I, Michelle Shade, went 15 days past my due date (June 10th) with my second pregnancy in hopes that I would go into labor on my own and try a successful VBAC (vaginal delivery after c-section). Labor never came, so my doctor decided to break my water on June 25th. On June 24th, Drew gave me a blessing. In the blessing he said I needed to have faith in the Lord and in His plan for me. He blessed me with understanding in the days to come of what would happen as I labored - that what was to happen was the Lord's will. He also blessed me that I should trust in my doctors and nurses. I was to have faith. This blessing scared me at first because it made me wonder what would happen, but I prayed for the strength to have faith and understanding and went to bed prepared for what lay ahead.
I got up at 1:00AM on Thursday morning, June 25th. After showering and eating breakfast, Drew and I headed to the hospital to arrive by 2:30AM in order to start my antibiotics for Step B. I had my first bag at 2:30AM and my second bag around 6:30AM.
Doctor Roberts came to check me at 7:00AM. I was 3.5-4 cm dilated and 90% effaced. He stripped my membranes - which was a horrible feeling - and broke my water.
By 7:15AM my contractions started and were about 3-4 minutes apart. By 7:45AM I knew I was ready for an epidural. The nurse came to check me at 8:00AM and I was 6cm dilated. They contacted anesthesia and it took them an hour to come for my epidural. At 9:00AM my mom got to the hospital and I got my epidural - it was heaven sent! I couldn't even feel my contractions. By 10:00AM I was still dilated 6 cm and finally went to 6.5 cm at 11:00AM. The nurse paged my doctor and asked if she could start me on a low dose of pitocin to help me dilate more and he said he wanted to come check me first. So, doctor came at 11:30AM and I was 7-8cm dilated and therefore didn't need pitocin. By 12:30PM I was 9.5 cm dilated. At 2:00PM I was feeling lots of pain again, especially in my left side above my leg so we called anesthesia and they gave me another boost in my epidural. At 2:25, the baby's heart beat fell to 60 BPM and my blood pressure was in the 90/50 range. The nurse immediately had me lay on my left side and gave me oxygen. I was shaken by how quickly things changed and started crying, but the nurse assured me that everything was fine, the baby's heart rate was back up, and it was caused by my low BP that was slowly rising. At 2:40PM it was 101/55 and by 3:30PM it was a normal 129/80 and I got the ok to start pushing.
Dr. Anderson replaced my doctor and checked me again before I started pushing at 3:45pM. I pushed for two hours. The first hour was a breeze because I had the epidural. I pushed 3-4 times per contraction and rested in between contractions. My mom held one leg while nurse Rhonda held the other. Drew helped lift my head and coached me along. We were all working as a great team! By 4:45PM my epidural was wearing off and I started to really feel the pain. At 5:45PM, I was getting ready to push through a contraction and my mom said, "Push as hard as you can," and through tears I said, "I don't want to push too hard because I am afraid my c-section scar will tear!" I had been feeling all of my pain where my previous incision was and it was getting excruciating. When the nurse heard what I said, she high-tailed it to get the doctor. Dr. Anderson came in and checked my progress while I pushed through a contraction. He then said the baby's head wasn't making any progress - it was actually becoming a cone head because it was pressed against my pelvic bone but would not descend into the birth canal because it was too big. It wasn't helping the situation that she wasn't in a favorable position - she didn't have her chin against her chest so the wrong part of her head was bearing down first. He said I could try to labor for another hour and end up even more exhausted with little or no progress, or I could opt for a c-section. He recommended a c-section would be best when considering all factors of my situation. I knew right away that a c-section was the right option. A feeling of peace came over me as I remembered the blessing Drew had given me. I had faith that the Lord had a plan for me and knew what had to happen. I said yes to the c-section and they started prepping me for surgery at 6:00PM.
