Hi friends! Baby girl, who I will call Blaire, is now 5 weeks old and I finally have a moment to recollect and tell her crazy, yet beautiful, birth story.
For background, both Jack and Diane were emergency c-sections. With Jack, my water rupturing was my first sign of labour. I wanted a natural birth, but when I was examined, the doctors found that Jack was breech, so they delivered Jack within the hour via emergency c-section. I didn’t really get to labour much with him, so when it came time to have Diane, I couldn’t wait for that experience.
When it was time to deliver Diane, I got the labouring experience, but not the VBAC I had dreamed of. I laboured hard for 26 hours and made it to 10cm and was pushing, but her heart decelerated and they had to rush me into another emergency c-section. Had it not been for the epidural line I had in, they would have had to crash me and I wouldn’t have been able to try for further VBACs.
Fast forward to Blaire. I knew I had a good chance of having a successful VBA2C. Both emergency c-sections had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with baby. I had proven that I could dilate to 10 and baby could descend, so a VBA2C was highly possible and encouraged by my doctors at Tampa General Hospital. Now, trying to convince my doctors of this here at Palmerston North Hospital is a different story.
The OB at the hospital basically said that she would vote for a scheduled c-section for me because I do have uterine didelphys (a double uterus), and there isn’t much data on the success rate of VBA2Cs in patients with my type of uterine anomaly. She did state, however, that it wasn’t a strong vote and that it’s my body, my choice. She would ultimately respect my decision no matter what I chose.
My midwives, on the other hand, were supportive. Midwives is plural because at the end of my pregnancy, my midwife Trish decided to switch gears and become a hospital midwife. When Trish finished up her role as a community midwife, Daphne took over. Daphne was super supportive and even did acupuncture weekly to help me progress towards active labour so we wouldn’t have to schedule a c-section. In fact, we never did!
Okay, now that all that background information is out of the way, most of you know that I work at and attend Legacy Church. Right around the middle of my pregnancy, my church friend mentioned that I should get a group of ladies together to fast and pray on my behalf for a VBA2C. In August, the month before my due date, I reached out to a group of ladies (close friends from church and back home) via Facebook messenger, explained everything, and asked if they would fast and pray on my behalf for a VBA2C. Beyond that, I asked them to help me pray for a supernatural birth. I got the idea from an old college friend who posted about her supernatural birth experience on Instagram.
The ladies were so honoured I asked! They even went above and beyond and checked in with me on a regular basis and gave me really encouraging words. I honestly believe they made all the difference in my birth outcome! One thing I was worried about was what to do with Jack and Diane during our hospital stay, because we don’t have family here. But God provided and our friends from church (they have two kids — a boy and a girl — that are the same ages as Jack and Diane) happily offered to keep the kids for us. What an answer to prayer!
Now for the birth story itself, on the morning of Tuesday, 21st September, I went to my 39 week midwife appointment. I was feeling over it, so I asked Daphne for a stretch and sweep in addition to our routine acupuncture session. She was happy to do it for me, and when she performed the procedure, she noted that I was already at 3cm on my own. She then stretched me to 4cm and told me my bags were bulging. During acupuncture, I had four contractions on the table. I knew in my heart this was the start of labour, even though I had been in prodromal labour for weeks leading to this point. Daphne told me to call her if things progressed during the day and then sent me on my way.
When I left, I went straight home and did chores and nested as hard as I possibly could. The kids were both in school, so I had no distractions. I blasted music and got a ton done. I then picked up the kids from school, surprised them with Magna Doodles, painted Diane’s nails, and spent good, quality time with them until Matt got home from work.
Throughout the day, my contractions remained steady, gradually coming closer together. By 6:00 PM, I noticed my contractions felt very close together, so I timed them. They were 2-4 minutes apart, so I knew it was time to leave for the hospital. Matt brought the kids to our friends’ house and I called my midwife to let her know.
We arrived at the hospital at 7:00 PM. When I got there, there wasn’t triage. I just walked to the delivery ward and was greeted by nurses who led me to my delivery suite. One of the nurses ran me a bath while I waited for Daphne to arrive. The bath took some time to fill, so Daphne arrived right as I was ready to get in.
