It all began around 3 a.m. on Thursday, May 3. I woke up to some cramping that lasted until around 4:30 a.m., but I dismissed it as pretty normal. I'd been having some cramps off and on throughout the pregnancy, and while I noticed them more so the week before, I knew they could be an early sign of labor but not an imminent sign.
[Side note: I also had some nausea, another early sign of labor, the last week in April. And three days before Silas' arrival I started using evening primrose oil as suggested by my midwife to "ripen the cervix." Not sure if that's why Silas came soon after, but I'll definitely keep it in mind for any future children!]
[Side note: I also had some nausea, another early sign of labor, the last week in April. And three days before Silas' arrival I started using evening primrose oil as suggested by my midwife to "ripen the cervix." Not sure if that's why Silas came soon after, but I'll definitely keep it in mind for any future children!]
Back to May 3. I got up to start my day around 5:30 because I was going to watch my friend Erica's daughter, Adeline, for the day. It was at that time I noticed blood, which generally means the mucus plug has broken or is beginning to break up. I yelled for Andrew...though I'm not sure why. As he stumbled to the door, I spilled out what had happened and asked if I should call the midwife, basically knowing I would anyway. He agreed and went right back to bed.
While continuing to get ready to babysit, I spoke with one of my midwives who said to just watch things for the day, look for patterns and call if my water broke. Because I tested positive for strep B, I needed to come in pretty soon after my water broke, even if labor hadn't started, to get antibiotics.
I then headed out to Erica's. Once there I told her I was putting her on notice that I might go into labor while at her house so she might need to come home early. She left at 6:30, and I took to the couch. Around that time I started noticing more cramping, and they did seem to be patterned. I had already texted both of my doulas to let them know things might be happening, but sometime after 8 I decided to call Lisa. I told her that I was having low abdominal cramps every 4.5 minutes or so that lasted for about 40 seconds each. I really wanted to know if she thought I should go home in the event things began progressing quickly. We decided it might be a good idea.
Probably around 9 I called Erica to come home, which she did soon after. I actually never saw her daughter because Adeline slept late that morning. I got home around 10 and took to my couch. Andrew came home from work around 11:30 and headed back out to get us lunch. I didn't know it at that point, but Panera would be the last thing I would eat before our son was born.
We both hung out for the afternoon while I watched episode after episode of Gilmore Girls. Around 2 I started timing things again...still truly believing I was having cramps, not contractions. The pain was still really low, and I knew most contractions are felt all over. I was warned, however, that anything patterned could mean labor is happening. Around 3, after talking to Lisa again, I decided to call the midwifery office before they left for the day. My "cramps" were coming every 3-5 minutes and lasting for at least 60 seconds. I talked to Annie the midwife (I also had a doula named Annie) who told me to come in for a check since I was strep B positive. I think if I had been negative I would've been told to stay put because I wasn't terribly uncomfortable.
We got to the hospital at 4, and apparently Annie the midwife saw us in the parking lot and was coming to meet us. On her way, she was pulled into a delivery. Annie the doula had also come to meet us to find out if we would be admitted or sent home. So Annie the doula, Andrew and I were put in a room where I was strapped to a fetal monitor and another monitor and told to sit tight, Annie the midwife would be in soon.
Two hours later Annie the midwife showed up. During that two hours, I got really uncomfortable with things strapped to me. We were able to get me unstrapped so I could sit in a rocking chair. Still somewhat unknown to me (again, thinking I'm having cramps) I was beginning active labor. By the time Annie the midwife got to my room I was dilated 4 centimeters, and my water had broken. Not really sure when that happened, but I'm guessing it was a slow leak.
She decided to keep me and start the antibiotics. This was around 6 p.m. The birthing room with the tub was available, so we all moved there and called Lisa to come. Everything that happened between 6 and 9 is somewhat of a blur. This is a summary of what I recall: rocking in a rocking chair until the tub was full, sitting in the tub which relieved my back labor, being taken out of the tub to labor again in the rocking chair. Oh, and I threw up six times during that period.
The room was pretty silent during that three hours. Apparently Andrew left the room to eat dinner, and I never even knew he was gone. The room was dimly lit, and I had my eyes closed most of the time. It took all of my mental focus to stay on top of each contraction, breathing deeply and occasionally repeating, "You can do this. You can do this."
I do remember Annie the doula breathed through nearly every contraction with me, and I alternated squeezing her hand, Lisa's hand and Andrew's hand. Andrew said he noticed my squeezing was much stronger as the night went on...eventually even a little painful! Besides repeating my mantra, the only words I recall being spoken were "water" and "ice."
Around 9 p.m. I remember looking at Lisa and asking what was going to happen next. She told me later that was the moment she knew I was ready to deliver because it was the first negative thing I had said all night. I got back in the tub and told Annie the midwife I thought I might be ready to push. The time had come, and what I had heard would happen in a natural birth did--my body knew it was time!
