10:00 March 28, 2013
I was anxious for my 41 week appointment. I had tried almost anything safe to go into
labor naturally on my own without any luck… For the past three doctor visits I
was a “one and thick.” At my 40 ½ week,
I was finally a “two and thick,” and I had my membranes stripped. All I hoped for from my 41 week visit was to
be a four and thinned out because Dr. Crouch agreed to break my water and
induce my labor if I were.
During my pregnancy, I was adamant to try for a v-bac,
vaginal birth after cesarean. I wanted
a v-bac for several reasons but mostly because I didn’t want to slow down my
life after having a baby. I didn’t want
the long painful recovery, and I wanted a better birthing experience like I had
experienced with Ellie. However, v-bac
comes with its own strict set of rules.
First of all, you have to go into labor on your own. Pitocin raises the risk of having a uterine
tear by 15%, so many doctors and hospitals will not allow using it during v-bac. I wasn’t going into labor though; at the time
it seemed helpless but electing to have the c-section didn’t feel right. I carried on two weeks past my c-section date
hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.
Every day during the 39th and 40th full
week was uncomfortable and long. It
seemed like all I could think of was “making this v-bac work.” I walked two miles a day, ate strange food,
endured painful acupressure, drank labor promoting tea, primrose oil, clary
sage oil, skipping, and just about anything else that was deemed safe for
naturally inducing labor. Nothing was
working, and it took everything in me and the help of my friends and family to
stay positive. The way I saw it, I was
going to spend the next 18 years with this baby so why rush it? Many people tried to help me cope with the
idea of having a c-section, but I wasn’t going to give up without a fight. My
best hope was to stay positive every day, keep praying, and keep up with the
crazy labor inductions even if they weren’t working.
It all came down to this 41 week appointment. I knew Dr. Crouch wouldn’t advise I go much
further. “Well, you are almost a three
but still thick.” CRAP I thought. I didn’t make it; looks like I having a
c-section this weekend. Then Dr. Crouch pulled out his note pad and a pen and
wrote out three options: 1. Monitor and Wait, 2. Balloon – break water. 3. C-section.
Dr. Crouch asked if I wanted to go home and think about it, but I already knew that option one wasn’t an
option, and neither was option three without trying option two. “What would you do?” I asked Dr. Crouch.
“Oh I would
definitely try the balloon induction.”
I answered back, “I think so too! When would we do it?”
“You would stay overnight and we would break your water in
the morning.”
“Let’s do it.”
I went home that day hopeful that the balloon would work and
relieved that Dr. Crouch even had that option!
I have never heard of anyone being induced that way, so this seemed
strange but worth it. That day I painted
my toes, took a long bath, shaved my legs, washed my hair and made it pretty
for the next day. Mom was to meet me at
my house around 7:15, and I was to be checked into the hospital by 8:00 that
night. Shayne would meet me at the
hospital and sleepover when the girls were in bed.
Kaitlyn was crying when we said our goodbyes for the
hospital. I started crying too. I felt bad leaving Kaitlyn. We had only been apart one night since she
was born. I knew it would be hard on
her. I also knew that when I came back
home that our world would be completely different. It was a very emotional moment.
I was really nervous checking into the hospital. The first hard tackle of the day would be
getting my i.v. put in. With the girl’s
births, this part was almost worse than the epidural. I warned the nurse that I was worried about
it and asked if she could put it anywhere else, other than my arm. That’s when I learned that they can numb you
first! With the numbing, the i.v. went
in almost too easy! My first tackle of
labor was complete!
Dr. Crouch met me at the hospital around 9:00. He had the balloon folley ready, and I was
anxious for the next step. I only wished
I went to the bathroom first. If I had
to describe how it felt to have the balloon folley put inside my uterus, it
would be uncomfortable; like having a full bladder, and it’s getting fuller by
the moment. It was almost painful, but
mostly extremely uncomfortable. Luckily, once the filling process was done, I
was comfortable again. In fact, I could
walk around, use the restroom, and do everything normally until the folley had
done its job and dilated me to a four.
That night I tried to sleep despite a blood pressure cuff
going off every 30 minutes, the baby’s heart rate monitor beeping, and blaring
lights from the computers.
March 29, 2013
It must have been 4:00 a.m. when I woke up and asked Shayne
if he could help me get comfortable in my bed.
