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c section

Daily Life

1 Year Ago today…. 39 weeks pregnant with Isabelle

Posted on May 8, 2018

What a difference a year can make! Here I am 39 weeks pregnant with Isabelle! 1 year ago right around this time, I was having my c section. I remember driving there and being so full of worry. Partly about the surgery and recovery, but also about what a new baby would mean to our family. How could I love another baby as much as I love Katie? How would Katie feel about our new family member? Would my relationship with Katie change? Was I selfish for bringing another baby into our family and forcing Katie to split the attention? How on earth would I manage 2 kids?!

How could I love another baby as much as I love Katie? How would Katie feel about our new family member? Would my relationship with Katie change? 

It’s so funny looking back now. Even in the beginning, it felt partly like Isabelle was brand new, but also like she had always been a part of our family. Yes, the girls fight over toys sometimes and there are days where it seems like someone is always crying, but watching them roll around together laughing reminds me that having them was the best thing that has ever happened to me. The days can be long and hectic, but my heart is always full. And just as these worries from last year are gone, I try to remember my present worries are not so big that they won’t be gone this time next year too.

Daily Life

April is C Section Awareness Month

Posted on April 24, 2018

Did you know that April is c section awareness month? When I found out Isabelle was going to be born via c section, I was devastated. Katie was born vaginally and I expected Isabelle to be as well. We first discovered that Isabelle was breech at 33 weeks and the doctors kept telling me there was still “plenty of time.”

The doctors kept telling me there was still “plenty of time.”

I started doing yoga moves that anecdotally have gotten babies to flip and spent a lot of time crawling around on all fours. Around 35 weeks I went and tried #acupuncture and #moxibustion (a procedure also known to get babies to flip.) I felt some attempts, but no full flip and Isabelle was running out of room. At 37 weeks the doctors attempted a breech version. It was more painful than both my vaginal birth and my c section, and Isabelle still wouldn’t budge.

At 37 weeks the doctors attempted a breech version.

At this point I was done trying. The doctors wanted to do one more version attempt a week later and I said no. I felt like I had tried everything and was done forcing it. I was also given the option to meet with a doctor who would deliver breech. Jason and I discussed it in length, but after losing my second pregnancy, and spending much of the third pregnancy worrying about losing Isabelle (bleeding, early labor, effacing 30% at 22 weeks… it was a really difficult pregnancy), we decided that a c section was the best option for us.

We decided that a c section was the best option for us.

A breech delivery gave me too much anxiety, but I did appreciate having options. A lot of women are NOT given options when they are told they need a c section and the US has the highest c section rate of all developed countries – at 33%. Whether it’s because your baby is breech, your labor is getting long, or your water broke, doctors are often quick to say a c section is the only option. Remember that you do have other options, and do what you feel is the best decision for you and your family.

The US has the highest c section rate of all developed countries – at 33%.

Be loud, the squeaky wheel gets greased. Do your research, get a second opinion. A c section is a major abdominal surgery and recovery is not easy. Yes, you will get through it if it happens, but remember that in very few cases is a c section the only option. #csectionawareness