further without an epidural? I tried to discuss my options with my hubby, Sarah the doula and the OB doctor in the room. The doctor said I was doing really well and baby will probably be out before the anesthesiologist could make it.
They were proven right. At 7:21am, after maybe 3-4 pushes, baby C was born with the strongest cry a newborn could give.
God’s provision for our natural VBAC experience
I have to say that this redeeming birth experience would not haven been possible without the Lord providing me with an amazing team.
I cannot thank the Lord enough for my hard-at-work hubby throughout the process. Doing all the heavy-lifting, driving around, as well as hids unconditional support he so graciously provided.
I am so thankful to have our amazing doula Sarah Rioux to walk along-side us from pregnancy to birth and postpartum.
Better Birth Stories is where I took my online hypnobirthing course and got my recordings from for listening while I take my many walks during pregnancy. I definitely recommend it!
To connect the mental work of hypnobirthing to the nervous system in my body, I found the sessions at Bespoke Therapy with Karen has been super helpful! With the practices during the sessions, I realized that I can actually turn off the pain signal in my brain. That experience was just so empowering that gave me a new level of confidence for going through labor.