It was at this time that I coughed and felt the balloon coming out. I worried at first that I had done something
wrong, but the balloon had done just what it was supposed to do! The nurse let me know that I was a four, and
that Dr. Crouch would be in the morning to break my water and let the real
induction begin.
Dr. Crouch called around 6:00 a.m. to let me know that he would
be in soon for the induction. Grateful
for the warning, I put on my makeup and got myself all ready for the day. I was
very happy that I decided to take a shower and do my hair the night
before. It’s the ONLY benefit of knowing
the day you will have your baby… that -
- and arranging child care.
Breaking my water didn’t bother me as much as I expected. I expected labor to start quickly, and I knew
that I would need an epidural (since I was a v-bac) so rather than wait around
for the pain, I opted to get my epidural and catheter put in right away. By 8:45 a.m. I was pretty comfortable,
watching Shayne eat his “Dad breakfast” and waiting for the labor to begin.
Once labor started, I started to feel sick. I was feeling awful, probably from the
epidural the nurses said. Luckily, they
could give me something to help with the nausea I was feeling.
10:04; Six centimeters.
11:38; Eight centimeters. It was around this time that I
started having my first visitors arrive.
Dad had already been in the hospital for a half hour, and I texted
Sarah, Mom, and Mom M to let them know that now would be a good time to come to
the hospital. Baby was close to
coming. I was not effacing as fast as I hoped
however, so it was unpredictable how soon everything would happen. By 12:30, everyone who would be there for the
birth had arrived and we were just waiting for the big moment.
Around 1:30 p.m. Mom and Dad had left to grab some lunch
while they still could. The last time I
was checked, I was still an eight with some effacing to go so we figured we had
some time. Being shy, I decided to take
the opportunity with less people in the room to be checked one more time. I remember being checked, the nurse turning
to her computer and saying, “well smarty pants, you’re fully dilated.” I immediately called my mom back to the
hospital room and we got ready for pushing.
Everyone surrounded my bed and waited for the big
moment. The baby’s heart rate was
dropping (sometimes as low as 60) and I was determined to get the baby out as
fast as I could to avoid an emergency c-section. Within three contractions in five minutes, our
baby came into this world. Dr. Crouch
told me to “look down here Laura, look down!” and I noticed right away that our
wish had come true! We had a boy!!! I couldn’t contain my tears and joy when I
exclaimed, “it’s a BOY! It’s a BOY!!!” Dr.
Crouch put him on my belly and Shayne and I wiped him clean and cried. As soon as our son was taken to the warmer, I
held onto Shayne and cried the happiest tears ever.
“Team Blue!! It's a
BOY!!! LIAM MARTIN MUNN was born at 1:58 pm weighing 8 lbs 13 oz., 21 inches
long!! and no c section :) Life is WONDERFUL!” – Facebook Status
For the next hour and a half we sat in the room with our son
and our guests enjoying Liam. I was
beside myself that we finally had a boy.
To tell you the truth, I even wondered if it was possible after having
two girls to even make a boy. Seeing
Shayne with his new son was touching too.
You could see the instant bond the two shared and the pride in Shayne’s
eyes when we looked at his baby boy. Our
life really did feel more complete with a boy in it. Life really was wonderful.
Liam has been such a wonderful baby. He is easy going, a great sleeper, nurser,
and fits in well with our family. The
noises of our family don’t seem to bother him, and he has adjusted to our life
well. I had a really rough first week
full of emotions and the overwhelming feeling of having three children, but
every day gets better and our life is starting to settle back into place again.
It’s been a long two weeks since bringing him home (mostly because we are
choosing to stay home for a majority of the first two months of Liam’s life),
but we are happy and enjoying our new life.
I had so many prayers answered during my pregnancy with
Liam. First, keeping the pregnancy after
we found out that I have low progesterone – after catching the problem a little
late, it was uncertain if I would have another miscarriage. Then I had the easiest pregnancy with no
health complications. I didn’t slow down
much during the pregnancy which was a HUGE blessing for my family. I came scary close to needing another
c-section, but even that worked out for me.
The v-bac couldn’t have been a bigger success and I have Dr. Crouch to
thank for that. Then of course Liam
being a boy and such a wonderful baby; I feel so blessed and forever thankful for a loving Heavenly Father watching over us.
Welcome to the world little Liam! We love you so much more than you know! Words
can’t fully express our joy when you came into our lives. It was a moment I will never forget.
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