Well into the 3rd trimester...

It looks like it's been about 2 months since I have posted, so I am way overdue for an update! I am now well into my 3rd trimester at over 31 weeks and am feeling pretty good overall so far. I just recently started to feel that "uncomfortable" stage, especially at night as it is hard to get into a comfortable position. Usually this is how I feel the entire last month of pregnancy but this is starting a little bit early. I guess that goes with the territory when you are pregnant with your 4th child!

Of course I've been getting lots of the usual comments and questions that also goes with the territory... on our trip out to VA for Thanksgiving (yes, we drove 18 hours to VA with three small children and a pregnant woman, and we survived!!) an eldery man in the parking lot made a comment... he looked in our car and asked, "You've got three children back there, eh?" then looks at me and adds, "and you're expecting another? Have you figured out how that works yet?" I wanted to say, "No sir, could you please explain it to us so we can make it stop?!" Of course I just laughed and said, "Yeah, we've figured it out!" Everyone has an opinion... of course with the Duggars in the news lately, we get the questions about whether or not we are stopping at 4 or going for a record... I don't understand why 4 children is such a big number, but hey, maybe that's just me! For the record, no, we don't know if 4 is the magic number, only God knows that. Plus, a lot depends on whether or not I am successful with this VBAC. I want to believe with all my heart that I will be, but again, that's all in God's hands. Of course I am still continuing on with my preparations as much as possible. Unfortunately, things didn't work out with our Bradley classes... long story that I won't get into, but I am still preparing with Bradley methods by reading books and getting advice from my amazing, wonderful doula! She has been invaluable to us. If anyone is considering a natural birth, please, please, please hire a doula! You will never regret it!

Everything is progressing quite well with my OB visits and everything seems to be normal. Dr. C has always commented that the baby has a nice strong heartbeat and everything looks great. Now that I am in my 3rd trimester I am seeing him every 2 weeks, and then the last month I should be going weekly through my due date (and beyond if necessary!) Just so everyone knows, my "due date" is just an estimated date, not an expiration date... I have about 8 weeks until my due date, but I am fully prepared to go 2 weeks beyond that if needed. I want to give this baby every opportunity to show herself to the world when she is good and ready!

I have been reading several books in preparation for this birth. One of the books I just finished is by Henci Goer, called "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth." I have to say this book is fabulous and a MUST read for every first time Mom who is pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant. I wish I had read this before having my first child! It actually made me a little angry as I read it and realized how UN-necessary my first c-section was! One thing I learned is that an epidural can cause a fever in the mother, especially if it has been in a long time. When I was induced with my first, they immediately gave me the epidural, and I didn't go into full labor for about 11 hours... so it was in for 11 hours and then once it came time for me to push, the epidural caused me to have a fever, which it was immediately assumed that I must have an infection if I have a fever, so straight to the OR I went. When in reality, it was probably just a side effect of the epidural and not an infection at all. I wish I had known that before!

I will post more soon, but I just wanted to give an update on how things are going. Happy to be in the homestretch!

Let's start with a dream

In my last update, I forgot to mention a dream I had recently that pretty much sums up this whole journey to VBAC experience so far. I had a dream that I was sent to the hospital for "observation." I wasn't in labor yet though. For some reason, my Doctor was not available to see me, so who did they put in his place? My old OB who did all 3 of my c-sections!! I kept saying over and over again, "But I'm not in labor, I need to go home!" She kept insisting that I stay and be monitored. She strapped me down and kept saying that I needed to have a c-section! I was sweating bullets trying to figure a way out of that hospital!! Somehow I escaped... but I woke up seriously freaking out!

I think that really does sum up what many women in my position are feeling when they start this journey of attempting a VBAC. I think we feel like there are so many obstacles to overcome, the biggest one being the medical community. I am NOT anti-hospital or Doctors... I plan to birth in a hospital with a Doctor. But I do feel that the medical community as a whole needs to wake up to the reality of what is going on around them. The c-section rate is climbing every day, and it is not out of necessity, it is out of convenience! The World Health Organization says that there should be no more than 15% c-sections if all c-sections were done out of absolute medical necessity... yet the numbers have climbed well over 30% in many hospitals, some reaching as high as 50-60%! That number is astronomical to me! Unfortunately, the hospital I delivered my first three children in had a very high c-section rate. I wish I had been armed with that information before heading into my first pregnancy. There is so much I wish I had known when I first started out! This is why I feel so strongly about sharing my experiences in hopes that it will help someone out there to make wise choices for themselves instead of Doctors making those choices for them.

