C-Section Vs VBAC - Birthing story

I am sure a lot of us mommies have gone through this dilemma of opting for C-sec or VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-sec). My dilemma about the same started as soon as my pregnancy with Junior was confirmed ... thanks to the print out handed to me at the doctor's office. I was instructed to read through the risks of VBAC and give in my consent in writing.... this during my first visit to the doctor. (Oct 26th 2007). I was very surprised at first, but didn't want to rush at things... so postponed the decision making by a couple of weeks.

All the while, my heart was set on the VBAC option. During pregnancy I came across some mommies for whom the VBAC option had gone severly wrong. They say the risk of uterus rupture during VBAC is 1% and 50% of the same could cause permanent brain damage to the new born. Though the percentage looks small, having seen first hand examples of the same always brought in some fear in my mind. No mommy would want to carry a healthy baby for 9 months only to risk the baby's health during delivery.

So while I postponed my decision (rather I postponed handing over the written consent to the doctor), my gyno always seem to scare me with the risks and hardly highlighted the benefits of the normal delivery. It came as a breadth of fresh air when my mid-wife examined me and suggested that the baby's head was down and that other things were going very normal during my 30th week check up. (why mid-wife examined me ... well my woe story with the doctor calls for another post). My mid-wife advised me to wait till the 35th week before I made any decision. But the doctor would not wait till such time. Even before I gave my written consent on my preference I got a call from doctor's office about scheduling my C-section for the 13th May. (my due date was 26th May). This irritated me to great levels. While one of the major benefits I was going to get by opting for C-section was a date of my choice, the doctor had deprived me of the same by just giving me one option. My mom was arriving at our place on the 11th and 13th seemed too close to schedule the delivery. Besides, I knew that I was making good progress and could go in for VBAC.

After a lot of discussion with BP and my family doctor, I opted for VBAC and gave in my written consent for the same. The doctor did not seem very pleased with the option though. The following exams went smooth with the doctor saying that the baby had started to descend. But my cervix remained closed till 37 weeks. During this time, I started developing ichy rashes all over my tummy. They were terribly irritating and kept me awake through the night. I was refered to a dermatologist who dismissed the rashes as an allergic reaction to the Cocoa butter cream I had applied. With the rashes reddening with each day, I was monitored for "Non Stress Test" for 2 weeks. During my 40th week appointment, the doctor examined me and said that I had made no progress at all since 37th week. The baby's position and the cervix measured the same. She also scared me that the baby was big and it could be a very hard delivery for me. (my built is rather small) I was just 6 days away from my due date and still there was no sign of labor and the baby was supposedly big ... thats when my fears got me and we decided to schedule a C-section. So the next day was chosen for the baby's arrival.

Mom got busy satisfying my last minute cravings and BP went and brought guavas (my favourite fruit) and zillion sweets to satisfy my taste buds. I was pampered a lot that evening :)

Anyways, we went to the hospital as per plan around 9:30am. I was hooked on to the monitor. As luck would have it, I started contracting within minutes. The contractions were regular and were about 3 mins apart. Yep ... I started having labor contractions. The nurses who were monitoring me repeatedly started asking me if I really wanted to go in for C-section which was scheduled at 11:30am. They felt I was making good progress in the short span I was hooked. My cervix was examined and turned out I had dilated to 2 cms. All these changes in less than 24 hrs of my check up with the doctor. The hospital nurse explained to me that I still had the option to change my mind to VBAC if I wanted. She said, that they could monitor me for a couple of more hours and see my progress. The idea suited me and BP (my mom was completely opposed to this idea) and we decided to wait for a few hours. I got a call from the doctor immediately ... I must say it almost sounded like a threatening call. She said if I didn't go for C-sec at the decided time, she was not going to be available for the entire week and that some random doctor from the hospital. We still continued to go with the VBAC option. When I asked the hospital nurse who my doctor would be, she said your gyno has asked to be informed about your progress. She will continue to be there for you. So all the phone talk that the doctor had with me was just to scare me ?????

