Kathy's Birth StoryAbigail Grace arrived 6 days late on Tuesday, July 24th at 8:37PM. She weighed 8 lbs 13 oz and was 20 inches long.
On Tuesday afternoon I had gone to the Beaverton clinic for a non-stress test. I was having mild contractions and during some of the contractions Abigail's heart rate dropped. In addition, my amniotic fluid was very low, even for 41 weeks. I was sent to St. Vincent's to do additional non-stress tests at 3:30 pm. Abigail ended up getting a 6 out of 8 on her biophysical profile and the doctors again expressed concern at my low amniotic fluid levels. Abigail was still doing fine, but my doctor said that I would need to stay in the hospital until I either went into labor on my own or decided to have a C-section. (Since I had a C-section with my son, induction was not an option).
After much thought and prayer, my husband and I decided to have another C-section. Although I had planned to deliver Abigail via VBAC, my primary goal was to have a safe and healthy baby and both my husband and I felt that a C-section was the right choice given our situation. We scheduled the C-section for that night at 8pm. (The next day was my son's 3rd birthday, so it was important to me if we were going to deliver her this way that they have different birthdays).
This experience was so different from my previous C-section. Since I was not exhausted from a lengthy labor, I really felt like I could enjoy the birth experience. As soon as I got to the recovery room, Abigail started nursing and proceeded to nurse for an hour and a half straight. She then nursed almost non-stop for the next day and a half. The nurses kept telling me my milk would probably come in about 3 days after delivery, but it was in by Thursday morning (about 36 hours after delivery!) Breastfeeding is going very well. I remember why this was one of my favorite things about my son's first year.
The whole recovery process has been so different from last time. I feel so much stronger and healthier and have experienced far less pain and discomfort. I definitely think the walking and the YOGA :-) have helped to speed my recovery. I am so glad that I am actually able to enjoy this time with my son and husband and beautiful new daughter!
Vittoria, I am hoping that you will be offering a postpartum yoga class in September. I will probably need the month of August to finish recovery from the surgery, but then would love to get back into yoga again.
On Tuesday afternoon I had gone to the Beaverton clinic for a non-stress test. I was having mild contractions and during some of the contractions Abigail's heart rate dropped. In addition, my amniotic fluid was very low, even for 41 weeks. I was sent to St. Vincent's to do additional non-stress tests at 3:30 pm. Abigail ended up getting a 6 out of 8 on her biophysical profile and the doctors again expressed concern at my low amniotic fluid levels. Abigail was still doing fine, but my doctor said that I would need to stay in the hospital until I either went into labor on my own or decided to have a C-section. (Since I had a C-section with my son, induction was not an option).
After much thought and prayer, my husband and I decided to have another C-section. Although I had planned to deliver Abigail via VBAC, my primary goal was to have a safe and healthy baby and both my husband and I felt that a C-section was the right choice given our situation. We scheduled the C-section for that night at 8pm. (The next day was my son's 3rd birthday, so it was important to me if we were going to deliver her this way that they have different birthdays).
This experience was so different from my previous C-section. Since I was not exhausted from a lengthy labor, I really felt like I could enjoy the birth experience. As soon as I got to the recovery room, Abigail started nursing and proceeded to nurse for an hour and a half straight. She then nursed almost non-stop for the next day and a half. The nurses kept telling me my milk would probably come in about 3 days after delivery, but it was in by Thursday morning (about 36 hours after delivery!) Breastfeeding is going very well. I remember why this was one of my favorite things about my son's first year.The whole recovery process has been so different from last time. I feel so much stronger and healthier and have experienced far less pain and discomfort. I definitely think the walking and the YOGA :-) have helped to speed my recovery. I am so glad that I am actually able to enjoy this time with my son and husband and beautiful new daughter!
Vittoria, I am hoping that you will be offering a postpartum yoga class in September. I will probably need the month of August to finish recovery from the surgery, but then would love to get back into yoga again.