First, I have to tell you that I finally succumbed to the awful bug the children have had, one after another, since Christmas. However, I had a really minor bout with it…but not so minor that I didn’t lie in bed all weekend, enjoying the spoiling and pampering. Richard even made homemade jambalaya for dinner on Sunday and served it to me while I was propped up with pillows. Now, THAT will get your sinuses cleared out in a hurry! It was delicious!! I’m feeling much better now.

Richard and I have hired a midwife to deliver the baby at home. It’s a long story that I’ll try to detail next week (I’m a bit behind this week because of the virus). Basically, the local hospitals won’t allow VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean), even if the doctor doesn’t feel it’s in the patient’s best interests to go through that major surgery. We feel my doctor and his nurse weren’t honest with us about the situation and we had to find out information about what was really going on from other parties.

Once we learned the doctor wasn’t giving us all the facts, we could no longer trust him. So, we had three choices: 1. have another cesarean because the hospital basically says they get to cut you open or you can’t have your baby there; 2. hire a doctor from out of town and pray I don’t have the baby on the side of the road while traveling to the out-of-town hospital; 3. hire a midwife and have the baby at home. We, of course, opted for #3. We shopped around and found a local midwife with several years of emergency room experience. She’s licensed and certified, etc. and we really, really like her.

Anyway, as I stated above, I’ll write more details next week. If you or someone you know has had a VBAC, I’d love to hear from you. We’re not getting any home birth support from family members (heck, they already call us the family hippies anyway). Honestly, my biggest fear is uterine rupture, but that only happens in 1 out of 580 VBACs. Other than that, I think I can handle it. Lord knows, I’ve birthed babies without drugs before! And, if something does go awry, we’re only 2 minutes from the hospital and, at that point, they would have to admit me and take care of us. They can’t turn you away at the door if you’re already in labor or if you’ve just given birth.

NOTE: We have started a blog on this topic so you can track our travels down this unknown and scary path. You can post your VBAC comments and/or experiences at: https://vbac.angelahoy.com/
https://vbac.angelahoy.com/

Hugs to everybody!

Ang

P.S. Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts? Woman’s Day – $2,800; Redbook – $3,500; Ladies Home Journal – $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com – $2,000; Lifetime Magazine – $3,000; Life Extension Magazine – $6,480; Natural Remedies – $11,300; and many more! See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html