Nicholas Owen Lynch

After my first miserable experience of childbirth (48 hours of labor, meconium in my amniotic fluid, pitocin for 36 hours, seeing 5 different on-call obs [one of whom told me "it couldn't possibly hurt that much, little lady"] and ultimately a c-section), I was freaked out about trying to vbac my second child. My ob agreed to several things this time around: we would induce early (my first son was 2 weeks late and 8 lbs) for a smaller baby, I could call when I received an epidural and she would be there for the delivery.

I checked in to the hospital 2 days before my due date at 6 am. Was put on pitocin at 9am. At 11, the on call ob broke my water. At noon, i had an epidural. By around 6 pm, i had plateaued at 5 cm and began to get very demoralized. My pit dosage was bumped up and by 9 pm i was able to push. Fifty minutes later, I pushed out 9 lb Nicholas, without an episiotomy!

I was ecstatic to say the least -- it was the difference between being an observor and a participant in the whole process. My ob later told me i had received the highest dose of pit she'd ever given a patient, but it was worth it to feel him coming out of my body. The recovery was SO MUCH easier than my first child's birth -- I went home the next day because I felt great. What helped more than anything though, was the AMAZING obstetrical nurse who was with me for 2 straight shifts and provided unyielding support and encouragement. There was no way I could have done this without her or my annesthesiologist, who we had nicknamed "Dr. Feelgood" by the end of the day.

We videotaped this birth and I love to watch it not only to see the birth of my child, but to revel in my strength at being able to pull this off. It was one of the most powerful, magnificent moments of my life, especially after feeling so helpless the previous time.

JILL