Thinking About "The Next One"

When I had my 1-week postpartum check up we had asked Dr. Ledella how long we would have to wait to have a another child if we wanted a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). She told us two years, and at that time, we were not at all ready to have another child or to try to replace Danielle, so that seemed like a reasonable amount of time.

Though we did want to ask for a second opinion. Since we would hopefully be having our next child at Woodwinds, as was the original plan with Danni, we thought it would be wise to ask them. So at my 6-week postpartum check up, we asked Carrie. She wasn't sure, but asked the doctors. They told her one year. But we also found out that at that point in time Woodwinds did not do VBACs, but St. Joe's did.

After doing some research online, I found some women had gotten pregnant as early as three months after having a c-section, and still had a successful VBAC. Though we found that ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) recommends 18 months from birth-to-birth (nine months from c-section to conception) for VBACs and HBACs (Home Birth After Cesarean).

With ICAN's recommendation, we would be able to start trying to conceive in February 2011. Though at the beginning of October 2010, we thought we might be (though had not been trying at all) and even figured out we would be due on June 25. We were waiting to find out and were starting to get hopeful. We waited some more, and started to get excited. Then found out we weren't.

The same weekend we found out we weren't, we found out that my sister-in-law was pregnant with her eighth child, and she calculated that she was due June 25. I was very excited for them, but at the same time, not. They had thought they might be a couple months before, and were afraid that after loosing Danni, that it would be hard for us. They talked to us about it, but we both said that we would be happy for them if they were. And, like I said, we are, but at the same time it is a little hard to handle.

And actually within a couple days, we found out that two others in Adam's family were pregnant as well. Again, we were happy for them, but it was still hard.