To have a Csection or not....

For those of you who don't normally follow my blog, I've been writing a series from my children's births. I finished Matthew's this month, but haven't had a chance to do Rachael's yet. But that would give everyone alot of insight if I had.
I will try to explain in a nutshell why we are choosing a scheduled C section this time.
Rachael was born at home with difficulty. She had shoulder dystocia. Which is a medical emergency as the cord is getting compressed in the canal, even after the head is out. So the midwife worked fast and thanks to her many years of expertise and deliveries she was successful with the maneuvers she used. Bottom line she truly was 'stuck'.
She was purple from chest up and white from chest down, from lack of oxygen, and needed to be resuscitated. (the link I posted above has good information on that)
I had gestational diabetes with her , as I did with most all my babies, and that predisposes you to shoulder dystocia. Babies who mother's have gestational diabetes are grown in utero with wider shoulders. Again I have that condition but am requiring insulin this time. I take NPH at bedtime, because it is long acting and covers me all night as my fasting sugars were too high in the AM. I am able to control my blood sugar for meals, although I work at it. But my body was doing its own thing while I slept. So being on insulin and having gestational diabetes puts you in another risk category.
Once you have shoulder dystocia you are more likely to have it again...
Rachael and Matthew were both over 9 lbs. which adds to the difficulty, as my pelvis is small.
However Breanna was 8.3 and had a fractured clavicle at birth. That tells that OB that even with a 'smaller' baby I still have difficulty with shoulders.
After Mike and realized I was no longer a good candidate for home birth, we choose a hospital birth and a new OB. Almost from the very beginning they were recommending a C-section, due to my history.
It took a LONG time for my brain to wrap around that concept!! I went back and forth, and couldn't make a decision... Then one night when Mike and I were out on a date, I said "We have to decide...What do you think? Here are my thoughts , the pros and cons again..."etc...
Then He said something that gave me such peace.
"Why are we even talking about this again? We need to have the C section."
And that was it. Simple. My husband, the father of my children, and head of our household had decided. As it should be.
We know there are risks involved, as with any major surgery, but feel this is the safest for the baby. More risk for mom, but safer than the alternatives for baby: nerve palsy, fetal hypoxia, cerebral palsy, or fetal death.
Please pray for us over the next month, as this will be a big adjustment on our family...
I won't be 'bouncing up' like I normally to take care of the other children, and we start home school up again in a couple weeks too. (which I thankfully can supervise from my recliner with baby in my arms)
Thanks for all your prayers and concerns!

Matthew Boy's Home Birth

When we realized we were going to keep our womb open and let God bless us with more children, I felt a strong desire to have home births. It had always been a desire of mine and that desire just kept growing! My friend Kristen Renz and the birthing channel helped foster that! Kristen had many home births and a growing family as well. So I asked her who she used as a midwife and got the wheels set in motion. Meg was the only Certified Nurse Midwife to perform home births in Monroe County, at the time. You can't help but love her. She is an old hippie-type- crunchy- granola- natural woman. She is has a laid back approach and makes you feel empowered to make your own prenatal and birthing decisions. A far cry from the medical community I still worked in and birthed in. We watched videos, read, researched on safety, etc...
And felt at peace about our decision. We rented a birthing tub for $50 from a woman Meg recommended. Mike had that set up in our living room for weeks!! So we wouldn't have to wait till the last minute to fill and heat it. I added a cup of bleach every third day to keep it sterile.- per instructions. It was fabulous for pain control, and I won't again with out it!
So here I was 5 days over due in mid July, 5 plus centimeters dilated for weeks, and Meg said it looked like a big baby... Even though I had done well controlling my gestational diabetes with diet.
We choose an evening for Meg to come over with her two assistants and break my water to basically put me in labor. It was ten o'clock at night and Pam Hilts was there for support.
After breaking my water I walked around the living room, classical music playing, lights dim...and contractions came. It didn't take long at all till I was fully dilated, maybe half an hour... That was the easy part! The hard part was the pushing for 3 straight hours and the exhaustion I felt... I was in and out of the tub, squatting, on the toilet, more squatting, back in the tub... My feet had gone numb so I had to recline on the couch, which was covered first with a tarp and then a sheet. Meg was very encouraging and kept saying, "he's just a big baby for you, every thing's fine...." She was comforting and patient, letting my body do what it needed to do. At the two hour mark of pushing she asked If I wanted her to call 911 and go to the hospital. Absolutely not! I had come too far and birthed 4 other babies I knew I could do it! They gave me momentum to work a little harder. Pam was rubbing my ankles and feet in between contractions to get the circulation back.
Around 3am Matthew finally showed himself at a hefty 9.3 lbs. He nursed right away and didn't stop for 20 mo! His cord was cut after it stopped pulsing. (Something they don't wait to do in the hospital.) Two of the best things about my home birth were about to happen...
After I rested an hour on the couch and she stitched me up, I was able to take an herb soaked bath! Meg's assistant Sarah, makes a 'tea' that is chocked full of herbs that promote healing and stop bleeding. They brought him to me in the tub and he bathed with me. Mike was close by in case I needed help. They also brought me toast and iced tea to drink when I was back in bed. That was the second best thing! Being in my own bed!! For some reason my back always hurts in those hospital birthing beds. And no one was coming in to take our vital signs every 4 hours!!
Meg said he had THE BIGGEST head circumference she's ever delivered in her 30 some years!
No wonder I had a hard time!!
The kids stayed asleep the whole time and woke up to a new baby in our bed:)
Mike had the arduous task of then draining the birthing tub and taking care of our 3 little ones with little to no sleep. (Erik had gone to his Dad's the night before and stayed for a few days)
After cleaning everything up into bags and separating laundry, the midwives slept down stairs for a few hours, had showers and ate breakfast before going into the office for the day. WOW!! That's dedication.
They came back to check on me and the baby 24 hours later and then 2 days after that. They did his blood work, vitamin K, and birth certificate paperwork. As well as check me and talk again about the birth;)
I'll end on this note...
Mike comes upstairs to me in the afternoon and says "What am I supposed to do with the placenta sitting in a pot on the counter?..."