Would just like to add to the mix that I had a really positive hospital water vbac on Tuesday of this week.
It took a lot of planning and talking to different people at the hospital, but the birth of dd was exactly how I would have wanted ... and the difference in mobility is huge ... I suffered with spd and coccyx pain during this pregnancy too, and the spd has almost totally resolved already - the physio has told me that the hormones involved in a natural labour have kick-started the healing process.
Birth story follows:
Afternoon all ... Apologies in advance for cross-posting this, but dh has Mairwen all cuddled in to him, allowing me 5 minutes to come and tell you all about it!
Well, as you know I had acupuncture on Saturday afternoon (seems like another dimension), then when I came home, the period cramps got stronger, and more unpleasant, and I was running back and for to the loo all the time.
Took some paracetemol then went to bed with the TENS machine on, woke at 10.30ish and had a show - got very excited!! Went back to bed, and woke at 11.20 to a gush of pink liquid - panicked a bit as I thought I was bleeding, so phoned the hospital, and they told me it was probably just more of the show. 11.45, I had another gush, and started getting BIG contractions, so phoned them again, and they told me to go in.
By the time we arrived the contractions were rolling in every 2 minutes or so, and when I was examined I was already 5 cm dliated. I'd asked if the pool was free the minute I walked in through the door, and was told that some interest had been shown in it, but I was quite forceful about wanting it ... and as the cosultant had written about water on my notes, I was taken to the pool room. At the 1st examination, I was told that baby was back-to-back, so getting in the water was just magic!
After a while, the contracctions were really hurting my back, and I got the urge to push. Wonderful midwife told me that this was probably because of position of baby, and that I'd need to breathe through them for the time being. I had the good old gas and air, to take the urge off the need to push.
At about 4am, the midwife suggested that she examine me, although it wasn't really time, as I was having real problems blowing through the urge to push, so I got out of the water, and she examined me, to find that the baby was in fact already on her way down the birth canal!
I got back in the water, and started pushing, midwife was fabulous, quite firm with me, but not at all in my face. Eventually, it got to 5.30am, and as I had had a previous section, and was getting quite tired, she suggested I get out of the water, and we would assess whether I needed to go upstairs to the CLU.
The thought of not getting my natural vbac, and the walk from the pool to the mattress seems to have given me a 2nd wind, as I got down onto all fours and pushed the baby out 10 minutes later.
I tore quite badly (wonderful midwife sewed me up beautifully!), and also needed a managed 3rd stage as I was getting to the edge of the bleeding being classed as a pph, so consented to the injection.
Mairwen fed before we left the delivery room, then we went back to the original room we had come from where we had a wonderfully unhassled period of skin-to-skin, and got to know our new baby.
That was Monday - we came home later on Monday afternoon, and have been getting to know our daughter. I've had some difficulty establishing breastfeeding, but have been superbly supported by the midwives and breastfeeding cousellors at the hospital, and I think we're getting there.
I've laid a lot of demons to rest in the past couple of days!!