A couple of minutes later, another hospital doctor came to examine me. She said though my contractions were regular, since this was going to be my first vaginal delivery, it could take hours before I delivered. She also confidently said that the baby's head was big and the baby would be aleast 8 lbs. She was sure it was going to be a very tough delivery. She also said, she was not a specialist in VBAC and that my regular doctor was the best doctor in town. (even better than her). Basically she scared us :( And there we gave in to the pressure and decided to go with C-section.

I was wheeled to the Operation theatre within minutes and my doctor arrived in less than 5 minutes. (don't ask me where she was all this while ....wasn't she supposed to be unavailable after 11:45am??? ) My surgery began at 12:38pm and 12:49pm Junior was born. I could hear the excitement in BP's voice when he screamed its a girl ... its a girl. Junior 's loud cries kept me awake the next few minutes.

She was weighed to be 7.2 lbs and measured 19.5in (not a very big baby you said ... well I thought the same too ... so I was tricked to believe it was a very big baby). Anyways she was healthy and that mattered most to BP and I.

And there ... the long debate of VBAC and C-section concluded dramatically in being a C-section.
Here is wishing other expecting mommies a very healthy delivery !!!!

Hi - Its me Junior

Hi All,

Its me Junior, Cantaloupe's little sister. I am a week old as of today (born on 20th May 2008, at 12:49 pm). Mommy did not make my annoucement to the blogworld when I kicked and kicked hard in her tummy to remind her of my presence. And now, I am a week old and she shows no sign of any annoucement ... so I decided to say Hello to blogworld myself. I couldn't wait to meet other mommies and my friends. I weighed 7.2 lbs at birth and was 19.5 in long.

My arrival was as dramatic as it could be. There was action, tension, suspense everything to the story ...but I think mom and dad are pretty happy with the end result. All is well that ends well.

I love my sister and I can see that she adores me. She is so excited about me and at times, forgets I am a little one. She squeezes, scratches me in her excitement ... it hardly bothers me. But it seems to tense up my parents and grandma. They try hard to make my sister understand I am little ...but guys, when I am not complaining, wonder why they are so protective of me !!!

Everyone has their opinion far as my resemblance to anyone is considered. Some seem to think I am just a copy of my dad and some think I have a fair resemblance to my aunt ... none seem to think I look like my mommy. (cheer up amma)

Amma looks tired ...she still cannot sleep on the bed through the night. The C-section scars seem to bother her. The first day we were home, she spent the entire night on the rocking chair,with a couple of pillows. Now she is getting better and lies for about an hour on so on the bed. Still spends most part of the night on the rocking chair. Daddy is tired as well ... with all the things to be taken care along with spending time with sis and me. He plans to start going to office from tomorrow. He is worried grandma and mommy will not be able to take care of both sis and me. He is insisting on sending sis to day care ... while mommy declares she will manage just fine.

As for me,I am doing just fine. Gaining back the weight I lost a week after birth. I will keep you all posted about other things in our household if mommy fails to write often.

Cheers
Junior

Amma is here !!!

Mom arrived here sunday afternoon. Her journey was hasslefree ... touchwood. The flight arrived 45 mins early. It was supposed to land at 12:30pm and we checked the flight status online around 11:30am from home. It showed expected arrival as 11:40am. We have a good 45min drive from home to the airport. So we rushed ... but unfortunately amma had already come out and we missed hugging her as she moved out of customs to the arrival area.

Anyways, it feels great to have her here. Cantaloupe has been talking non stop with her grandma. We decided not to send Cantaloupe to school during the summer break. So she is home and having a great time with me and my mom.

I have been hogging on all the goodies that amma has brought from India. Today we performed a small pooja at home. Dinner promises to be fun with my sister and BIL expected to join us.

I have already been irregular with blogging ... I guess the rate is going to be only slower for the next couple of days. I have a lot of posts to catch up on ... will try to squeeze time in between our gossips :)

Apr 08 - recap

The past month has been eventful and I am guilty of not blogging about it. The main reason I started out blogging was to reflect back my thoughts on events and also to recollect back on events which otherwise might have been forgotten.
Before I forget about the events in Apr, I better make a written note about it.

My Birthday!!

