Birth Story

Monday morning, the 23rd started with an early wake up call from Abby. I was feeling crampy and then had a bit of bleeding. My midwife told me to go to the hospital to get "checked out". Paul and I came on down (an hour and a half drive) and ended up being at the hospital for 7 hours. They did all kinds of tests, monitored heartbeat, contractions, etc. For a bit, I had contractions about 8-10 minutes apart but it didn't last. Just as they were going to discharge me, they checked and I had gone from a 1 to a 2. Not very significant but asked me to stay another couple hours to watch. Nothing else happened so they finally discharged me and told me to stay in town for 1-2 hours "just in case".

Poor Paul! This is the last three weeks of classes for him before he graduates and he has spent so much time driving and being here. Great husband :)

Tuesday, I continued having contractions in the early morning which subsided when I got up. I made banana bread and washed dishes. Then I sat down and finished a baby quilt for my cousin. My contractions were pretty much gone! My cousins Laura and Jeff were flying into Denver that evening so we left a little after noon to go fetch them (3 hour drive). I continued having contractions every now and then, but nothing regular or intense. We got home close to 10 pm and crashed.

Wednesday morning at 3am, I woke up because of painful contractions. I couldn't sleep anymore so finally just went to the living room where I skyped with my mom and sister. I found a cool contraction monitor online which would measure how long the contractions were and how far apart. For several hours, they were right at the 10 minute mark but without fail. Around 6:30 my contractions were 6-7 minutes apart. The hospital had told me to wait until we were 3-5 minutes but I wanted to make sure I could get there in time. We were making plans for people to watch Abby and get ourselves in gear when the contractions went back to 10 minutes apart and just stayed there. At this point, I was exhausted so I took a nap - well, in between contracions that is! Around 9:30, my mom skyped me again and wanted to know how things were going. She encouraged me to get up and do some housework!!!! At this point, we weren't trying to stop the process. So I started laundry and then Laura and I took a walk with Abby down to the barn. I was still having contractions but they really weren't very bad. At 11, we went to chapel. About halfway through chapel, I had such a long, painful contraction and couldn't stay. I went home with Abby where I could walk around and "do stuff". I was hungry so I started making potato soup. Peeling and chopping potatoes is a great way to get through contractions by the way. Through all this I was timing the contractions and all of a sudden, they started getting shorter and shorter apart. When Paul, Jeff and Laura came back from chapel, I was telling them we should probably go to the hospital soon but let me finish the soup. The guys packed and got everything together. Beth Ann came to get Abby for the afternoon. And I worked on my soup. Paul was ready before me but I really wanted this soup that I had been working on. We took a few more minutes to finish it up and pack it in containers to eat in the car. The funny thing is that I never had any. As soon as we started driving, my contractions were 3 minutes apart. Can I just say "not fun!" And how about getting to the hospital in record time?

I got to the L & D desk, telling them I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart. I was sent to the observation room where it was noted that I was already dilated at a 5, station 0. The head was already down pretty far! Since I had to have antibiotics for GRB, I had the IV put in and the penicillin started. As soon as that was finished, I was getting the jacuzii. Wahoo! I was so excited about that but my contractions started picking up in intensity. I was trying to ignore the fact that there was a lot of pressure and I kind of felt the need to push. I have a one track mind and wanted that jacuzzi. Thankfully the nurse saw what was happening and whisked me away to the delivery room. My penicillin was finished and so just before the jacuzzi she wanted to check me again. I was at a 8/9 --- too late for the jacuzzi. She also said the bag of waters was a huge bulge on babies' head and that as soon as they broke it, baby would be out. I did get to use the birthing ball and ladies, what a marvelous help that is. So much more comfortable than the bed or even standing up.

My midwife, Mary, was called, came over immediately - Praise God! As she checked me, I went to completely effaced. My water was broken and then we were pushing. With the second push, Mary said she could see the head and the hair. "He's almost here". With the third push, out he popped!!!!! So tiny but breathing well.  And this only an hour and a half since we arrived at the hospital....totally the way to go.

3:57 p.m. on November 25th!!! He weighed in at 4 pounds, 11.5 ounces and his length is 16 inches. His head diameter is a mere 12 inches. The most amazing thing to me is how well his vitals were. He has such big feet and big hands for being such a little guy.

Meanwhile, I was able to deliver the placenta and get just two stitches. Small babies = no tears.

I praise God for the wonderful timing in getting to the hospital. I praise God for great nurses who respected our birth plan and wanted us to have the best experience possible. I praise God for allowing me to go through this naturally and not to give up. I praise God that my midwife was working this day AND got there in time. I praise God that both Paul and Laura were able to be there for the birth.

We named our little guy Silas Anthony. The name Silas is after the Silas from the Bible. Anthony is a family name. Paul, his dad, grandpa and great-grandpa all have Anthony as a middle name.

Our family is a bit bigger now. We will have to put up a picture with Abby too, but that will have to wait just a little bit longer.

Thanks for all of you that prayed for us. Welcome Silas!!!!