Her Birth Story:

Monday afternoon, 4 pm, contractions started. They were ok, getting stronger, and at about 10 pm, I lost my mucous plug with a little "pop" and my contractions picked up enormously. There was no cervical change yet, but we figured it would come soon. Before long, we'd called our doula to come over, and I was having a really, really, REALLY hard time with the contractions. By 4:30 in the morning, they were over 60 seconds long and 2 minutes apart. Both Jeff and the doula thought I was in transition by everything, so we went to the hospital. They checked -- NO CHANGE. I was 20% effaced and 1 cm dilated. I was very upset by that, and the midwife was surprised, because the contractions were very regular, VERY strong, and so close/long.

We were in the hospital until 9 am-ish when we checked out AMA, with the only change being my effacement increased to 50%. We spent the day at home, the contractions had spaced out a bit in the hospital, but were still strong. They started to pick up after I'd rested and eaten, and then, at 7 pm, my water broke. There was some meconium, and I was a little scared about the possibility of cord prolapse or something (even though I know it is rare, I was home alone at this point, and the meconium being there just worried me). I got a friend to take me to the hospital and the doula and Jeff met me there (Jeff had gone to pick up Parker to bring home for the night). We got in, baby looked good on the monitor (relief), and my midwife arrived to check me. My cervix had still not changed at all (50% effaced, 1 cm dilated), my contractions since my water broke had spaced out more, but were strong, and the baby was still very, very high.

I labored for several more hours, but was already feeling that there was a time line to reach, because of the waters and meconium, and I really worried about the baby. I got checked again at about 11 pm and there was still no change, and after careful consideration of the pros, cons, and consequences of either continuing to pursue the VBAC or going with the repeat c-section, I chose the ERCS. Of course, I was sad about the choice, but I honestly didn't like either option 100% and knew that the longer I waited, that my emotional blocking wasn't going to get less but more, and I wanted to avoid the risks of infection that waiting longer and still having the surgery could have meant. We went back for the surgery, and although the situation wasn't ideal, it went well.

My midwife, who assisted in the surgery, did say that the baby was really high still (not in the pelvis), but LOA -- which meant that her positioning wasn't wonky, I was having good contractions, etc., and it reinforced to me that my choice was the one to be made at the time. At 12:27 am Wednesday morning, our daughter, Kira Elizabeth, was born. She was 8 lbs. 14 oz., 14-3/4" head, 20" long. Her Apgars were 8/9, and she has a full head of hair, like her brother.