Because of the prior c-section with Lincoln, I was always told I'd be at a slightly higher risk of needing a repeat c-section in case of uterine rupture. My goal was to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after ceserean). I would need to be monitored closely and they did not recommend any form of induction to speed things up. My uterus incision may not be able to handle the strength from pitocin. I had an appointment set for Monday morning (my due date) with my Dr. to schedule a c-section since they didn't want me going too far past my due date, putting more strain on my internal incision. Contractions continued all night, all day Sunday, getting stronger and stronger. They were so irregular in their timing I was feeling I couldn't handle them much longer. Around midnight they regulated to around 6 minutes apart. I woke up Johnny and started timing them around 4am. 5am came and I knew I couldn't wait for my appt at 8:30am but I needed to get up and get ready NOW. I was shaking uncontrollably and was hit with a wave of nausea. I took a shower and got dressed, stopping every 2 minutes when I couldn't move due to a contraction. Each one felt like I was getting kicked in the stomach by a goat!! Even though I was in so much pain, I was getting more and more excited that maybe when I got there, I'd be at like 6 or 7 centimeters! Nope.
7am - Arriving at the hospital, I was....2. And still only 95% effaced.
Thinking they would send us home and I'd continue with days more of contractions, I was alarmed when the nurse came back to say they'd be admitting me. Apparently the baby's heartrate was dropping with the contractions enough that they wanted to monitor him and help get my labor going as naturally as possible. Normally if the heartrate drops and comes back up quickly enough it's not that big of a deal. However, in my case, if it continued it could be a warning sign of too much uterine stress.
8am - I got to my delivery room, expecting a long day and not much hope of having a successful VBAC. I had heard "c-section" so many times the past few days I was thinking it might have to happen.
9am - The Dr. came in to check me since I was having some odd bleeding. To her amazement I was 100% effaced and 4 centimeters! The contractions in that two hour period were about 6-8 minutes apart so that much progress in an hour was quite a surprise.
10am - Mid contraction, eyes closed. Suddenly 4 nurses and both Drs. swarmed into my room, turning my on my side, spreading my legs, forcing oxygen on me. Not knowing what was going on, because I was focusing on breathing through my pain, I instantly started crying when I heard them discussing with one another something about getting anesthesia called immediately and a probable c-section. Apparently the baby's heart rate had dropped from the 150-160 to the 80-90 range for over 3 minutes. They were able to stabilize it and got an internal monitor on the baby's head (breaking my water in the process) to get a more accurate reading of his heart rate. The Dr. told me that they would continue to monitor him, but if it happened once more and didn't come back up in a minute they would need to do the surgery. Prepared for the worse I agreed and was surprisingly calm. It was a relief to know that they were so on top of it. I was in such good care with these Drs. (and of course I had so many people praying, I knew that the Lord had His plan and all I could do was have faith that He was going to make it all ok.) If I didn't get my way of having a VBAC, at least the safety of my baby was going to take first priority. Right after the craziness calmed down, I got my epidural (although I was planning on having one anyway, it was neccessary in case of an emergency section.)
10:30am - Epidural kicked in, Mom and Casey got there. I was a happy camper. Heart rate looked great, contractions were a steady 6 minutes apart. My wonderful nurse was so encouraging and I was her only room so I got her all to myself. The Dr. came in again and put an internal monitor on my uterus to monitor the strength of my contractions. That way, if it looked like too much stress, they could better monitor me, and possibly start the lowest dose of pitocin to get my contractions closer together. With my water broken I was now on a timeline. (Too long without the protection of the amniotic sac, there could be infections). If I was going to push this baby out, contractions needed to be much closer together or I wouldn't progress. The contractions on my own were so strong, they felt I could handle it well. After 10 minutes on pit, they were 4-5 minutes apart.
11am - They upped the pit one more dose. Contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. I couldn't feel one of them!!! I had the best epidural ever! I was laughing and making jokes during contractions. Couldn't say that for the past 3 days! I finally started getting my strength back, and a sense of hope that I might be able to push this kid outta me!
During the next few hours, the in-laws came down, as did Laura and Jason. It was a party in that room! We watched A Mighty Wind, Galaxy Quest, cards were being played, chocolate cream pie was being eaten (grrr...I still haven't gotten any, Kathy!)
4pm - The Dr. wanted to monitor my bleeding and again to her surprise I was 7.5 centimeters! She said probaby a few more hours!!! I couldn't believe it! His heartrate still looked good. It did drop a few times, but came right back up within a few seconds. I was beginning to think, "I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS!"
Papa came down with Lincoln. I really wanted to spend some time with him before his brother was born.
6pm - I thought my epidural was starting to wear off just a little (was still pretty numb, just started feeling more tightness and pressure. I thought that if I had several more hours, by the time I was pushing, it might be worn off completely. I didn't want that!!) They decided to check me just to get a report. 9.5 centimeters!!!!! 0 station! They wanted to wait for 2 MORE HOURS before checking me again. It seemed like a long time for half a centimeter, but they said that if his head descended further I'd have less pushing time.
7pm - It had been only one hour since she checked me last. His heart rate started dropping for about 30 seconds with each contraction, so the Dr. said it could be him descending but we better check to make sure. I was fully dilated and he was +1!!!) Time to start pushing!!! I couldn't believe I had gotten there! I was elated! But the hard part was just beginning.
7:10 - First push. Heart rate dropped. Pushed 3 more times, then the Dr. came in and said that if I didn't get him out soon, they didn't think the baby'd be able to handle it. Again, because of my history I shouldn't be pushing for hours. They suggested we use the vacuum to assist but I had to push for my life and I didn't have much time, or they'd have to possible do an emergency c-section.
7:44 - By the 6th push set, the vacuum was in place, I had what felt like 50 nurses surrounding me screaming in my face to KEEP PUSHING! DON'T STOP! (no one would tell me to breath!) With that push, his head was out! I finally opened my eyes to see my little boy enter the world after 34 minutes of pushing! The Dr. told me later that she barely had to use the vacuum, but my determination was what got him out with that last push!
Boone Walter Gillespie 7lbs 11oz 21in
Because of the epidural, I couldn't feel any pain, or any tearing. Thank the Lord! That was my hugest fear in all of this. I did get a 2nd degree tear and am in a lot of pain, but all in all, this was the most incredible experience of my life. Although I wasn't able to hold him immediately he never left my sight. Just a few minutes later he was on my chest. I was stunned for about an hour that I had actually done what I did, and quickly. What a miracle.
8:30ish - Lincoln met his baby brother and we announced to the room the middle name. For months we had been planning on waiting till the birth to tell my dad that his second grandson would have his name, "Walter." It was a special moment all around. I'm so glad that our families was all there to celebrate with us.
I had the best team helping me through labor. Johnny, Mom, Kathy, Laura, and my videographer Casey. You all were wonderful and it meant the world to me that you were there. We couldn't be prouder of our new little one and are so excited to see him grow into a strong, man of God!
Thank you all for your prayers, and Casey, for keeping the FB world updated. (Just to clear things up, it was NOT ME posting updates.)
