Silas's Birth Story
Sweet baby Silas! He's finally here and I'm so happy to be able to share his journey... well... our journey. Each of my babies have had unique stories (all birth stories are so unique). Here's a recap of my prior babies...
James was my first baby and his story was mostly straightforward. My water broke 4 days after my due date, but nothing happened. After 14 hours, we headed to the hospital, got induced with cytotec, got one dose of a narcotic, labored in a birth tub for a few hours, and then pushed him out on the bed. He was 9 pounds and 5 ounces.
Luke was my second baby and his story was rather traumatic for me. My labor started with him on his due date. I labored for about 24 hours and we knew he was a large baby but didn't know quite how large. I labored in a birth tub the majority of the time, but when he became stuck during pushing due to shoulder dystocia, I was pulled out of the tub and the rest of his body was born quickly on the bed. He was 11 pounds 8 ounces.
Anna was my third baby and her story was quite healing for me. After having two large boys and one who got stuck, I was determined to find the root of the problem and no longer grow large babies. I tested and treated myself for gestational diabetes and was able to have my sugars in wonderful control by modifying my diet and exercise. She did have a challenge though - she was breech and transverse most of the pregnancy because her brother, Luke had made everything just way too large for a baby her size. After doing two external versions, we decided to be induced one day before her due date to avoid her turning back again. After a quick induction, she was born at 7 pounds and 15 ounces.
And now to Silas... Going into his pregnancy, I anticipated from the beginning needing to be very strict with my diet again and I figured I would end up with another baby with an unstable lie because he would have way too much room due to having 3 babies (one giant one) within 5 years. I became a doula right when Anna was born and while I LOVE what I do, I also tend to know a little too much. Since I'm prone to think the worse case about things, this doesn't put me in the best position to have a relaxing and stress free pregnancy and birth. So from the beginning, I processed my fears with my awesome doula partners as well as my midwives. With this last pregnancy, I really wanted to do a birth center birth. I started getting my prenatal care at Baby+Co in Winston Salem because I was able to do several births with Nona Smith (a wonderful midwife!) and she worked there at the time and I admired her approach with her patients. Nona was incredible in my first trimester of care there. Then, one of my friends, Tammy Brothers (another wonderful midwife!) started working at Baby+Co and I was thrilled about that because how great would it be for your friend to help you catch your baby?! I got to be Tammy's doula at her second baby's birth and I thought it would be so nice if she could be there for my birth as my midwife. I went to a couple of visits with Tammy, but around 24 weeks when I started testing my sugar multiple times a day, I realized that something was different with this pregnancy. No matter how perfect I ate or how much I exercised, my numbers were not where they needed to be. It's frustrating not to be in control of something like this! I was somewhat shocked that this was a problem since diet and exercise really couldn't get much better. Once it was decided that I needed to be on medication to manage the diabetes, I risked out of birthing at a birth center. So... I was off to find a new midwife at the beginning of my third trimester. I was able to be a doula for several births with Daniela Paul (another amazing midwife!) at Magnolia Birth Center and at Women's Hospital during my pregnancy so I decided to become a midwife patient at Wendover OBGYN because the Wendover midwives are able to do waterbirths in the hospital. I was drawn to Daniela's calm yet confident bedside manner. I knew she knew her stuff, was invested in her patients, and was the exact person I wanted at my birth. And she's a Christian! So... at around 27 weeks in my pregnancy, I started seeing her for all my appointments and I went almost weekly because we had to get the right medications for managing my diabetes. During these visits, I always had something new to worry about... It could be shoulder dystocia, my water breaking with a breech baby, ending up with a gigantic baby no matter what I did, wondering if baby was moving enough... and on... and on... But at every visit, Daniela always listened patiently to my fears and she would give me a reality check and then direct me back to God - Always telling me that I have to have faith that He already knows! It was always exactly what I needed.
