Weighing in at 7lbs, 6oz and 19.5 inches, our little man entered the world at 9:43 pm on November 1, 2017. He came two weeks early and one week before my scheduled c-section.
On October 31st, I had my weekly OB appt and I was 1cm dilated but Dr. Rothen said that he was very low. She asked what my plans were for Halloween and I told her that I'd be taking Allie trick-or-treating that night. She said "Don't go into labor trick-or-treating." I didn't go into labor that night but I was not expecting what would happen the very next day.
It was the morning of November 1st and I was working. I was busy that morning with my live lesson and then immediately following a meeting with my substitute teacher as well as the other 9th grade English teacher to create an assessment. When I finally got a moment to break free from the office around 10:30am, I went to the bathroom and noticed some bleeding. I had lost my mucous plug. I knew that could happen days or even weeks before you actually go into labor so I wasn't that concerned at that point. However, I kept feeling "trickling" and wasn't sure if it was discharge from my mucous plug or if my water had broken. I felt that same "trickling" feeling when my water broke with Allie. I called the OB office to find out if there was a test they could do to see if my water had broken in the office because I'd rather avoid going all the way to the hospital if I didn't need to. They told me that I would have to go to the triage for that but if I wanted to wait, I could see if I started having more intense contractions (I had just been having braxton hicks so far that day). At this point, I decided to go take a shower in case this was the real deal. I sent Chadd a text around 11:30 right before hopping in the shower to let him know that my water may have broken and that I was going to monitor my contractions for a bit before we head to the hospital.
Once I got out of the shower and dressed, I started doing my make-up and my hair and that's when my contractions became more intense. I downloaded an app and began timing my contractions. I sent Chadd another text around 1:50 to let him know that we should probably go to the hospital after his 2pm demo. I wasn't sure if I should eat but I decided to have a grilled cheese because I was starving and I knew if this was the real thing, it would be awhile before I could eat again. By 2:30, my contractions were starting to be 3-5 minutes apart. I ended up sending him another text telling him, "I think we need to go." He then called me and told me he ended his demo and was on his way. He came by my mom's first to get me and we weren't able to say bye to Allie because she was taking a nap. We then rushed to the house, I grabbed my packed hospital bag and Chadd quickly packed some some stuff for himself. We arrived at the hospital around 3:45 and Chadd dropped me off to check in and he parked the car.
As soon as I checked in and saw how packed the triage was, I was extremely nervous thinking back to my last experience while in labor with Allie and how long it took me to actually get checked in a triage room. Around 4:10, my vitals were checked and I asked how long the wait would be. He said he didn't know. My contractions were still about 3-5 minutes apart but they were becoming more painful. I was called two other times while waiting in labor in triage: once to go over paperwork and once to speak to a nurse and tell her my pain level and answer other questions. I made the classic mistake of telling her my pain level was a 7. I asked her if my water did really break, when would they be able to perform a c-section and she said, it would most likely be 8 hours after the last time I ate so probably around 10pm. While sitting in the waiting room, the contractions kept getting stronger and tears were just streaming down my face. It is beyond embarrassing and frustrating to be in such pain in front of a waiting room full of people. A lady all dressed up in a suit (looked like she was from corporate) came to check on me several times and said she would tell the nurse that my pain was getting worse.
Finally, at about 6:20pm, I was taken back to a triage room. I was given a gown and told to undress and put all of my clothes in one of those plastic hanging bags. The nurse came back in to check me and confirmed that my water was broken and I was 5cm dilated. She said I would be having my baby by midnight for sure. The nurse also asked if I would be interested in trying a VBAC. I immediately said no. She called the on-call doctor which was Dr. Quirino (the one who delivered Allie) and Dr. Quirino asked to speak to me. She told me she was on her way and she asked me to remind her why I had a c-section last time. I told her that I tried pushing with Allie for 4-5 hours and that Allie was sunny side up and that she had manually turned her but she turned back. Dr. Quirino remembered and agreed that I probably wouldn't be the best candidate for a VBAC but that she was on her way and they would start prepping me for a c-section. Four different people tried putting in my IV and none of them would stick. I was then moved upstairs to pre-op.
