Natural Vbac Water Birth Story

I’m so excited to share with you the natural birth story of our second baby, James. His birth was a successful natural vbac water birth after the emergency cesarean birth of our daughter.

If you missed my first birth story {which was horrific} you can find it here. I’m so thankful little Jamie’s birth turned out so differently!

The Last Supper

The day before I went into labor, we had gone shopping to buy freezers and had been gone all afternoon. Since we still had a long drive home, we decided to get something to eat.

It also happened to be our anniversary so it worked out well. Having the 2 1/2 year old in tow might not have been the most romantic anniversary dinner, but I really enjoyed our time together enjoying a special meal. That’s something that we don’t do very often.

All that day, I had been super mucous-ey {sorry for the gross tmi. But hey, its childbirth!}. It was very different than anything I had experienced, even with my first. It was exactly one week from my due date and I was having serious doubts that we’d make it another week with the way things seemed. Especially since I had already been 3 cm dilated at my 36 week appointment.

We got home and got into bed super late by the time we got the toddler in bed. Of course, at the end of pregnancy, you have to tt about a million times a night so I only ended up getting a few hours of sleep.

Contractions Start

I woke up at some point super early in the morning. I don’t even remember why but I probably had to go to the bathroom. Got back in bed and at 5:00 am on the dot I had my first contraction. Right off the bat they were fairly intense compared to the braxton hicks contractions I had been having. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the real deal!

I got up right away as soon as that first contraction hit and started getting the rest of our things together. I also went ahead and woke up my husband, Eric, so he could start getting ready and the car loaded. In hindsight, I’m so glad I didn’t “wait and see”.

My contractions started at 10 minutes apart, compared to 6 minutes apart with my first. I didn’t think there was a super lot of urgency and expected things to take a little while to develop. Boy was I wrong!

I had texted my mom at 5:00 when the contractions started, to let her know what was going on. Also that we’d be leaving shortly to head her way, since they were going to be keeping the 2 year old while we were in the hospital.

The funny thing is, my mom was super paranoid that we wouldn’t make it to the hospital. My last labor would’ve only been about 7-8 hrs long if things had gone right. Since they say your second labor goes faster, she was so worried. It turns out that her concerns were legitimate this time!

Contractions Ramp Up Quickly

Things were going well. Contractions were coming 10 minutes apart and strong enough that I had to stop and breathe through them. We were getting loaded and ready to go. And then, after 5 contractions they went from 10 minutes apart straight to 3 minutes apart!

I called my mom back at 6:15 and told her I thought we would have to meet her at the hospital with Mary Emma because I didn’t think we’d have time to go to her house and then to the hospital. As soon as I said it, I knew that wasn’t going to work at all!

Mary Emma is very sensitive to people who are upset, crying, or in pain. I just knew that she’d melt down and be super upset seeing me in labor. I’m not one of those peaceful laborers that can completely relax and not feel any pain.

As I suspected, Mary Emma lost it as soon as she woke up and saw me. Major, hyperventilating conniption fit crying. It was bad! Thankfully my husband’s aunt and uncle live right next to us. They were gracious enough to come pick Mary Emma up at 6:30 am and keep her until my dad got there.

The contractions were coming super strong and close together. I was already feeling like I needed to push only an hour and a half into my labor! That being as it was, we decided to go to a different hospital that was only about 20 minutes from us. The hospital I had been going to my appointments at that was 45 minutes away, with the potential to get stuck on the interstate if there was a wreck.

Baby In The Car Birth?

No joke, I thought we were about to have a baby in the car! I even made Eric lay out the towels and shower curtain I had bought on the back seat for me to ride on. In hindsight, I didn’t actually know how to push. If I had, Jamie would’ve been born much sooner!

My doula friend came and met us on the road and we decided to try to make it to the hospital where my midwife was. She helped me breath through the contractions and about three-fourths of the way there I told her I thought I had just gone through transition because the contractions changed. Sure enough, the nurse checked me as soon as we arrived at the hospital around 7:30 and I was fully dilated.

James was born during all of the virus mess which made things so much more difficult and unpleasant. A friend of mine had just recently had a baby at the same hospital. She said when she arrived, they put her in a temporary room, checked her temperature, hooked her up to monitors to make sure she was still in labor, and so forth. That nurse who was at the door took one look at me when they opened the car door and yelled for a wheelchair! They look me straight up to labor and delivery and into a room! No hoopla and special procedures when they think a baby is about to be born at the hospital entrance!