So here are some of the things that I am doing to make sure I have the best possible chance of having a successful VBAC:

1. Find a supportive Doctor. I truly believe this is the most important thing you can possibly do! If this is your first time pregnant, you have to be diligent about researching Doctors, asking around for recommendations and ask tons of questions when you first meet that Doctor! Don't be afraid to ask questions! Find out what their induction and c-section rate is.. if they are hesitant to answer, run as far as you can!! If you are at all interested in having a natural birth, choose a hospital and Doctor that are known for being more "pro-natural." I think if I had to do this all over again, I would've also considered using a Midwife. I think either a Doctor or Midwife is a great choice, as long as they are not known for pushing inductions and c-sections. If you are pregnant after one or more c-sections, you MUST have a Doctor or Midwife that is pro-VBAC. Don't just take their word for it if they say "Oh yeah, I'll let you have a trial of labor and TRY for a VBAC." There is a good chance, they won't in the end. Sorry to be cynical, but this is just the plain truth. Find out from your local ICAN chapter which Doctors are pro-VBAC, and choose wisely. For me, I didn't have a choice. My Doctor is the ONLY Doctor in all of Texas and really all of most of the U.S. who will do a VBAC after 3 c-sections. He is only one of TWO Doctors in the U.S. who will do a VBAC after 4 c-sections. The other one is in the Atlanta area. We are blessed in the DFW area to have such a Doctor who believes in the woman's ability to birth naturally. So no, I didn't have a choice, but I couldn't be happier with that choice!

2. Hire a doula! I have already mentioned before about hiring a doula, but I can not stress enough how invaluable it is to have a doula! I haven't even been through the birthing process with her yet, but she has already well exceeded my expectations! She has just such a wealth of information available to give me anytime I have questions and is there anytime I have one either by email or phone. Having a doula can help to reduce the mother's request for an epidural or pain medication as well as reduces the need for pitocin or cesareans. (Read up about doulas on the website: http://www.dona.org/) My doula, Katie, has become a friend to me and I know that she will be even more invaluable to me once it comes time for the birthing process! I am SO thankful I found her!

3. Take birthing classes. Steve and I are currently taking Bradley classes and just started this week. It was pretty funny that we were the only couple that had children already, since most couples who take birthing classes are first time parents! I just feel so strongly that I need to be armed with as much information as possible in order to achieve a natural birth. The Bradley classes teach different exercises and relaxation techniques to help manage the pain of childbirth. I will be the first to admit that I am SCARED of the pain that I will experience during labor and delivery. But I feel that the Bradley techniques as well of the help of my doula (and husband!!) will get me through that pain. There are other birthing classes out there of course. Many doulas will offer shorter classes to give you an overview of some techniques to use. The standard Bradley class is 12 weeks long (ours is condensed into 8 weeks) and many people just don't have the time to put into that many weeks of classes. There are other options out there!

4. Brewer's diet. One of the things that Katie and my Bradley instructor have introduced me to is something called the Brewer's diet. It is a high protein diet for pregnant women which is supposed to significantly reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia, which is one of the biggest reasons for needing a c-section. You can learn more about the diet here: http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/index.html

5. Go see a Chiropractor who is Webster certified. I am still learning about this and am sold on the need for it, but am figuring out now if it is in the budget! I'm not sure if my insurance will cover it, so it may all depend on that. If anything, I hope to be able to go a couple of times (hopefully more) during my last trimester. There is something called the Webster technique (which you can read about here: http://www.icpa4kids.com/about/webster_technique.htm) that is done during pregnancy. I am not an expert on this by any means, but from what I understand, this helps facilitate optimal fetal positioning for birth. If you have a breech baby especially, this would be very helpful! According to Katie, it also helps to have a much easier delivery. A baby that is malpositioned can cause a much longer and harder delivery and often lead to a c-section. I have also heard from many other Moms that they swear by this as well and highly recommended doing it.

6. Have a birth plan! I think this is absolutely crucial. Even with such a supportive Doctor like mine, there is still the possibility that he will be out of town or unavailable when it comes time to deliver. Most Doctors would not even touch a woman who has had 3 c-sections and would automatically send me to a repeat c-section. Fortunately, my Doctor has several back up Doctors that are willing to go by the birth plan as long as Dr. C has signed off on it. You may have some battles to face, even with the birth plan, such as the hospital staff or an unwilling on-call Doctor. But it is so important to have your desires written down so that there is no question of what you expect to happen that day! If you have a doula, she can help you write a birth plan and let you know of some of the things you should put on it.