So finally... As we were in the last days of my pregnancy, I was READY. I decided early on in my pregnancy that I wanted to be induced at 39 weeks for two reasons. First, I wanted to be induced because I didn't want my water to break or my labor to start with a breech or transverse baby. Second, statistically speaking, it can be beneficial for gestational diabetes babies to be born in the 39th week of pregnancy because there is a risk of IUFD as well as baby being large for gestational age. I had an induction with Anna and I didn't fear induction because my body had previously birthed vaginally 3 times, so I felt best with going forward with the induction at 39 weeks.
The date was set. His birthday would be June 19, 2018 and the induction would start at 6:30am. I started counting down the days 6 weeks before! All the kids and I would count down the days. We couldn't wait to meet this baby!
After my 38 week appointment I was especially feeling good about things because we had his final growth ultrasound which showed that he was measuring 7 pounds 7 ounces. Because he still had one more week of pregnancy, we figured he would be right at 8 pounds at birth. I prayed for an 8 pound baby with Anna and she was one ounce shy of 8 pounds. This baby was looking to be right at her size also! He was also mostly behaving with his position... He was head down most of the time, but I could feel him slip out of my pelvis and move to transverse a few times a day. Since his size was no longer a concern, I was mostly worried about his position in labor. What if he flipped while I was in labor? Would we know right away? Would we be able to turn him back? Daniela would always tell me "Let me worry about those things." But I clearly have a hard time letting go.
Ray's parents took the kids on Sunday evening which was AMAZING because it left me all day on Monday to do last minute things. I went nonstop on Monday. I met with a doula client in the morning, then I went out to eat lunch with Ray, then I went home and got some stuff ready for the hospital, then I went and got a pedicure (my prelabor ritual), then I went and got my membranes swept by Tanya (one of Daniela's partners... another wonderful midwife), then I went and got an induction massage (my first one ever. It was awesome. Ruth at Touch of Serenity - go see her), then I had another meeting with another doula client, then I went home and told Ray what to pack from my seat on the couch (because my body was exhausted), then I took an amazing shower and got in bed. I slept SO hard that night!
When we got up on Tuesday morning, we were excited and ready. Ray got everything packed in the car and I fixed my hair and we were off to meet our baby boy! Sarah (my friend and doula partner) met us at the hospital. She was there for Luke's and Anna's birth... She knew I'd die if she wasn't there for Silas.
When we got to our room, Daniela and Stormy (my favorite nurse at Women's Hospital!) were quickly in there and getting us settled. He was head down, so that was a nice start. Daniela gave me lots of induction options to consider... After much thought, I decided to trust her first choice and go with oral cytotec. When she first checked my cervix, it was thick, 3cm, and baby was -3. She swept my membranes again.
Quickly after taking the cytotec, it was difficult to find the baby on the monitor. He had already turned transverse! So Daniela had to move him back down into my pelvis and then she and Stormy had to bind my belly with this giant velcro binder (imagine a corset) to keep my abdomen tight and keep him in place. It wasn't comfortable. But it kept him in place, so I didn't care.
By 8:45am I was already having mild contractions that were typically 3-4 minutes apart. Ray, Sarah, and I just talked a lot. I was in bed some, walking some, and sitting on the ball some. Just relaxing while things were chill.
At noon, Daniela came back to check my cervix to see what was happening. I was 3-4cm now, thinning some, and baby was -2. We decided to do another round of cytotec. By 1:30pm, things were getting stronger, but still very tolerable. We ate lunch, did more walking, talking, and ball sitting.
At 2:30, Silas suddenly made several crazy movements and he went off the monitor. I kinda freaked out and asked for Daniela to come see me again. She verified his position - His head was still down, he had just moved around some and the monitor needed to be adjusted. Monitors often need to be adjusted and I know this, but my fear was that he would totally flip.
We did more walking the halls. Contractions were not any more intense (I could walk and talk well through the contractions) and so I decided I wanted a nap. We went back to the room and I dozed between contractions for about an hour from 3:00-4:00. Contractions were more uncomfortable laying down, but I enjoyed the break.