Once we were in pre-op, the anesthesiologists came up and they were the ones who finally got my IV in. The nurse started prepping me for my c-section. They had me brush my teeth, they washed me with some special soap, and they put those SCDs on my calves. They were going to do a spinal but Dr. Quirino got called into an emergency so they said they were going to do an epidural instead to relieve my pain. He had me sit with my back to the very edge of the bed and again I was told that I had scoliosis (even though I was never diagnosed) and this anesthesiologist knew specifically where I had scoliosis (he said something about the lumbar region but remember I was in pain so I can't quote him). My pain level did go down some but I was still feeling a ton of pressure. I told the nurse that I thought she needed to check me again because I felt like he was going to come out soon. She checked again and sure enough, I was 8cm. That's when she started trying to convince me to have a VBAC and I kept saying no. She said "Why would you want a c-section if you don't have to? The recovery would be so much better if you do this vaginally." I reminded her of my experience last time but she was persistent. Even the head nurse came in to try and convince me. At this point, I asked if they could call for my mom to come up. While I was waiting on my mom to come up, Dr. Quirino came back and I asked her what she thought. I could tell what she wanted me to do but I knew she didn't want to push me to do anything I didn't want to do. When my mom came in, I told her that they wanted me to try for a vaginal delivery. She was there for my last labor and all through my pregnancy was in agreement with my c-section. She asked questions including "What are the chances of a uterine rupture?" The Dr. felt that the chances of a uterine rupture were very slim and also said that he was in a much better position than Allie was and she felt that he'd be out within an hour of pushing. She even confirmed this by showing his position to us on an ultrasound. Meanwhile, I was still having intense pressure and everyone including my mom said that the pressure would go away once I started pushing. They all convinced me to try the VBAC and if he wasn't out within an hour or two, we could go into an emergency c-section at any time. Before moving me, my mom asked if I wanted her to stay in waiting room with my dad, Kim, and Allie or if I wanted her to be in the room with me and I told her I wanted her in the room with me.
They wheeled me to a labor and delivery room and that's when I was able to begin pushing. Dr. Quirino stayed with me the whole time along with the nurse who urged me to do the VBAC, a surgical tech, my mom, and Chadd. As soon as I started pushing, the pressure did begin to subside. My acid throat was pretty intense every time I would push but I was able to get some ice chips which helped with that. Everyone in the room helped hold my legs through the contractions except Chadd (because he did not want to see anything) and the surgical tech kept teasing him for it. Before my final pushes, Dr. Quirino asked me to stop pushing through a few contractions while she prepped for him to come out. Finally, when she told me I could push again, he was out within the next few contractions and immediately placed on my chest. I felt so accomplished that I was actually able to have a baby vaginally and so overwhelmed by the love I had for him. I thanked the nurse several times for urging me to do the VBAC.
Chadd held Isaac for a few minutes before retreating downstairs to see Allie, Kim, and my dad and also to get some food because he was starving. Then my mom held him for a little bit as well before they took him to get his stats. My dad and Kim came up next to take turns holding Isaac. We decided we would wait until the next day for Allie to meet him because it was already so late and we wanted her to be alert and excited when she first met him.
We were finally moved into my hospital room a few hours later and Chadd and Isaac were able to get some rest. I don't remember sleeping much because of the worry of wanting to make sure my new baby was okay and the exhilaration of everything that just took place.
Allie met him the next day and the video below just captures it all. She wasn't sure what to think of Isaac but she was so proud of that balloon (boon) she got me!
Even though our plans were to have Isaac November 9th at 8am via c-section with my two favorite Doctors (Rothen and D'Heureux), God had other plans and I couldn't be more content with how everything worked out. Dr. Quirino was present for the birth of both of my children. I trusted her with my life and the lives of my children and she did not disappoint! She was professional but at the same time very friendly and I felt completely comfortable with her. My only complaint is that she does not work at the Oviedo office because I would love to see her as well for my prenatal appointments if I have any more children in the future. As they all said, the recovery from the VBAC did turn out to be much easier which was helpful since I also had a toddler to take care of when I got home.
"Many are the plans that are in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." -Proverbs 19: 21
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