Those are just 6 things that I think are pretty important.. I know I have left off many. Unfortunately, as a VBAC hopeful, you have to go the extra mile, but hopefully, worth it in the end. I started with a dream with fears... I hope the end of that dream will be a happy ending with my beautiful baby girl delivered the way I desire it to happen! I do understand that there aren't always happy endings, but it won't be because I didn't try my hardest!

Doctors and Doulas

I am just beginning week 12. Last monday I had my first official appointment with my new Doctor. All went well. Standard first visit... drew blood, took blood pressure, got weighed (ugh, gained a few lbs), had a PAP and pelvic exam. But then, the lovely news... some of you may know about my uterus issues. Well I have a severely retroverted uterus. It tilts back so far that it can get me into trouble when I'm pregnant. With my first pregnancy, I was about 13 weeks along, and in the middle of the night I woke up and discovered that I could not go to the bathroom! I had a full bladder but nothing was happening. I spent two hours trying to go, but couldn't. Finally, in absolute agony, I woke up my husband and we called the on call Doctor. He told me to go straight to the ER to get a catheter. This was my first joyous experience of having a catheter, and certainly not the last. When my Doctor's office opened that morning I went in to see her and found out about my retroverted uterus. I didn't even know I had one! Turns out it's common to have one, but NOT common to have it so bad that it can block off urination. I was the first patient of my Doctor to have this happen! She tried to manually flip my uterus back into place. She thought she got it, and sent me on my way. The next night, my 30th birthday... I ended up in the ER again. :( Another catheter, and then went back to see my Doctor again. This time she called in the enforcements. She called in her colleague, an older Doctor who had seen TWO patients in his 25 or so years as a Doctor with my condition. So he knew... a little more than she did! They both tried to manually flip it again. This time it was so stuck it was soooo painful that I felt like I was already experiencing childbirth. So they decided that the next day I would need to come into the OR to be put to sleep and have them flip it while I couldn't feel what they were doing! End of story, my uterus was flipped and all was well.

Well... Dr. C checked for the position of my uterus, and turns out ol' faithful is not cooperating again. He said it is so low that he expects it to happen again, just like it did with my first pregnancy. Normally at this stage of pregnancy, I would be going to see my Doctor every 4 weeks, but he asked that I come back in 2 weeks to stay on top of the uterus issues. In 2 weeks from that date, I would be 13 weeks, which is the exact time that it happened with my first pregnancy, and he didn't want it to be too late. Since I hadn't had a sono yet to check for a heartbeat, Dr. C. said we would try to listen for it on the doppler, since an internal sono would be a little too painful right now considering my "condition." We didn't really expect to hear anything, as I had NEVER heard the heartbeat on a doppler before 14 weeks with my prior Doctor, because my uterus is so far back. He moved it around a bit, but was only picking up my heartbeat. But then he got it low enough... and voila, there was the baby's heartbeat! I seriously think this man is a genius! So I felt much better about not having a sono, and went on my way.

On Saturday of this past week, I met with a potential Doula. The word Doula comes from the Greek word for "female slave." She wouldn't quite be my slave, but she would be my "labor companion." She isn't supposed to take the place of my husband, but rather be a support to both of us during labor. She will come to my home once I go into active labor and help me through breathing until it is time to go to the hospital. She doesn't provide medical support, but is able to tell when it is best to go to the hospital. The use of a Doula strongly increases your chance of having a natural, vaginal delivery. She is able to help fight for your rights at the hospital if they are trying to push things like epidurals or c-sections before it is absolutely necessary. I absolutely loved this woman, and will most likely be using her for my delivery! The exciting thing is, she also had a VBA3C (VBAC after 3 c-sections) with Dr. C, so she is strongly connected to my particular situation! I am looking forward to working with her! She is also a Christian, and that is really important to me.

So now I have entered my 12th week. So far I am not sure how things are going with my uterus. There have been a couple of nights where I questioned whether or not it was happening again. I think if it happens again tonight, I may be calling my Doctor tomorrow. If not, we'll see what happens on Monday the 1st when I go back in for my next appointment!