Yep ... BP and cantaloupe celebrated my birthday in such a special way, I will remember it for many many years to come. BP worked till late night and when it was midnight, wished me right at midnight. Cantaloupe had asked her dad to be woken up too ... but BP dropped the idea since putting her back to sleep would be too much a task. Of course the first thing she did in the morning was wish me with a bright smile. I was not allowed to enter the kitchen ... while I relaxed on the rocker, I was served steaming hot milk. Yummy dosas with pickle completed the breakfast. The lunch was cooked and ready and BP left to work, promising to come back early and spend the evening with me. (he is usually home around 8:00pm)
For a week, I got suspecious that BP and Cantaloupe had planned / purchased some gift for me but never once did I get a clue of what it was. I kept thinking it was going to be an ipod or an iphone since we had talked about it a couple of days back. Anyways, breakfast done, BP leaving to work and Cantaloupe to school ... yet no sign of any gift. BP insisted he had not bought anything ... but I could not believe him. (not that he has surprised me with a gift every year... but this year, I somehow felt he was going to gift me. OK ... may be I wanted him to surprise me :))
Soon it was evening and BP came home a little later than promised, but much sooner than usual days. He handed over a packet to Cantaloupe and she promptly gave to me yelling surprise ... surprise. I opened the packet and it was a lovely Chocolate / icecream cake. Sure I was surprised with the nice cake ... but I guess I was expecting something else. My sister and BIL arrived around the same time. We enjoyed the delicious cake and headed out for dinner. My BIL wanted to get something checked on his new vehicle on the way. My sister said she was starving ... he promised it wasn't going to take more than 10 mins. So we went to the vehicle showroom. The sales attendant led us to the parking lot withing the building and then out of nowhere ... BP / Cantaloupe / Sister / BIL and the showroom staff start singing the birthday song while BP hands over the keys of our new Minivan ..... WOW !!! WHAT A SURPRISE !!! Not even in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this gift. Sure, BP and I had discussed about the minivan... narrowed our choice ... but getting it from him in this way was very very special .... It was a great feeling ... The sales guy went on and on about the features included in the van ... when I looked at him and said "The fact that we own this van is still sinking in ... more than half of what you are saying is not making sense to me !!!". I drove home the new vehicle and performed a small pooja and then we went out for dinner to a nice restaurant. Did I mention that the price of the vehivle was not disclosed to me till the next day ??? :))))

Community Event

April began with a bang with organising yet another community event. This time we organised a fun fair. The concept was new to the people ... the games were innovative ... the food was delicious and best part ... every one won something or the other. The event was organised with wide age group in mind. We had the following boothes: Riddle solving, Early bird special, Lucky dip, Mehendi, Face painting, Doll decoration (with supplies provided), Basket the ball, Dart, Bow and Arrow, Hoopla, Carrom, Rummy, Bingo .... The main attraction of the event was hot coffee counter :) It was such fun organising the event and the most rewarding was the crowd excitement on winning the prize. And guess what ... Cantaloupe won herself a coffee mug in the Hoopla and won the bumper Lucky Dip prize :)))

Cantaloupe's report:
This month was again rough with Cantaloupe refusing to sleep by herself. She sleeps for about 4 hrs and then if she doesn't find anyone around her, promptly comes to our room. This was the initial challenge as well ... and then she slept for a week or so through the night. Now she is back to her old habit. I really don't see an end to this soon.
The brushing challenge continues ... brushing at night is slightly easier than morning though.
She can read 3/4 letter words now (atleast straight forward ones)... is usually trying to read the signs / boards when we are driving. Holds the menu card in the restaurant as if she really knows what she is doing and tries to read it ... She is selected as the "Queen" in the skit the school kids will be enacting for the spring program.
She continues to go to her swim classes ... waking her and her dad early on saturday morning is proving to be big challenge. I hope we get a time change in the summer session... I can easily see a few classes being missed if we don't get a change.
BP is now so confident with her cycling that he has taken her to the nearby grocery / ATM / Library 0n her bicycle. (requires her to cross traffic signals)

Well... thats the summary of April. Looking forward to my mom visiting us next week. The next few months will be exciting :)