one year ago today...

Has it already been a year? Really?!? That went by wayyyyy too fast!
I have been so emotional this weekend, and as I go into today, I feel just this swirl of excitement, nostalgia, gratitude, and sheer thrill. Will I get any sleep tonight? I just can't stop remembering...

Here's the timeline of my birth, which I am so thankful that my doula recorded for me!

5:45ish, at sunrise I woke up to the pop of my water breaking. I rushed to the bathroom and sat on the toilet just in the nick of time for the full gush. I was actually quite perturbed at first. I did not want to labor without my water! I woke Marco and told him we need to clean the house.
6am I call my doula and tell her, but contractions really haven't started yet.
6:40 I text her back saying contractions have started, if she could start to get ready to head out to my house.
7am my dear friend Andrea shows up and I'm taking a quick shower.
7:05 my husband calls my doula Tonya to come, things are picking up and he's nervous. :)
7:25am Tonya arrives, Marco is timing my contractions which are about 4 minutes apart and 40 seconds long.
7:45 Marco's family arrives to watch the older 3 and I retreat to the bedroom to avoid too much of an audience.
By 8am all the kids have woken up and we are getting ready to head up to Denton. I didn't want to go to the hospital, but didn't want to labor with so many people in the house, so we decided to head to the park close to the hospital to walk.
About 9ish am we stop by the hospital just to use the bathroom. I walk in happily and smiling so the security guard won't know I'm in labor, lol. I am not ready to be there yet...
Something I remember quite vividly walking out of that hospital was the absolute awe of what my body was doing. It was incredible and I remember feeling so grateful to get to labor. And the presence of God was so thick. I teared up a few times, but had to force myself to focus on the task at hand. I tell myself there would be plenty of time in the future to shed those tears of joy and thank God for his faithfulness to me!
We get to the park and I start to feel really nauseous. Yay, transition! This sucks. So thankful, but it's getting harder to stay relaxed. We hardly get any walking in and I start throwing up (I swear I got an extra centimeter dilated right there, lol!)
We arrive at the hospital at about 10am, get to my room, try to potty but couldn't because I could feel he was sooooo low.
Shortly after I get checked and I'm thrilled to hear I'm already 10cm, completely effaced, and 0 to +1 station. YAY!!!
Pushing was HARD. Nothing could prepare me for that. I wasted about an hour or so pushing in a position that just would not work because I just could not make myself move. My doula told me later she thought subconsciously I just needed everything to slow down a little, to let me brain wrap around the idea that I WAS doing this! I think she was right, it was all happening so fast!
11:05am my doula, and doctor finally convince me I can move so I turn around over the back of the bed. I immediately feel him descending.
11:34am Sergio Emanuel Perez is born! I DID IT! He weighed in at 6lbs 7oz and 18.5 inches long.

My triumphant birth forever changed me. Next to my salvation in Christ it is the most redemptive, healing experience I have ever been blessed to have. I am forever grateful to my God, my healer and strength, to my amazing husband, who was so incredibly supportive and endured my not-so-fun pregnancy with me, to my doula and now treasured friend Tonya, I could not have done this without you, and to my other dearly treasured friend Andrea, whose presence there gave me so much support and strength.

Happy birthday sweet baby boy. And happy VBAC day to me!

VBAC after Inverted T!

Another mama in from the special scars special women support group had a VBAC after inverted T incision!!
This is an incredible birth story in so many different ways. I am amazed at the human body, it's power, it's capacity, it's endurance. We certainly are "fearfully and wonderfully made!!"
After being dilated fully for 20 hours, this mama brought forth her baby with incredible tenacity. While I don't know her, and she lives all the way on the other side of the world, I am so blessed to have been able to "witness" this on facebook and participate with my prayers, well-wishes, and positive energy. She is such an inspiration and I hope you read her complete birth story here!
http://doulamomma.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/the-birth-of-stella-rose-home-water-birth-after-inverted-t-cesarean/

ACOG revises its VBAC policies

While I am uber excited to see this released, and think it's LONG overdue, it's just a start at the work we have to do!
I'm hoping doctors everywhere are paying attention and planning to give their patients the very best shot at VBAC!
Here are some great links to check out and get the scoop!
http://blog.ican-online.org/2010/07/21/ican-responds-to-new-acog-guidelines-on-vbac/
http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr07-21-10-1.cfm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38349267/ns/health

