My VBAC Birth Story: A Positive, Hospital Birth Story

It’s official—we’re a family of five, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic.

Introducing Theodore Walker, the sweetest addition to our family. He arrived on 1/24/24 at 11:43 PM, weighing in at 7 lbs 15 oz.

VBAC: My Third Birth Story

This pregnancy was fantastic until I hit 37 weeks. Between 37 weeks and 38 weeks and 4 days, I found myself in and out of the hospital three times for various reasons. One time, they kept me overnight since my amniotic fluid was low (which was very concerning to me because of Jed’s birth). The other two visits involved being monitored for a few hours before being sent home.

Due to these complications, I was scheduled to be induced at 39 weeks. However, having had a cesarean birth with Jed, we opted for the water-breaking method instead of Pitocin. I was grateful for this because of the risk of uterine rupture.

Thankfully, I didn’t even need to go that route, as I went into labor naturally at 38 weeks and 5 days.

My Positive Hospital Birth: A Successful VBAC Story

On January 24th, after weeks of sleeping poorly, experiencing contractions at night, and overall discomfort, I finally got a good night’s sleep.

I had a feeling I would go into labor that day since I felt so great.

I experienced some mild contractions in the morning, but since I had been having contractions for weeks, I didn’t think much of it.

My husband left for work, needing to drive across the DFW metroplex for one of his jobs. As he left, I joked, “Watch, I’m going to go into labor while you’re across the metroplex.”

We had a normal morning, playing and enjoying some extra screen time. I had my normal favorite protein drink and drank my morning cup of coffee. After lunch, I managed to get both my one-year-old and two-year-old down for naps and rest time.

When I had them settled, my husband called around 1 PM to check in and mentioned he was about to drive about an hour away. I let him know that I was experiencing a couple of contractions here and there, but he should be fine to keep working.

So, I decided to open up my computer and try to get ahead on some work.

Around 1:40, my son woke up from his short nap, and as I got up, I realized that my contractions were becoming more intense and slightly closer together. I put on a movie and started timing them.

Within 20 minutes, I realized that my contractions were actually a lot closer than I had thought, and they were really starting to hurt.

I took a screenshot of my contractions and sent it to Kyle. Here was our text exchange:

Literally as he was pulling into his destination across the metroplex, he decided to turn around and head straight home, just in case my contractions continued since he was over an hour away.

My daughter woke up, and my contractions persisted. My kids watched a movie while I breathed through my contractions using the birth ball ball (by the way, I highly recommend getting one for your third trimester if you don’t already have one. I have this one).

The minute Kyle got home, he was ready to head to the hospital, but I told him I wanted to shower first.

He was slightly confused, but I wanted to be clean and have a good shower since my next one would likely be at the hospital. I also wanted a few minutes to myself to ensure this was the real thing because I had already been to the hospital three times with no baby, and I did not want to put my kids through an unnecessary overnight stay away from us, especially since they are still so young.

Once I gathered myself, I realized the worst that could happen would be that they would send me home from triage, and it didn’t have to be an overnight stay if they sent me home.

So, we got ready, packed up the kids, grabbed the hospital bags (by the way, if you need a hospital packing list, my friend Lo at The Labor Mama has an incredible one for FREE—check it out), and headed out.

We dropped my kids off at my parents’ house and headed to the hospital.

I figured I wouldn’t be able to eat much once I got there, so we made a pit stop at Taco Bell before arriving.

Once the bean burrito was eaten, we made our way inside and headed to triage. Out of all my births, this was my first time in triage, and it wasn’t as scary as I had anticipated!

I arrived around 4 PM, filled out paperwork between my contractions—which I was now unable to talk through and were consistently 2-3 minutes apart—and changed into a hospital gown with the plan of attempting a TOLAC (trial of labor after cesarean).

Even though I was only 3-4cm dilated, they admitted me since I was contracting so much, and I had a slightly higher than normal chance of uterine rupture since I didn’t wait the full 18 months to 2 years before getting pregnant again.

My original plan was to try for a non-medicated birth, but given the slightly higher risk of rupture and after discussing it with my OB, we decided to get an epidural just in case I needed to have an emergency cesarean.

Once I was settled into the room around 7 PM with monitoring of the baby and my contractions, my OB came in to check on me. She planned to break my water in a few hours, and I opted to get an epidural shortly afterward to see if I could get some sleep since my contractions were 2 minutes apart, and I couldn’t get any rest.

I received the epidural and was checked again, and my water broke on its own. I was about 5cm dilated by then, around 9 PM.

We put on Guy’s Grocery Games, and I tried to calm down and get some rest. I used the peanut ball to see if we could expedite the process. At about 11 PM, I started feeling some pressure and got checked again. I was 9cm dilated at that point.

They called in a few people to start preparing me for some practice pushes. I turned on my worship music and started pushing with the green light. By the time the OB arrived and we were ready to proceed, it was 11:30 PM. I started pushing, and he was born at 11:43 PM.

They placed him on my chest, and he was absolutely perfect. My birth was everything I had hoped and prayed for—a truly redemptive experience.

Since then, we have been adjusting as a family of five with three kids under three.

VBAC Prep:

If you’re considering a VBAC or a hospital birth in general, here are some things I found super helpful:

• The Labor Mama’s VBAC Course: This course provided me with so much peace about having a VBAC. While the risks are very low, it’s important to know what they are, how to minimize them, and feel comfortable and confident in your decision. Lo’s course did that for me, explaining things in a way that felt more like advice from a friend who has been through it rather than from a medical professional. I highly recommend it (P.S., this isn’t sponsored; I just love Lo and the course that much).
• Listening to/Reading Positive Stories About VBACs: Instead of focusing on horror stories, surround yourself with positive narratives.
• Praying Through My Birth: I focused on the birth I wanted but also surrendered and trusted in the Lord’s plan, regardless.

Since Theo’s birth, we’ve been spending a lot of time at home playing, offering grace, and sharing many hugs. Transitioning to three kids when they are all so young has definitely had its challenging moments, but overall, it’s been incredibly sweet.

Theo is the final piece of our family puzzle, and I’m soaking it all in as much as I can. But I won’t lie—I’m also looking forward to this next season of fewer hospital bills and the next chapter for our family.