Things weren't optimal from that point on. I was told before that if I needed a c-section I would be in the OR within 5-10 minutes. Well, I labored for another 40 minutes before the anesthesiologist came to get me. It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I literally felt like I was going to rip apart at my previous incision site. I could barley breathe through the contractions and was not doing well. When they finally came to get me, I was in a lot of pain and just kept my eyes closed. I was pretty out of it. Somehow I managed to move myself from my bed to the operating table. They strapped me down and started prepping me for surgery. They tried numbing me for over a half hour and I could still feel them "testing" the surgical area, so they decided the only option was to put me to sleep. I was already so out of it I just let them put the mask on me and I went off to la-la-land. I woke up in recovery sometime after 8:00PM. Still totally drugged up, I could barely keep my eyes open. About 3 different people told me I had a beautiful, big, healthy baby girl. When I could muster up enough energy, I asked about my baby girl.
Aubree Danielle Shade was born at 7:13PM on June 25th. She weighed 9 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. I later learned from my nurse, who was also in the operating room, that when the doctor opened me up and could see the uterus, it was very see through - you could see Aubree inside with her arm by her face. All the doctor had to do to open the uterus was touch it lightly with the scalpel. That alone makes me feel like I did the right thing by having a c-section. The nurse also said the doctor had to pull her little cone head out of the birth canal and open me up wide in order to get such a big baby out. He also noticed something on one of my ovaries which turned out to be nothing, but at one point he had my uterus on my stomach and just stitched me up over and over again really good to repair all the tissue. No wonder I am so sore!
Aubree was sent right to the nursery. Drew was waiting for her in the hallway with my mom. They were able to take some pictures of her. Then my mom left to get Isabelle from the sitters and Drew went with Aubree to the nursery, where they proceeded to give her her first bath.
Drew is such a proud daddy and is so glad to have a healthy baby! He took good care of Aubree in the nursery until they wheeled me by the nursery window to take a peek at her.
Drew then met me in my room and they wheeled Aubree in a little while later.
I got to breast feed her and hold her for a while. Then I noticed that I was bleeding quite a bit. I rang for a nurse and they sent in a new nurse. She started to change all my padding and another nurse came in to see what was going on. She didn't like the amount of blood she saw and thought it might be leaking from my incision site, which is not a good thing. About three other nurses came in to help and they decided to call my doctor. While he was on the way back to the hospital, the nurses observed me and decided I just needed a pressure bandage and that I wasn't bleeding internally. They called my doctor back and told him he was no longer needed.
Drew then went home to spend the night with Isabelle and my mom came to spend the night with me and Aubree. She was a great help! I was still very drugged up and in pain, so I slept most of the night. My mom "slept" with Aubree on the pull-out couch in my room all night. Aubree never cried and slept most of the night. We spent the morning feeding, holding, and changing Aubree. My doctor came and the pediatrician came. I was given different meds than the ones I had last night because they didn't seem to be working. After that, I was feeling much better.
Drew and Isabelle came to visit around 10:00AM. I was glad to see my husband - it was our 6th Wedding Anniversary on June 26th!
I was glad to see Isabelle, too. When she first walked in the room the only one she saw was me. She said "Mom!" and ran up to the bed. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Aubree. She gave me this look like, "Who the heck is that and why is she laying on you!?" She proceeded to roll her eyes and look the other way for the next while - trying not to acknowledge the baby - acting as if Aubree wasn't there. When we tried to get a family picture, she didn't even want to stand by or be held near the baby.
By the end of her visit, Isabelle had warmed up to Aubree. Isabelle wanted to hold Aubree and also gave her hugs and kisses. I think Isabelle will enjoy having a little sister, but I know it will take some getting used to! As for me, I have loved Aubree for nine months and now love her even more. No, I didn't get my VBAC, but I did get to experience labor and I gave it my best shot. Aubree was worth everything! She is healthy and happy. She really is an alert baby and just loves to look around the room. She likes to suck her hands and stick out her tongue. She feeds all the time and likes skin-to-skin contact. She sleeps best tightly swaddled and she loves to be held. She does not like the hospital pacifier. I think she has my eye shape and has Drew's mouth. She has less hair than Isabelle did at birth and it is a little lighter as well. She has chubby cheeks and is a chunk - not fat and rolly, just solid. We love her to pieces and are so glad she is finally here!
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