The Birth of Dexter

 In honor of CBAC (Cesarean birth after a Cesarean) awareness month, I am sharing my CBAC with you all! 

A little background on me, my first birth with my twins was a cesarean. Both were breach position with no room to flip, so I knew early on that I would be having a c-section. My water broke at 36 weeks, and they came into the world in an uneventful c-section a couple hours later!

I had my third child this November in a what most people would call a “failed TOLAC”, but I love the idea of calling it a CBAC. Even though I REALLY wanted my VBAC, my son was absolutely born the way he needed to be born. 

I had dreamed of a “natural birth” ever since my first pregnancy. When I got pregnant with my third baby I researched and read everything I could about VBACs and natural birth. I picked a midwifery practice that had experience with VBACs and had delivery privileges at a local hospital. I was SET.

Then 35 weeks hit and I started to have high blood pressure. I skated by the next several weeks, but I knew that I would most likely need induced with my blood pressures. Despite this, I stayed ever positive that I would get my VBAC. 

On a Saturday, at 39 weeks, 3 days, my blood pressures spiked and I went into the hospital for monitoring. They diagnosed me officially with gestational hypertension. Despite the recommendation from the MFM that we go straight to a c-section, my midwife advocated for me. The OB on the floor was also up for trying a VBAC, so we moved forward with an induction.

At 3am on a Sunday morning the cook catheter was placed. It’s basically two balloons that sit on either side of the cervix and uses mechanical pressure to dilate. 12 hours later at 3pm it fell out and I did a little dance with my nurses and midwife! I was SO excited that things were starting to progress, and was filled with hope that I was going to get my VBAC. I had never experienced contractions or real labor, so I was excited to have the experience and meet my son. At this point I was not consistently contracting on my own, so they put me on the lowest dose of Pitocin. 

I was on Pitocin for about 3 hours. I had progressed to 5cm, but still was not feeling any contractions. Finally, around 8pm my water broke on its own! I went from feeling nothing, to feeling intense contractions about a minute apart. It got serious RIGHT now lol. I worked through the first dozen or so sway-dancing with my husband. They were coming so fast that they were able to take me off Pitocin, and my body took over on its own. I got into the tub as I started to shake uncontrollably. Even though this was intense, I felt encouraged! I thought for sure I was entering transition and my body was doing what it needed. I rocked through the intense pain with each contraction, my hubby and midwife silently supporting me through each one like rock stars. Things were going just as planned!

Then, things started to turn. After 3.5 hours of intense contractions and uncontrollable shaking, I had only progressed to 6.5cm. My blood pressure was incredibly high and it would not come down. I could hear the nurses and midwife discussing concernedly to the side. I asked for the epidural with the hope that it would bring down my blood pressure and help me progress. If an epidural helped me to ultimately have my VBAC, then it was worth it! 

I was thankfully able to rest with the epidural. I slept off and on until about 2am, hopeful that I would soon be able to push my son out and meet him! The nurse started to come in every 10 minutes or so to turn me. She said my son’s heartrate kept dropping, and that changing positions may help it recover. They actually gave me medicine to stop contractions and let him catch up. It still was not enough. The midwife came in and said she had tried everything she knew to help him, and she was out of ideas. She suspected there was an issue with my placenta, because his heart rate drops were random and not timed with contractions. I still I had not progressed past 6.5cm. She didn’t mention going to c-section, but my gut told me this was where we needed to go. 

I decided with my husband that it was time to do a repeat c-section. It was not an emergency yet, but if we waited much longer, it would become one. I wanted to meet my son in a calm environment, with no rush to save either of our lives. My midwife, who had been an amazing labor coach, nodded her affirmation that this was the right course of action. I could tell she was sad on my behalf, that I would not have the VBAC I had worked so hard for, but I felt an intense peace. I had given it my all, and now it was time to set my wants aside for the health of my son. They prepped and wheeled me into the OR. 

The hospital doctors and nurses were amazing. They let me play music on my phone during the surgery to stay calm. My midwife stayed with me through the surgery to provide support to me and my husband and aid in skin-to-skin while they sewed me up. As they pulled my son out, “I Get to Be the One” by JJ Heller played on my phone. It pierced my heart. They held him up for me to see and I began to ugly cry with relief and happiness. After over 24 hours of induction and labor, he was here, healthy and whole.

Right before leaving the OR, I asked hastily to see my placenta. I had heard it looked pretty cool so I wanted to see for myself. The nurse held it up, and my midwife exclaimed, “so that’s why he was distressed!”. Apparently, I had a velamentous cord insertion. My son also came out with his cord wrapped around his arm and leg. He was basically bungie-jumping in my uterus, with a less-then sturdy cord connection. I felt blessed and incredibly lucky that he and I had made it through unscathed. My talented care team took such good care of me, and helped us to make informed decisions. It was a wild ride, but I felt fulfilled and at peace with my birth experience.