I never posted my "Birth Story" with Anniston. So, here it is, a year later.

My due date was always up in the air, but I got an official due date of April  4, 2011 after my ultrasound.  I was very excited at the possibility of having her a few weeks early when all of Gavin’s family would be in town the week of March 18^th. So, when March 18^th rolled around and nothing happened I was a bit disappointed. The next week was Gavin’s Spring Break and was thinking how great it would be to have her THAT week, but alas the week came and went with tons and tons of false labor but no baby. I was frustrated a bit, but realizing my due date was still a week away, moved on.

Gavin’s mom came into town on April 8^th and I really wanted there to be a baby when she got there. So, after hearing I was at a 3 still and not much more I was frustrated. I was a few days past my due date and desperate for labor to start. I called my midwife asking her to break my water or do SOMETHING to speed things up. My amazing midwife told me to come to her office and we’d talk. So, I took my 2 kids to her office and she told me she could induce me and we’d end up with a LONG labor just like Zach’s (my OBGYN pretty much broke my water before I was ready and I had some very unsupportive doctors and nurses pushing for an epidural). Sandae, my midwife, knew I wanted a “natural” birth and for things to go differently this time around. She said once I pass 41 weeks we would talk Induction. So, we decided I would go into the hospital the morning of the 12^th around 6am.

So, the evening of the 11^th I wanted to prepare in EVERY way. Since I was a little “backed up” I decided I wanted to take just a tiny bit of castor oil, I had taken it already three times and all it did was cause tons of contractions and lots of trips to the toilet. So, I took one small dose and waited for the fun to start, but by 10pm nothing had happened so I figured nothing was going to happen.

Around 2:30am I rolled over in bed and felt a small gush and knew it was my water. I was trying to decide if I should just go back to sleep and wait for labor or if I should get up and shower and get ready to go. I remember that with Zach I completely jumped the gun and went straight to the hospital and ended up there for almost 24 hours in “labor” most of which I was being pumped full of drugs and was on my back. I attribute this to the reason that his shoulders got stuck. So, I got up and used the restroom, water was somewhat coming out and then the castor oil kicked in and I had some very intense cramping along with some BM’s. I got in the shower after sitting on the toilet for about 20 min. While I was in there I had to get out to use the bathroom and was having super intense pains (I thought they were just pains from the castor oil but they were labor pains) By 3:30 I called the hospital and asked them if I should come in or just wait till 6:30 when my midwife told me to come in. They said since my water broke to just come in. I lied and said my water had Just broken, but it had been over an hour by then. So, I quietly woke Gavin and told him my water broke and I was in labor and we needed to go to the hospital, to which he sat up and asked if he had time for a shower or not. I told him sure but that things were pretty intense so make it a quick one. We left around 4:30am and drove slowly to the hospital. We parked in the garage and walked around to the ER entrance. During that walk I had like a million contractions that kept getting more intense. The only thing that grounded me during the contraction was Gavin grabbing both my shoulders and putting pressure on them, almost like a hug. I realized this when I knelt down to wake him and I had a contraction and he grabbed my shoulder… it was like all of my pain escaped my body through him.

I finally got into the ER and walked slowly to L&D. I was given a gown and put into room 12  and given an nurse that was almost done with her shift. She was young and inexperienced. Then the dadgum IV!! They tried and tried and after lots of gushing blood the expert came in and put it in the WORST spot.. right on my bone on my right wrist. This was more painful than giving birth. Between contractions I’d complain about it hurting, throwing my midwife off thinking I wasn’t as far along as she thought. When I got there I was a 5 at around 5:30. When Sandae got there at around 6am (she came in an hour earlier than her shift, she was so sweet) I got a new nurse that had given birth naturally and was AMAZING. I was about a 7. I labored on the toilet for another hour and she checked me again at I was still a 7. She told me that I still had water and that she was going to break it if I wanted her to, by 8am my water had broken all the way and she told me that the babies head was pushing on the front of my cervix not down on it and she’d need to hold my cervix down during a contraction while I push or we could continue to labor and I’d make no progress. Well, the thing is, whenever I had to lay down to be checked I would completely lose it, like I was possessed or something, it was SO painful. So I fought it for another hour and by 9am she told me that she promised that if I let her do that I’d be ready to push and have my baby. So, I squatted on my bed holding onto the top half of it and let her hold me “open” while I pushed.. it was VERY painful and I screamed and pushed and felt my babies head come down and I was ready to push. I originally wanted to deliver squatting but felt uneasy and wanted to be on my back, strange, but I did what felt best. I pushed for 20 min and she was out. Oh my goodness, I was SOOOO tired. They plopped a hot, gooey little baby on my belly and I could barely put my arms on her since I was so tired.  After about 2 hours I perked back up and was just on a high. I had not only had another successful VBAC but to an ever bigger baby than before. Anniston Marie Metcalf was born at 9:30am April, 12^th and was 9lbs 6oz 23inches long (though I think it was more like 21 inches) If we ever are blessed with another baby, I will for sure have another natural birth, it was an amazing experience that brought me and my husband so close together. I’m thankful for the experience I was able to have and for my 3 beautiful children.