Silas' Birth Story Part 2

Alright, here's part 2...

We made it into the room and I got situated on a birth ball. The contractions were strong, but I kept focusing on taking big breaths in my nose and then pushing them out my mouth. My nurse asked me some questions about my birth plan. Our basic answer was—I wanted to go medication free, didn’t want to be asked pain level, and wanted to move around and not be in bed.

After laboring for a while I leaned forward and laid my head down on some pillows on the bed. I was tired and could tell I needed some energy to get through the next stage. Amazingly I had a long stretch with no contractions and actually got a little rest. I really have no idea how long this was, it probably was only 5 minutes but it was exactly what I needed. During this time I could feel Silas moving around. My body was clearly working hard to get everything in place for delivery. On the next contraction my water broke.

(Side note: this is super weird feeling. My water broke in the tub with Walt so I never really experienced it.)

The nurse let my midwife know my water had broke and she came in to talk to me, she let me know I probably was not going to get all the antibiotics in before delivery. I really wanted to get in a tub to help with the pain, so they were trying to get one cleaned for me. But Silas had other plans.

I had one extremely strong contraction, to the point of where I was questioning whether or not I could keep going. And then I felt the pressure and knew Silas was coming. I told the nurse “He’s coming!” and she calmly said, “Yes I’m sure he is.” She called for a cart and then for Lindsey (the midwife) but Lindsey was already walking in the room.

Pretty sure this was my "He's coming!" face

At this point I was still sitting on the ball, still wearing the shorts I wore to the hospital. They had me stand up, lean forward over the bed, and had Kyle hold my arms because my legs were pretty shaky at this point. The next contraction his head came out and then they had me make low noises to help get the rest of his body out. And he was here! Born at 4:35 pm, just 5 hours after my labor started!

They placed him on the bed in front of me, I remember asking if he was okay because he wasn’t making any noises. But they said he was fine and told me to keep talking to him. So I put my face up against his and kept talking to him and he started making noises. Apparently we were both a little in shock with how quick he came.

Look at that proud daddy

Finally meeting my little boy 

Kyle got to cut the umbilical cord and then we snuggled up with little Silas in bed.

After about 20 minutes they weighed and measured him. He was 8 pounds 5 ounces and 21 inches long, a pretty big boy! 

My parents brought Walt up to meet his little brother after we had gotten situated in our room. He was excited to meet baby Si as he affectionately calls him.

Everything about Silas' labor and delivery was fast, and yet he is the sleepiest and most chill baby I've ever been around. Especially the first few days, he is getting more alert and has his fussy periods but overall he is a happy baby.

The whole process was perfect, which is strange to say about birth but that's the only word I can use to describe it. As some of you know we went through a miscarriage last year and pregnancy after miscarriage is hard. It's hard to let yourself get excited again or to get attached. It's a complicated mix of emotions of grief and joy. In all honesty, for a long time during this pregnancy I didn't think I would get to hold this baby. I didn't allow myself to dream about him or think about his birth. I didn't write out a birth plan or weigh the options of each decision. Partly because we had spent so much time going over those things before Walt and I was still confident in our decisions but also because it was scary to plan. If I just got to hold him I was going to be grateful. He has brought joy into our family that we didn't realize was missing, just like Walt brought us joy during our sadness. We picked the name Silas Jackson, because Jackson means "God is gracious." Despite all of the trials we have gone through to get to this point, God has remained steadfast and unchanging, He is indeed gracious.

All of our pictures are thanks to my amazing and selfless friend Caysi, who made it a priority to be by our side during this birth just like she was with Walt and just like she was when we lost our little baby last year. I am forever grateful for these pictures, for her presence during labor, and for her friendship every day.