My Birth Story

Brooke is sleeping on my chest as I type this. I love life. :)

Tuesday, April 16th was my due date. Jeremy and I drove up to Pocatello to see my doctor. I had been feeling some contractions, but wasn't sure if I was in labor or not. I got checked, and I was still 0 cm dilated, 0% effaced, and my cervix was high and posterior. My body was not at all in labor. My doctor is awesome, and said we can wait another week to see what happens, we talked about inducing, setting a date for a C-section if nothing happens, and then he left so Jeremy and I could talk about it. I was actually the one who brought up doing a C-section the next day. I had been super uncomfortable, and if my body hadn't gone into any kind of labor at 40 weeks, it seemed unlikely I would in the next week. I did feel like I was throwing in the towel and that my natural-birth friends would think I had given in too early. I'm also probably being much too harsh on them. But there was that sense of failing to do it on my own. But Jeremy and I weighed pros and cons, prayed, and felt that a C-section was the right option, and that we should get it done as soon as possible so I could start healing sooner. That choice might have saved my life.

We scheduled the C-section for 6:30 the following morning, and we had to be there by 5:00, so we had to leave Malad at 4:00. I didn't sleep much thanks to my restless leg syndrome, but we made it. I was still having some contractions, but they weren't too bad. My spinal block (anesthesia) took forever to kick in, and never fully kicked in, so I was really uncomfortable and in some pain. General anesthesia wasn't an option because of my cold, so they did their best to work quickly and as soon as Brooke was out they loaded me up with drugs. My recovery has been uneventful, and Brooke scored a 9 on the Apgar and is continuing to do great. I'm in more pain than I remember being with Tayvin, but I've also been on my feet sooner and eating sooner. And breastfeeding is actually causing the most pain because of the uterine contractions, which are a lot stronger than they were with Tayvin. My actual incision doesn't hurt much at all.

So, how did this C-section save our lives? When Brooke was delivered, not only was the cord wrapped around her neck twice, but there was a true knot in the cord. If we had delivered vaginally, that knot could have been pulled tight and cut off the blood supply.

But the big one was that my uterus was almost paper-thin. The doctor had to sew me up very delicately. If I had delivered vaginally, or if they had induced me at all, there is a very high chance my uterus would have ruptured. Uterine ruptures have a very high rate of infant death, and can cause death in the mother due to hemorrhaging. So while I may have wanted a VBAC, I know the Lord was saving our lives when He inspired Jeremy and me to go with this C-section. Even my doctor (who is also LDS), called this a miracle.

I am so thankful that even though I was in more pain than I should have been, it's nothing compared to actual labor. All you ladies who have been able to deliver naturally, you are amazing. It just wasn't in the cards for me, and I'm ok with that. I'm glad to be alive and have this beautiful little girl in my life. If a C-section is what it takes to make that happen, then so be it. :)

Also, we had been planning on naming her Bridget, and of course this time we told everyone so, but Brooke has been the second name on our list. The night before she was born Jeremy and I were talking about her name and thought Bridget Brooke would be nice. But after she was born Jeremy kept accidentally calling her Brooke, and after I awoke from the haze of anesthesia I saw that she didn't look like a Bridget at all. So we have our little Brooke. :)