The Security Guard Angel

With all of the virus stuff, they were only allowing 2 people to come in the hospital with you. When we arrived, Eric and my doula came. After mama parked her car, she sat outside on a bench and was probably looking pretty upset about not being able to go in. A sweet security guard lady, who was there when we arrived, asked her what she was doing down there. Mama told her that she didn’t think they’d let her go in and that lady told her that she was my mama and that I needed my mama! She personally escorted her in and sent her up to labor and delivery where I was already in the water birth tub.

The security guard being there and getting mama in for the birth reminds me of that show that came on in the 90’s, Touched By An Angel. Did anyone else watch that one? Where the angel was there just at the right time to help someone in need? Well she was our angel and we were definitely in need. I’m so thankful that she was there and helped my mama make it to the birth!

VBAC Water Birth

I really wanted to try a water birth for my vbac. I had heard so many good things about how soothing the water is and what not. I knew that if I didn’t at least try it, I’d regret not knowing for myself. The water part was nice, although I wish Eric had gotten in with me. I didn’t have any support in there and kept sliding down too far into the water. My head was almost going under! I finally asked Eric to come around behind and hold me up which worked a lot better.

There were tons of people in the room while I was giving birth! The only reason I can think of that there were so many people was that I was considered high risk due to being a vbac. There were at least 6 hospital staff in there! They had 2 fetal monitors on my belly and there was a nurse who’s only job was to keep an eye on those monitors. It was rather strange for the room to be so crowded but I was so inwardly focused that I barely noticed anything beyond the midwife and nurse at the side of the tub.

If you haven’t written your birth plan yet, check out this post on all the things you should consider for your birth plan and why you’d even want one in the first place.

Finally Pushing

I thought I had been pushing since we left our house, but apparently not. I’m sure my body was doing the work of getting him down that whole time, but I didn’t know until later that I didn’t actually know how to push. All I knew how to do was breathe through contractions and not push. About an hour after I got in the water, the midwife finally told me that I wasn’t pushing correctly. So she just let me labor that whole time and get exhausted while not even being productive in the birthing process!

She told me how to push, but again, everything she was telling me to do felt even more difficult in the water with no support. I pushed for about 45 minutes and was so exhausted by the end that I really didn’t think I was going to be able to get him out. She finally egged me on for a few ginormous effort pushes and he was out! 9:00 am on the dot. 7 lbs 4 oz of sweet baby boy.

I had told my mom that I thought it would be really neat to be the one to actually catch the baby. She told the midwife that, so I did get to catch him and pull him up out of the water and onto my chest!

Natural VBAC Recovery

It amazes me the difference between a successful natural labor and an emergency c-section. By the next day, I pretty much felt normal. I was up, walking around, fixing my hair, and doing normal things even if I was rather sore. After I delivered Mary Emma, I was on narcotic pain meds. I couldn’t get on and off of the toilet by myself. I really couldn’t do much of anything other than lay in the bed and wait for someone to hand me my baby. There are huge chunks of those first few days and weeks that I don’t even remember!

Chiropractor And The Webster Technique For VBAC

One of the things that I would very strongly recommend, no matter what the reason for your previous c-section, is to find a good chiropractor. It’s good to see them regularly throughout your pregnancy, starting at least about half way through. I especially encourage you to find one who is experienced working with pregnant women and knows how to do the Webster Technique. I honestly think the wonderful chiropractor that I was seeing weekly is the main reason my baby turned from being breech.

My hips and tailbone were out of alignment pretty significantly which is most likely why my baby was breech to begin with. It could also be the reason my first baby didn’t turn either. The adjustments don’t seem like much at all but I’m a believer after this baby turned head down! I also think everything being lined up contributed to such a fast labor.

Even if your baby is already in a head down position, having your pelvis and everything lined up the way it should can only help with the labor process!

Natural VBAC After C-Section

I hope this was an encouragement for you if you’re hoping to have a natural VBAC birth after a cesarean, whether emergency or planned! Although there are reasons to have a repeat cesarean, there are things you can do to help increase your chances of a successful VBAC. Once you’ve experienced labor and birth you definitely have a better idea of what to expect and how to prepare for giving birth.

Newborn and Baby Essentials for a First Time Mom

How To Write A Natural Birth Plan {And Why You Need One} + A Free Template!

Causes Of Low Milk Supply And How To Increase Milk Supply Fast