Morgan's Birth Story, Part III

So, you have by this time probably read parts one and two of Morgan's birth story.  The first part describing why I was so bent about having a VBAC instead of another cesarean and the second the actual story of labor and delivery with Morgan.  Here in part three, my goal is to compare the two births and experiences since so many have asked, "was all the stress and process of the VBAC worth it?"

The simple answer is, YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The recovery from the c-section was hard.  It seemed like it took forever for me to be able to do certain things.  It made breastfeeding harder.  The memory of the surgery itself still frightens me.  Did we end up with a healthy baby and mommy?  Yes.  But when you take into consideration all that happened before, during and after that experience, It was by far the hardest of the two deliveries.

That said, let me talk a bit about the VBAC.  The perineum support or stretching provided by the nurse and then my doctor HURT.  At times, it hurt more than the pain I felt during the c-section.  Same when the forceps were inserted and placed in the proper spot around my child's 14 inch head.  It's no wonder I had 3rd degree and bilateral tearing.  Morgan's actual birth, however, was not painful at all.  I never felt that ring of fire.  I suppose that is because of the epidural.  But oh my heavens, did I feel the pressure!  The contractions were very intense and sometimes painful, especially after the doctor broke my water.  But it was not like any other pain I have ever experienced in my life. 

Many women told me contractions were normally very painful in active labor, especially during transition.  But it was not a normal kind of pain and your body registers it different.  I have to agree.  When allowed to move with the contractions, vocalize and try different ways to handle them, they are not so bad.  Pain with a purpose.  And what a wonderful purpose it is. 

So yes, even considering the tearing and normal backache/pain from the epidural, the VBAC was worth it.  Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo worth it to me!  There is just no comparison regarding the recoveries.  Ray and I at this time still hope to add at least one more biological child to the family.  This time though, I don't feel fear when thinking about the labor and delivery.  I am looking forward to it!  I know that sounds odd to many, and that is ok.  I'm used to not being "normal" regarding these subjects.   Hopefully, Nebraska laws will change by the time we are expecting again and we can legally consider a midwife assisted home birth.  I would very VERY much like to try a fully natural birth and honestly, I don't see that as an option in our local hospitals.  Especially considering I am still a VBAC patient. 

Time will tell I suppose.

Arbor Day 2012

Picture This.....you are touring the historical Arbor Day Lodge with your family when you step into the carriage house. What is the first thing you see? An old stagecoach.

WOW!!! I can not pretend that somewhere deep down in my DNA is gypsy blood. I love exploring new places, seeing new things and finding the little interesting things that most people drive past or never notice. And when I saw this stage coach, my blood started flowing just a bit faster.

Who rode in there? Where did they go? Did it see Native Americans in their native lands? Did it see any of the civil war? How many roads did it drive down? How many horses or ox pulled it? What were the stories of all those people who darkened it's step during it's life as a coach. What kind of really boring or really cool letters did it carry in the mail? Baggage?

Oh, the stories it could tell if it could talk. And now, I'm so very ready for one of those kinds of road trips where you just drive down a road, in a place you have never been, and find what you can find. Do you ever get that itch for an adventure?

George W. Doneghy's poem: Stage Coach

No matter what the weather was, in good old stage coach days,
The driver with his ruddy face and spanking team of bays
Would spin along the turnpike road, o'er level stretch and hill,
That wound away from "Idleburg" to classic Nicholasville.

The depths beneath his seat were filled with leathern sacks of mail,
And all the coach's top at times was crowded to the rail
With trunks, valises, packages, and bundles by the score,
That must have weighed, it seemed to me, five thousand pounds or more.

And strapped within the bulging boot, that hung far out behind,
Was added weight enough to make a team of oxen blind;
And counting all the passengers that filled the coach within,
The load those horses had to drag--I thought it was a sin!

How proud of them the driver was! And often he would brag
That they could pull a heavier load and never balk or flag;
If all the road was ankle-deep in miry, sticky mud,
That was the time his team would show its metal and its blood.

The "ribbons" then he'd gather up, and give his whip a crack,
And any team in front of him had better clear the track;
He seemed to own the turnpike road, and kept the right of way
Unto himself as jealously as bloomers do to-day.

By wood and field he wound along, and by the river's bank,
And when he reached the covered bridge the hoof-beats on the plank
Were echoed from the cliffs around and from the vale below;
And going up the hill beyond he'd let 'em walk and blow.

Then urged into a trot again around the curves they spun
Till hove in sight the manor-house of Camp Dick Robinson;
And on beyond where Nelson lay, the bravest of the brave,
Till Nicholasville at last was reached, to them the reins he gave.

And when the sun was hanging low and slanting shadows fell,
Along the streets of "Idleburg" that old familiar yell
Would greet the ears of villagers from small boys as they ran
With open mouths and lusty lungs a-shouting "Here comes Sam!"

Ah me! The old stage coach, abandoned now, stands in the stable lot,
A victim to the tooth of rust, and slow decay and rot;
Its whole-souled driver years ago forever passed away,
And crumbled now to dust the hand that drove each gallant bay!