I call Brandon's mom to come sit with the boys until it is time to take them to Sandy. She comes over immediately, and we head to the hospital. Of course, this is right at rush hour traffic in Houston. When we arrive my best friend Krystil Burney is my nurse. It was great to have a friendly face. She checked my blood pressure and it was fine. I was given an IV with fluids and the head ache subsided. I was contracting every 6 to 7 minutes, but they were not painful. They kept me several hours and released me around 1 pm. I started losing my mucous plug this day since I was contracting so much. That evening my contractions got closer, 3 to 4 minutes apart consistently. They still were not unbearable, so I did not go to the hospital. I contracted all night.
The contractions were gone by the next day, so it was false labor. I was not too disappointed. I was really hoping to go into labor on my own to avoid a c-section. Not because my c-section was bad because honestly I had a great recovery. I was more concerned with my limitations. Not being able to lift the twins out of their crib being my biggest issue. So, I started walking, bouncing on a yoga ball, taking Evening Primrose Oil, eating Pineapple, eating Hot Cheetos, etc. Basically any old wives tale that may put me in labor :) Over the course of the next couple days I lost all of my mucous plug.
On Wednesday 3/13 I woke up at 5 am because Drake had set off his Barney book in his crib. It was playing songs through the monitor. I went to use the restroom and had quite a bit of blood. I went and woke Brandon up saying I think we are having a baby today. His reply, "Am I going to work?" I told him we would wait and see what the next hour was like. I went and called the answering service and explained what had happened. While on the phone I had a painful contraction. They told me I needed to head in and get checked. So, I called my mom and she headed over to sit with the twins until Sandy could get them.
I started to contract regularly while we were waiting on my mom, and OH MY GOSH were they painful. Not like the week before. I was walking through them, breathing, etc. I did not want Brandon to talk to me while I was having one. I told him this better be the real thing because I am not coming home in this kind of pain. I was 39 weeks that day and I would have a c-section before I was willing to be sent home. I was in so much pain. My OB was out of town for spring break, and the one day I could NOT go into labor was Tuesday 3/12. The doctor on call this day will not do VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) When we arrived to the hospital they say they are calling that Dr. I nearly had a heart attack. I asked immediately why that Dr was being contacted. He had 30 minutes left in his shift. Thank goodness. I wanted to at least have the chance to try for my VBAC. They checked me and I was 3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. This was definitely progress since the previous week. The on call doctor that came on at 7 am came in to speak with me. He addressed the VBAC risks, and said he would need to contact my doctor's office because it is not listed in my chart whether my incision is horizontal or vertical on the inside. If it was vertical, I would be having a c-section. Thankfully, he was told it was horizontal and we were given the go ahead. So, he told me I had to have an epidural immediately because he wanted to place a monitor on the babies head to be able to tell how strong the contractions are and we would know immediately if something happened and I needed a c-section. Sounds good to me, I am NOT trying to be superwoman here :) He also ordered that my water be broken to speed up the process. This was all decided by 9 am. I got my epidural, which was easy. I had no issues with it when I had it for my c-section, so I was not worried. We waited until noon for the doctor to break my water and place the monitor. They got busy, and it felt like forever waiting. I especially wanted this process to pick up the pace because the following day was my nephew Aiden's 3rd birthday. I really wanted them to have their own birthday's and not have to share.
At noon I was still dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. So, the doctor ordered pitocin. At first, I completely stressed out because my OB had told me several times I could not have pitocin. So, I talked to him about it before consenting and he said pitocin could not be used to start my labor, but could be used once I was in labor. I consented to having the pitocin.
I was exhausted in the afternoon. I slept most the afternoon!
They checked me at 3:00 and I was 6 cm dilated and I have no clue what the effacement was. I had a head ache throughout the day that was not getting better. They were scared to give me Tylenol since I had not eaten. They thought it would make me throw up.
They checked me at 5:40 and I was 9.5 cm and fully effaced. They said the baby was still at a -2 station meaning he was very high. The doctor said he would check back in 20 minutes. So, at 6:00 the nurse checked me and I was 10 cm and ready to push. The nurse called and let the doctor know we were going to be practice pushing. She told me be prepared to push for an hour.
I had Brandon, my nurse, and my birth session photographer in the room for delivery. I pushed one time, and the nurse told me I had them fooled. She was able to see his hair on the first push. I pushed a second time and she was able to see most of his head. She told me to stop she was calling the doctor. I sat up and told them it was so hard to push with a head ache. I felt like my brain was going to come out my ears. As soon as I finished my sentence I asked for a bed pan. The nurse and Brandon were standing by me holding it. I threw up 3 times, and heard "Oh my god, we have a baby!" from the nurse. Apparently Luke had made his way into the world while no one was looking! We were all in complete shock. He was out from near his elbows up. I had no idea what to do. I told her I would not push anymore. She laughed and told me go ahead. He came right out, and started crying on the bed. Mind you, the bed was not even broken down as a labor and delivery bed where the bottom is taken off. The nurse had Brandon press the "Staff Assist" button above my head. Immediately several nurses rushed the room. They took Luke over to the warmer and started doing his assessments. I was so excited to see his rolls! The doctor made his way in a couple minutes later. He was very understanding about the situation. He was the one I delivered my placenta with, and he sewed me up from the tear that Luke gave me.
Luke Arthur Olive
3/13/13
6:09 pm
8lb 7 oz
19.5 Inches
Our Family
On his way home :)
All in all, I had an amazing VBAC experience. Total labor was 13 hours. My recovery has been absolutely perfect. Breastfeeding is going really well. When Luke was disharged he weighed 7 lb 14 oz. The twins had a hard time in the hospital, but I expected that. They are terrified of their pediatrician's office. So, the hospital freaked them out. Once we got home, they adjusted perfectly. They adore their baby brother. They ask for him as soon as they wake up, and ask to hold him. They tell me to "Shhhhh" if he is asleep.
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