Hannah's Story, Part II

Sunday, April 30th, I was experiencing the same problem.  In the afternoon, David began talking to me about going back to the birthing center.  I resisted.  We had just been and they had said I wasn't in labor.  I didn't want to be "that parent."  You know, the one who shows up at the hospital many times, proclaiming to be in labor, only to find out they are not actually in labor.  It took him, my mother in law, and my very good friend Kelly, until 8 p.m. to convince me to go back to the birthing center.  We took nothing with us.  As we closed our drive in gates, my neighbor Tammy stepped out front and asked if everything was ok.  I brushed it off nonchalantly and said everything was fine.  At the birthing center, they tested the fluid and told me again that I was not in labor.  They brushed it off as normal, end of the pregnancy "leakage."  The nurse walked out of the room and David and I began to talk about how we just didn't think this was normal.  Then it happened right there, on the hospital paper I was laying on.  David pulled it up and took it to the nurse.  He held it up and said "this is not normal."  She agreed.  A more in depth exam was done.  It took mere seconds for them to determine it was amniotic fluid.  I started to cry.  David laughed at me, and asked why I was crying.   I remember telling him "I'm not ready."  My doctor, who is the best doctor, came in and explained that she was going to sit back and let me body do it's thing and take another look at my progress in the morning.

By the following night, I had not progressed.  This included 12 hours of pitocin.  So late Monday night, I agreed to an epidural.  I knew that it was going to be a long night and next day and that getting some rest was important.  The next day saw no changes.  Around noon, my temperature began to slowly rise.  Then Hannah's heart rate began to decelerate.  Around this time my doctor came in with the head OB, who examined me.  When they left I remember David looking at me and saying "I think they're handing off the football babe."  I just nodded my head and started to cry.   Hours later, a decision was made for me.  I had yet to progress to active labor, 4 centimeters dilated.  I remember crying, a lot.  I remember talking to my doctor about my ability to have a natural delivery the next time I got pregnant.  Hannah was born a little after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, at 37 weeks.  

Having a C-Section was a hard thing for me.  I felt like my body could not do what God had designed it to do.  Hard as I may have tried, I could not have had this baby without the intervention of doctors.  This made me so sad to think about.  I got over it though.  The more time I spent with Hannah, the less it mattered how she was born.  However, I vowed that I would have a VBAC the next time I got pregnant.  After having the C-Section, which is pretty uncomfortable, I knew I didn't want another one.