I spent the first 20 minutes at the hospital labouring in the tub. It felt amazing and took all the pressure off. At this point, I only felt pressure with each contraction — no pain. It was peaceful and in between contractions, I would just talk and laugh with Matt. It was wonderful.
I was starting to sweat because the bath water was a bit hot for me, so I decided to get out of the tub and at this point, Daphne was ready to check me to see my progress. I was at 5cm! Still, absolutely no pain with each contraction, but definite progress. Blaire’s heart rate monitor kept slipping out of place, so Daphne proposed we put a monitor in her scalp and at the same time, rupture my membranes to get things moving along. I agreed to the plan, but asked for ten minutes to myself before proceeding. To be honest, I was scared. I knew that the moment my water broke, things would get intense. With Jack and Diane, my water breaking was the fine line between tolerable and excruciating pain. I also knew I would dilate quickly once my water was broken.
Well, I wasn’t wrong. Daphne broke my water and at first, the contractions remained the same. I was getting hot, so Daphne offered me and Matt lemonade ice blocks. We sucked on those and talked some more, and during my last bite, I had an intense contraction that broke the rest of my water. This was my first painful contraction. The time was 9:00 PM.
I went from happy to what the heck was I thinking in the matter of 5 minutes. Suddenly, I stopped having breaks between my contractions; they were coming back to back. I felt like my lower back was being ripped in half. I didn’t realise it at the time, but I was having back labour. The pain was extremely hard to cope with, so I asked Daphne for pain medicine. When she checked me, she said I didn’t have time for any interventions because I was already at 8cm.
I was beside myself. I couldn’t do this, not on my own! But despite pleading and sobbing for pain medication, an epidural, ANYTHING, Daphne said, “It’s too late. You’re doing it on your own”. I remember saying, “What was I thinking. Why did I want this? This is nuts. I should’ve scheduled a c-section. I can’t do this!” But it was definitely the transition talking — I can see that looking back.
Daphne left the room for a few minutes, so it was just me and Matt. With the next contraction, something happened that blew my mind. It’s called Fetal Ejection Reflex. My body started involuntarily pushing the baby out. I yelled for Daphne, who came in and confirmed that I was indeed at 10cm and ready to push. I went from 5cm to 10cm in an hour — crazy! I was relieved, because pushing felt good and the pain was more manageable.
I got on all fours and pushed for a tiny bit, but before I knew it a medical team had entered my room ready to deliver the baby. They asked me to lie on my back in case they needed to help me, so I complied. Eleven minutes of pushing and, as Daphne described it, the baby rocketed out of my pelvis. Blaire arrived at 10:23 PM, a short 3 hours after our arrival at the hospital. Fast and furious indeed. She was 8lbs 12oz and 20.5in long. She was absolutely breathtaking! I ugly cried when I met her. And for the first time, I could see my newborn clearly, without double vision and without the influence of pain medication. It was the moment I had long awaited.
I sustained second degree tears, which took 45 minutes to stitch up. Within an hour of that, I was up and walking. I took a shower and shortly after was wheeled up to the maternity ward. Our hospital stay was short — 23 hours. On 22nd September at 6:00 PM, we were released to go home as a family of five.
Looking back, despite the pain and not believing that I could do it, this really was my dream birth and I wouldn’t change a thing. I am so proud of what I did that day! I managed to have an unmedicated VBA2C. I couldn’t have done it without the support of Matt, my midwife, and my praying friends. And God answered my prayers — what more could I ask for! God is so faithful.
Blaire is a happy, healthy baby girl. She’s an answer to many prayers. She’s breastfeeding like a champ and she’s finally distinguishing between night and day. We are so blessed to have her as the perfect addition to our family. The kids are obsessed with her and shower her with hugs and kisses constantly.
Welcome to the world, baby girl. We love you immensely!
To those who made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my birth story. If you’re contemplating or anticipating a VBAC, I hope my story brings you encouragement. The odds were stacked against me, yet I pulled through and accomplished my goal. You are capable of doing the same!
With Love,
The Cullums
Helpful Resources:
- Supernatural Childbirth – Jackie Mize
- Birth Skills – Juju Sundin
- Spinning Babies Class & Quick Reference Guide
- Chosen and Created Pregnancy Prayer Cards
- Sweet Sleep – La Leche League International
The Cullums Immigrate 