Annie the midwife checked to see if I was indeed dilated far enough, and she said something to the effect of, "When you're ready, give it a shot!" It took me a few contractions to get the hang of pushing--I initially tried to keep breathing through the contraction and push at the same time. That is a terrible idea, and one that my midwife corrected pretty quickly. Once I figured it out things went pretty smoothly. I got 3-4 pushes in per contraction, and soon after I began pushing I felt burning. From my reading I knew that meant the head had come down.
They told me to reach down and feel it, which scared the heck out of me. I finally did it, and rather than feeling a round circle, I only felt a sliver. That disappointed me because I thought I would feel more than I did. I kept going though, and eventually Annie the midwife told me to take a break. Shortly after that I started pushing again, and Silas came out!
We, of course, didn't know he was a he at that point. I held this gray, squirmy little thing to my chest and kept looking at Andrew. I couldn't decide if I wanted to cry, laugh or catch my breath from all the pushing and guttural-type noises I had been making. (My throat was sore for a day from throwing up and the noises made while pushing.) I then remembered we had no idea what our baby was.
I asked Andrew if he knew--nope. I asked Annie the midwife what we'd had, and she didn't know either! She hadn't looked. Andrew told me weeks before that he didn't want to be the one to tell me in case he messed up, so I asked Annie to check. Yep, we'd had a boy! Andrew and I were a little in shock since we really felt like we were having a girl. So in shock that Andrew had to take a minute to remember the name we'd chosen, and he had forgotten the middle name completely.
The hard part was over, but we weren't done yet. After the umbilical cord stopped pulsing, Annie the midwife helped Andrew cut it. She and Lisa then helped me out of the tub and onto a hospital bed so I could deliver the placenta and have my tear repaired.
The rest of the night consisted of playing with the placenta (Andrew), nursing (Silas) and talking a whole bunch (me). Apparently all the adrenaline from getting through the birth woke me up, and I talked until at least midnight. By then we were in our room for the weekend, complete with double bed!
I'm extremely thankful everything went well and we had a drug-free, intervention-free (minus the antibiotics for strep B) delivery. Things moved so quickly that night that we had to stay an extra day for Silas to be monitored because he came just shy of four hours after I was given penicillin. The hospital pediatricians like moms to get at least two doses, but Silas came too soon for that.
Our doulas commented that they never even got into their "doula bags." I had every intention of trying several different ways to labor--hands and knees (using Lisa's newly-purchased garden pads), the rebozo, the birth ball, music, on and on. But active labor came on so fast, and I could barely move. Getting up to go to the bathroom or to the birthing tub took everything I had, so I preferred to sit very still, leaning back, to get through each contraction.
One final thing I'll say about that night, and then we'll call it quits for this lengthy post. I'm so glad we hired a doula (and ended up with two!) and went with a midwife. Lisa and Annie the doula prepared us so well and were great that night, and Annie the midwife was fantastic. She never even left the room during the entire laboring process! Again, so grateful for the ways things went...all by the grace of God.
I'll post more pictures from that night (well, the G-rated ones, which are mainly of Silas...I did give birth in a tub after all), but here are a few of baby Silas in those first days at the hospital:
While continuing to get ready to babysit, I spoke with one of my midwives who said to just watch things for the day, look for patterns and call if my water broke. Because I tested positive for strep B, I needed to come in pretty soon after my water broke, even if labor hadn't started, to get antibiotics.
I then headed out to Erica's. Once there I told her I was putting her on notice that I might go into labor while at her house so she might need to come home early. She left at 6:30, and I took to the couch. Around that time I started noticing more cramping, and they did seem to be patterned. I had already texted both of my doulas to let them know things might be happening, but sometime after 8 I decided to call Lisa. I told her that I was having low abdominal cramps every 4.5 minutes or so that lasted for about 40 seconds each. I really wanted to know if she thought I should go home in the event things began progressing quickly. We decided it might be a good idea.
Probably around 9 I called Erica to come home, which she did soon after. I actually never saw her daughter because Adeline slept late that morning. I got home around 10 and took to my couch. Andrew came home from work around 11:30 and headed back out to get us lunch. I didn't know it at that point, but Panera would be the last thing I would eat before our son was born.
We both hung out for the afternoon while I watched episode after episode of Gilmore Girls. Around 2 I started timing things again...still truly believing I was having cramps, not contractions. The pain was still really low, and I knew most contractions are felt all over. I was warned, however, that anything patterned could mean labor is happening. Around 3, after talking to Lisa again, I decided to call the midwifery office before they left for the day. My "cramps" were coming every 3-5 minutes and lasting for at least 60 seconds. I talked to Annie the midwife (I also had a doula named Annie) who told me to come in for a check since I was strep B positive. I think if I had been negative I would've been told to stay put because I wasn't terribly uncomfortable.
We got to the hospital at 4, and apparently Annie the midwife saw us in the parking lot and was coming to meet us. On her way, she was pulled into a delivery. Annie the doula had also come to meet us to find out if we would be admitted or sent home. So Annie the doula, Andrew and I were put in a room where I was strapped to a fetal monitor and another monitor and told to sit tight, Annie the midwife would be in soon.