At 4:00, Stormy checked my cervix and there was no change from noon. This was discouraging to me but not extremely shocking since things were not moving to the next level. So at 5:15, we decided to start pitocin. We had been wanting to avoid it ideally because pitocin requires continuous monitoring and my ideal birth involved laboring in the birth tub. You can't be on pitocin in the tub. But something needed to happen to get me to active labor and breaking my water wasn't an option yet because he was still too high in my pelvis. So we decided to start the pitocin with the goal of turning it off once things were really moving.
At 6:15, Daniela came back to check on me. There was a slight increase in intensity with the pitocin. She wanted to check me and if baby was lower, wanted to break my water. I was hesitant about this because this baby had been so high and I knew I had tons of fluid. Again my mind went to worst case scenario of cord prolapse. This is so rare, but I knew it was possible. Finally I came around to the realization that I trusted Daniela and came to her for a reason... and I knew God was in control. So we decided to go forward with breaking my water. She made a small hole and let the water leak out slowly while Stormy applied fundal pressure. So much water came out. I was sitting in a pool. And I could literally see Stormy's hand get lower and lower on my belly as his head was finally able to engage in my pelvis with all that fluid out of the way.
Ray had just ordered a Hops Hamburger right before we decided to break my water, so once we were done, he left quickly to go grab our dinner. I just stayed in bed until he got back and I was able to eat because I knew things were going to get intense once I stood up with my water broken.
Around 7:15, I got out of bed and things were immediately different. My favorite position was hanging over the ball that was sitting on the edge of the bed. Ray or Sarah would rub my back during a contraction. Ray would run his fingers through my hair and it was very comforting. I wanted things to be very intense before we turned off the pitocin and I got in the tub because I didn't want to risk things slowing down once I didn't have the synthetic hormone going in my body. Finally, I knew it was time to start filling the tub. At 7:40, Daneila checked me and I was 6cm and things were very intense. Sarah started filling the tub. The sound of that water running in the background and knowing I was going to get in was so reassuring! By 7:50 I was in the tub. What a relief! Especially between contractions I felt like I could get a break.
By 8:00 contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and I wasn't happy about things. It hurt. Labor hurts. I see it all the time on the outside, and I knew I would be surprised by how much it hurts because I see moms do it all the time so well! But yea... It hurts. I liked to be on my knees laying over the side of the tub during most contractions and then I would often times slip back down in the tub to let my whole belly and back be covered by water between contractions. I was getting irritated about things because I just wanted them to speed up so he could be in my arms. I knew it was all worth it! I just wanted to be at the end! At one point, Sarah or Daniela offered for Ray to get in the tub with me and I said "No! This is my tub!" Ha. Apparently I don't like to share my birth space.
My back did hurt quite a bit during this labor. Sarah, Ray, or Daniela would apply pressure to my back during a contraction often times and this was helpful. Sometimes I wouldn't want them to touch me, but most of the time it was comforting.
By 9:00, I had been in the tub over an hour and everyone wanted me to get out and go sit on the toilet for a contraction. I was fighting them on this! And this is why a doula needs a doula... Because in my mind I knew that I needed to change positions, but I didn't want to do it. So they basically forced me out. But they wrapped me in blankets and I walked to the toilet. I hate sitting on the toilet in labor (many moms like it). Daniela stood in front of me while I was on the toilet and when a contraction came I immediately stood up... she calmly and firmly sat me back down. My whole body was shaking and I started getting weepy. I just put my head in her chest and she comforted me.
