I had a cesarean in 2014 with my daughter because she was breech. That made me an excellent candidate for a VBAC. We were planning a home birth for her and it was disappointing to not have that. However, my hospital experience was good.

This pregnancy was going fine. At our mid pregnancy ultrasound the doctor noticed that my cervix was short. They should be about 4cm. Mine was at 1.7cm. I spent two nights in the hospital and had a cervical cerclage placed. I also went on modified bedrest.

That lasted from 22-37 weeks. I was allowed to walk from room to room in my house but spent most of my day on the couch. I only left the house for doctors appointments. That was really tough with a toddler. My biggest concern (assuming everything went okay with the baby) was that I wouldn't have the energy necessary when it came time to give birth. I did request to see a physical therapist. They gave me a routine of arm and leg exercises that were safe for someone on bedrest.

The cerclage came out at 37 weeks. I stopped taking progesterone, came off bedrest, and started taking evening primrose oil the same day. We didn't know what would happen as far a labor was concerned. I was doing yoga 2-3x per week and walking regularly. Even so, I kept that baby in till 40+3.

Friday night I felt nauseated. I threw up then had diarrhea all night and through Saturday. I also had light contractions at night and the next morning. I was hoping so bad it was labor starting. But it stopped Saturday night.

I was scheduled for a membrane sweep Monday morning but my midwife had to go to another birth. We rescheduled for Wednesday. I also had a NST and prenatal scheduled for that day. My husband and I just didn't want to go to any more appointments.

Tuesday night we both slept poorly. I woke up around 5:20am to a feeling of a pop down near my pelvis. I thought it was either a very odd kick or my water had broken. I went to the bathroom and peed. When I stood up, fluid trickled onto the floor. It would stop when I sat down and start when I stood up. I started having contractions right away about 3-4 minutes apart and lasting for 1 minute. I stood in the bathtub to let the fluid leak out there and called my midwife. She had me describe how I felt and encouraged me to rest while I could. She said I should call again when I couldn't talk through my contractions anymore.

I called my parents who live an 1.5 hours away to let them know it was baby time. I wanted my mom at the birth and my dad was going to babysit our 3.5 year old.

I then tried to go back to sleep. That was not happening. The contractions were very painful and laying down made them worse. I tried lots of different positions. Sitting was okay, hands and knees was okay, sitting on the toilet was the least horrible position. I spent a lot of time there.

I called my midwife at 8am to let her know my contractions were so bad that I couldn't talk through them anymore. She was already on her way into town. Around this time my husband tried applying counter pressure to my hips. It really helped. But he had to leave to take our daughter to school. So, I had to labor by myself for about 40 minutes. My midwife got

To our house before he got back but he forgot to leave the door unlocked for her. I couldn't go downstairs to let her in. I was just too in it by then.

He got home and they came up by me. She started setting all her stuff up. My husband was trying to help me through the contractions but the counter pressure was not helping anymore. I was really worried at this point that my midwife would check my cervix and I'd only be at 2-3. I had no idea how I could make it the way I was feeling.

At around 9:20am I went to the bathroom to poop. While I was there I felt a different kind of pressure down there. I told my midwife and she immediately came to check my cervix. I was completely dilated!

So, we went back to the bed. I had hoped for a water birth but that was out of the question at this point.

I pushed through one contraction on my hands and knees. She checked the baby's heart rate after the contraction and it had dropped so she had me get into a different position. I moved to my back. After that the baby's heart rate was fine. I ended up pushing for about 20 minutes. I don't recall feeling the "ring of fire". Each contraction there was good progress. My daughter was born at 9:47am. Four and a half hours after my water broke. The second midwife arrived before I delivered the placenta. I did have a small tear that required 4 stitches. My parents arrived about 30 minutes after the birth. One other crazy thing was that there was a true knot in the umbilical cord. I've included a picture of it.

Recovery after the vaginal birth has been way better than after the c-section. I strongly encourage women to try for a VBAC if they can. I was up using the bathroom about 1.5 hours after the birth. My milk came in sooner. I didn't need any painkillers stronger than ibuprofen.

My daughter Frances Lórien, 9lbs, 21in, born 11/15/17