Two hours later Annie the midwife showed up. During that two hours, I got really uncomfortable with things strapped to me. We were able to get me unstrapped so I could sit in a rocking chair. Still somewhat unknown to me (again, thinking I'm having cramps) I was beginning active labor. By the time Annie the midwife got to my room I was dilated 4 centimeters, and my water had broken. Not really sure when that happened, but I'm guessing it was a slow leak.
She decided to keep me and start the antibiotics. This was around 6 p.m. The birthing room with the tub was available, so we all moved there and called Lisa to come. Everything that happened between 6 and 9 is somewhat of a blur. This is a summary of what I recall: rocking in a rocking chair until the tub was full, sitting in the tub which relieved my back labor, being taken out of the tub to labor again in the rocking chair. Oh, and I threw up six times during that period.
The room was pretty silent during that three hours. Apparently Andrew left the room to eat dinner, and I never even knew he was gone. The room was dimly lit, and I had my eyes closed most of the time. It took all of my mental focus to stay on top of each contraction, breathing deeply and occasionally repeating, "You can do this. You can do this."
I do remember Annie the doula breathed through nearly every contraction with me, and I alternated squeezing her hand, Lisa's hand and Andrew's hand. Andrew said he noticed my squeezing was much stronger as the night went on...eventually even a little painful! Besides repeating my mantra, the only words I recall being spoken were "water" and "ice."
Around 9 p.m. I remember looking at Lisa and asking what was going to happen next. She told me later that was the moment she knew I was ready to deliver because it was the first negative thing I had said all night. I got back in the tub and told Annie the midwife I thought I might be ready to push. The time had come, and what I had heard would happen in a natural birth did--my body knew it was time!
Annie the midwife checked to see if I was indeed dilated far enough, and she said something to the effect of, "When you're ready, give it a shot!" It took me a few contractions to get the hang of pushing--I initially tried to keep breathing through the contraction and push at the same time. That is a terrible idea, and one that my midwife corrected pretty quickly. Once I figured it out things went pretty smoothly. I got 3-4 pushes in per contraction, and soon after I began pushing I felt burning. From my reading I knew that meant the head had come down.
They told me to reach down and feel it, which scared the heck out of me. I finally did it, and rather than feeling a round circle, I only felt a sliver. That disappointed me because I thought I would feel more than I did. I kept going though, and eventually Annie the midwife told me to take a break. Shortly after that I started pushing again, and Silas came out!
We, of course, didn't know he was a he at that point. I held this gray, squirmy little thing to my chest and kept looking at Andrew. I couldn't decide if I wanted to cry, laugh or catch my breath from all the pushing and guttural-type noises I had been making. (My throat was sore for a day from throwing up and the noises made while pushing.) I then remembered we had no idea what our baby was.
I asked Andrew if he knew--nope. I asked Annie the midwife what we'd had, and she didn't know either! She hadn't looked. Andrew told me weeks before that he didn't want to be the one to tell me in case he messed up, so I asked Annie to check. Yep, we'd had a boy! Andrew and I were a little in shock since we really felt like we were having a girl. So in shock that Andrew had to take a minute to remember the name we'd chosen, and he had forgotten the middle name completely.
The hard part was over, but we weren't done yet. After the umbilical cord stopped pulsing, Annie the midwife helped Andrew cut it. She and Lisa then helped me out of the tub and onto a hospital bed so I could deliver the placenta and have my tear repaired.
The rest of the night consisted of playing with the placenta (Andrew), nursing (Silas) and talking a whole bunch (me). Apparently all the adrenaline from getting through the birth woke me up, and I talked until at least midnight. By then we were in our room for the weekend, complete with double bed!
I'm extremely thankful everything went well and we had a drug-free, intervention-free (minus the antibiotics for strep B) delivery. Things moved so quickly that night that we had to stay an extra day for Silas to be monitored because he came just shy of four hours after I was given penicillin. The hospital pediatricians like moms to get at least two doses, but Silas came too soon for that.
Our doulas commented that they never even got into their "doula bags." I had every intention of trying several different ways to labor--hands and knees (using Lisa's newly-purchased garden pads), the rebozo, the birth ball, music, on and on. But active labor came on so fast, and I could barely move. Getting up to go to the bathroom or to the birthing tub took everything I had, so I preferred to sit very still, leaning back, to get through each contraction.
One final thing I'll say about that night, and then we'll call it quits for this lengthy post. I'm so glad we hired a doula (and ended up with two!) and went with a midwife. Lisa and Annie the doula prepared us so well and were great that night, and Annie the midwife was fantastic. She never even left the room during the entire laboring process! Again, so grateful for the ways things went...all by the grace of God.
I'll post more pictures from that night (well, the G-rated ones, which are mainly of Silas...I did give birth in a tub after all), but here are a few of baby Silas in those first days at the hospital:
Soon after being born
after Friday night's bath
my dad with Silas
yay for scratch mittens!
leaving the hospital Sunday
me with Lisa and Annie after Silas was born
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