I still remember being 38 weeks pregnant with my second baby. I stopped by my OBGYN’s office, collected all of my paperwork and said goodbye to them.

Later doctors! I’m taking this baby show down the road.

I was switching doctors. At 38 weeks. Who does that?! Oh right. Me.

It’s extremely difficult to even get an OBGYN to take on a new patient so late in a pregnancy, but I was one determined pregger girl.

You see, my first baby was a c-section.

So I really wanted my second baby to be a VBAC. Now long before I thought about having babies, I was not familiar with the term VBAC. I must have thought it had something to do with getting your virginity back.

It really doesn’t.

It stands for Vaginal Birth After Cesarean.

And my OBGYN practice supported VBAC’s in concept, but as I got closer to my due date, they were encouraging me to schedule a c-section for 41 weeks (a week past my due date).

Now with my first daughter, I was 10 days late – despite trying to kick start labor with an incredible amount of walking, spicy food and even sex (obviously a last resort when your belly is the size of Rhode Island).

Since my first baby was so late, I wanted my practice to give me just a little more time so I could increase the chances of going into labor on my own and having a vaginal birth. They refused.  And they were adamant. They wanted the c-section scheduled at 41 weeks.

I didn’t know what to do. So I just left.

I had convinced another New York City OBGYN, who was very supportive of VBAC’s, to take me as a patient. She was willing to give my more time to go into labor.

And we waited. 41 weeks came and went. And then a few days later, my labor pains started.

They went on for days with little progress.

Finally, the doctor admitted me to the hospital and eventually I was 7 centimeters dilated. An that’s where it stopped. I didn’t progress. The baby didn’t budge.

Knowing my second daughter Summer now, who can be incredibly slow, I can only imagine that she decided she’s rather get a bite to eat, do some swimming and maybe a little meditation before meeting the world.

The doctor came in and delivered the news. “You’re not progressing. I think it’s time for a c-section.”

Oh crap.

I asked for a few minutes alone with my husband so I could wrap my mind around another surgery.

After awhile, I called her back in.

“Okay. I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

So my daughter Summer Jane was not a VBAC.

But I had done everything I could to make it possible and because of that, I was at peace. I feel grateful that there was a doctor who saw a woman very late in her third trimester and was willing to give me a chance at a vaginal birth.

Today, I look at my 4 1/2 year-old and it matters not one bit how she came into this world.

But at the time, it felt big. It felt important. It mattered to me.

Okay, enough about me! What was your best or most difficult pregnancy moment? By replying, you will be entered to win an exclusive Million Moms Challenge Gift Pack, which includes an all expenses paid trip to a conference on mothers hosted by the UN Foundation in DC (Jan/Feb 2012), an iPad2, a custom-made Million Moms Challenge pendant and $50 donation in your name to Global Giving. Wow. That’s a lot of cool stuff.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Million Moms Challenge. The opinions and text are all mine. Contest runs September 19 to October 16, 2011. A random winner will be announced by October 18, 2011.

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