Thanks for your concern!!!

I don't think I'll get anything stamped between now and Saturday night. We've got plans to spend some quality family time together since in about a month we won't see Peter (the girls and I) until the baby decides to come. That could potentially be 5 weeks. Anyway, I'm so grateful for all of your support, prayers, and concern for my situation. I thought I would explain it again so that you're not too worried.

I have had 2 cesarean sections now. With my oldest child I was induced a week late for my amniotic fluid being low. After 10 hours of labor, her heart rate was becoming distressed so rather than trying anything like re-positioning me, or seeing if I would finally take an epidural (I don't/didn't want one, but if it would have helped I would have gotten one) to relax which could have been the problem too, they said you're getting a c-section.

The second baby I could have tried a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) with, but I would have had to do what I'm doing this time and go to San Antonio (the hospital here can not handle any kind of major problem - they're just not equipped and I'm not comfortable with the hospital here anyway after they sent Emma home with a broken arm that needed surgery but they said it would just heal on its own). The problem with going to San Antonio with my last pregnancy was that my husband was a student pilot here at Laughlin then, and he was graduating right on Sarah's due date, so he would possibly have had to choose between a once in a lifetime experience of graduating from pilot training, and being there for the birth of his daughter. Obviously, he would have chosen the latter, but I didn't want him to have to choose. So, I stayed here in Del Rio and had a planned 2nd c-section.

With this baby I am just so hopeful that we can attempt a VBAC and have it be successful. With one c-section your rate of uterine rupture during labor/delivery goes to about a .05% chance. With 2 c-sections "under my belt" my risk of rupture climbs to about .06%. I'm finding different rates everywhere, but they're all within .01% of the two I just gave you. While there IS a chance, I'm really just trying to prepare myself mentally and physically to have this baby naturally - without a c-section and without an epidural. Epidurals have their place, but I think I'm more terrified of that needle and the risks that come with getting an epidural than I am about any part of labor. I react very badly to the spinals that they give me (to have the c-sections) so I really don't want to be feeling like that while trying to give birth to this baby because I decide to have an epidural. I'm quite sure I will have some sort of reaction to it since I always have to any kind of anesthesia.

As for why I go to San Antonio so early, it's just in case the baby decides to come early. Because of that risk of rupture because I've had c-sections, my pregnancy is termed "at risk" so they don't really want me going into labor in Del Rio where the most likely outcome is the doctors here would feel that I just need to have a c-section and they wouldn't want to try to transport me the 2+ hours to San Antonio to my WONDERFUL doctor there.

I'm going to take my stamping supplies with me - what I need to make my baby announcements for sure - and get some quality stamping done while I'm there. What else can I do for at least 3 weeks with the girls and myself cooped up in a hotel room??? I may not get to post much or at all while I'm there, but I will hopefully have tons of stuff to post when I come back and get settled in with the baby.

Of the utmost importance with this birth is that we have a healthy baby. If I end up having to have a 3rd c-section, it's not the end of the world. We're not 100% sure if this is our last baby. I've ALWAYS wanted 4 kids, but actually being a mom now I don't know if I'm ready for that. With c-sections they always tell you you shouldn't have more than 3. Of course, if I had 3 and got pregnant again, what are they going to do? The thing you have to consider is WHY they say no more than 3 c-sections. It's usually that your risks get higher for problems with the placenta, uterine rupture, and so-on. So, whatever happens, as long as the baby is healthy that's what's most important and we'll go from there. I'll get an epidural if I have to, I'll have a c-section if I have to, but both of those are absolute last resorts for me.

Thanks for reading this far, if you did, and don't forget that when I get to 25,000 hits, I'll have some GOOD blog candy up for grabs!!! Take care, and have a great Memorial Day weekend. Don't forget why we celebrate it. If you didn't see this post by me a few days ago, check it out. It will have you in tears.