Special Scars, Special Women

I just wanted to make sure to highlight this fantastic yahoo-based support group (that I just so happen to have been asked tonight to help moderate, yay!).
I joined this group for women with atypical cesarean incisions like mine when I was planning my VBAC and got so much information and support here. The members are awesome, the leader is a fabulous source of facts and statistics, and I am so blessed to be a part of this.
I have become quite passionate about VBACing in general since my own, but especially for women who either have been given a non-transverse scar, or have be sectioned so many times that no one wants to touch them other than to slice them open again. I just think it's so amazing our bodies' incredible resilience to heal, and believe that women should get to chose how to birth their babies.
More attention needs to be given to the issue of VBACing after special scars, more studies and statistics need to be compiled, and more OBs and midwives need to make themselves available to give mothers a shot at VBACing.
I still feel blessed to have crossed paths with the right people who led me ultimately to the supportive OB who gave me my VBAC. If I can be a part of spreading the message that *IT CAN BE DONE*, I feel I pay forward the blessing that I received.
So, if you or anyone you know has had an inverted T, classical, low vertical, J, or upright T incision, please pass along the following link! (It's also under my VBAC resources to the right)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Special_Scars-Special_Women/?yguid=347970953

Baby M's birth

I became a traveling doula to help my dear sis have her baby and turned it into a mini vacation to spend some time with family in my home town.
I have to say, my sis is so awesome, and one of the strongest women I know! She delivered baby M at 41 weeks, and had a great Hypnobabies birth. Other than a touch of pitocin just to get her labor going, it was completely drug free! Dad was a great support too, very involved and attentive, doing anything he could to help! They worked together as a great team!
Induction started with my sis already at 5cm, so the tiniest bit of pitocin was used. After she got to 6cm, the drip was stopped and her body did the rest on it's own. Baby had some slight positioning issues and a nuchal hand, but nothing that caused too much of an issue. Baby M was born at 3:11am on July 8th weighing in at 7lbs 14.9oz, and 18 3/4 inches long.
His birth is not the first birth I have attended, but this was the first that actually counted toward my certification. It was great to put into practice all the new tricks I've learned from my training and get to see the benefits!
It was such a blessing to get to be a part of this birth! Pics soon to come!

My Inspiration

See that picture up there? *big smile* That is my inspiration. I fought so hard to have my dream birth, I climbed a huge mountain, and I conquered it!!
That picture was taken right after the delivery of my VBAC baby. To be exact, my VBA3C after inverted T. Want to know what all that means? Read my birth story under the May 2010 archives!
I did not gain that victory alone. I surrounded myself with an incredible support team. A *truly* supportive provider, an amazing husband, a wonderful friend, and an incredible doula. I should also credit my Bradley class instructor for equipping me with the great information I would need to make this birth a reality, and my amazing chiropractors who made sure I was in my best "shape" to deliver. I could not have done it without any of them.
Which leads me to my inspiration. I know what it's like to walk away from a birth feeling scarred and broken. And I believe that every momma deserves a birth she can remember and treasure for the rest of her life. Her birth memories should make her heart smile. That's my goal as a doula. To help mommas achieve their very best birth experience so they can fondly look back on it and smile!
Every baby only gets *one* birth. Both of you deserve that birth to be the best it can be!

My VBA3C after inverted T birth story

My VBA3C after inverted T birth story
After 3 very traumatic c-sections, we were quite surprised that I was pregnant again! Since I had been told that my only option was to deliver by cesarean, we did not plan to get pregnant again. After the initial shock passed, and desperate for a better delivery, I began to seek out options. I was referred to an OB by a group of midwives who told me "if anyone will give you a chance to VBAC, this doctor will". You see, my first c-section was an Inverted T, literally an upside down T incision I was given when my breech baby was stuck in the birth canal. This increased my risk of uterine rupture, which is why so many doctors had told me "NO" to VBAC. But wow, I finally had some real hope!!
Long story short, after a great consult with my new OB, we went forward with plans to VBAC. We knew that the risk of uterine rupture was higher, but carefully weighed that risk with the risks of another section, the potential complications given my history, and the recovery time it would require, and decided to go for it!
I gave it my all to prepare for this birth. I took childbirth classes, hired a doula, and got chiropractic treatment to help with positioning for birth. I joined support groups including a local ICAN, read and researched everything I could get my hands on, and wrote an excellent birthplan. I wanted to do everything in my power to set myself up for the very best chances of success. That way, if for some reason another c-section was required, I could be at peace with that, and I would know that I had done everything in my power, so it apparently was just not meant to be.
Labor started at dawn on Sunday morning, August 16th, when my water broke at about 5:45. Contractions started about 30 minutes after. Labor was great. I was amazed at the incredible work my body was doing to birth my baby. I teared up a couple of times during my labor while reflecting on the fact that I really was doing it!!
At 10:30 am, we arrived at the hospital, fully dilated!! Sergio Emanuel was born at 11:34 am, weighing in at 6lbs 7oz, 19 inches long. He was beautiful, and healthy, and I DID IT!! I BIRTHED this baby! I held my beautiful, vernix-covered, VBA3C after inverted T precious baby boy! Thinking about it today still makes my heart smile!