After that one contraction, I quickly went back to my comforting tub. The next while was quite a blur. Around 9:30 I started to feel like I wanted to push. I didn't totally have to push, but it felt better to halfway push than to just relax through the contraction. I was getting very frustrated because the pushing stage with Luke and Anna was less than 5 minutes and the babies shot out. This was an in between feeling and I felt a little lost. Daniela checked me while I was in the water and verified that I was complete and could push when I felt like it. I pushed all my babies out while sitting up, so I just assumed I would do the same with this baby. After some sad and ineffective pushing, Sarah and Daniela convinced me to flip to my knees with my chest hanging over the tub. With the next contraction I had a huge push and felt his head come out. After a short break, Daniela told me to push his shoulders out. That feeling of him slipping out is probably the most relieving feeling ever! He was behind me when he came out and Daniela helped pass him to Ray and Ray handed him up to me. I sat back down, put him on my chest, and just wept. And I was reminded again that THIS is why I love birth! This moment with Silas was one of the best moments of my life. Just immediate love and perfect peace between us. He came out so healthy!
I couldn't believe that his birth turned out to be my ideal birth. My most difficult and challenging pregnancy ended in my first waterbirth... I've been wanting a waterbirth since I got pregnant with James and it FINALLY happened with my baby who was medicated for gestational diabetes and who was flipping all over the place until we bound him still.
James was my first baby and his story was mostly straightforward. My water broke 4 days after my due date, but nothing happened. After 14 hours, we headed to the hospital, got induced with cytotec, got one dose of a narcotic, labored in a birth tub for a few hours, and then pushed him out on the bed. He was 9 pounds and 5 ounces.
Luke was my second baby and his story was rather traumatic for me. My labor started with him on his due date. I labored for about 24 hours and we knew he was a large baby but didn't know quite how large. I labored in a birth tub the majority of the time, but when he became stuck during pushing due to shoulder dystocia, I was pulled out of the tub and the rest of his body was born quickly on the bed. He was 11 pounds 8 ounces.
Anna was my third baby and her story was quite healing for me. After having two large boys and one who got stuck, I was determined to find the root of the problem and no longer grow large babies. I tested and treated myself for gestational diabetes and was able to have my sugars in wonderful control by modifying my diet and exercise. She did have a challenge though - she was breech and transverse most of the pregnancy because her brother, Luke had made everything just way too large for a baby her size. After doing two external versions, we decided to be induced one day before her due date to avoid her turning back again. After a quick induction, she was born at 7 pounds and 15 ounces.
And now to Silas... Going into his pregnancy, I anticipated from the beginning needing to be very strict with my diet again and I figured I would end up with another baby with an unstable lie because he would have way too much room due to having 3 babies (one giant one) within 5 years. I became a doula right when Anna was born and while I LOVE what I do, I also tend to know a little too much. Since I'm prone to think the worse case about things, this doesn't put me in the best position to have a relaxing and stress free pregnancy and birth. So from the beginning, I processed my fears with my awesome doula partners as well as my midwives. With this last pregnancy, I really wanted to do a birth center birth. I started getting my prenatal care at Baby+Co in Winston Salem because I was able to do several births with Nona Smith (a wonderful midwife!) and she worked there at the time and I admired her approach with her patients. Nona was incredible in my first trimester of care there. Then, one of my friends, Tammy Brothers (another wonderful midwife!) started working at Baby+Co and I was thrilled about that because how great would it be for your friend to help you catch your baby?! I got to be Tammy's doula at her second baby's birth and I thought it would be so nice if she could be there for my birth as my midwife. I went to a couple of visits with Tammy, but around 24 weeks when I started testing my sugar multiple times a day, I realized that something was different with this pregnancy. No matter how perfect I ate or how much I exercised, my numbers were not where they needed to be. It's frustrating not to be in control of something like this! I was somewhat shocked that this was a problem since diet and exercise really couldn't get much better. Once it was decided that I needed to be on medication to manage the diabetes, I risked out of birthing at a birth center. So... I was off to find a new midwife at the beginning of my third trimester. I was able to be a doula for several births with Daniela Paul (another amazing midwife!) at Magnolia Birth Center and at Women's Hospital during my pregnancy so I decided to become a midwife patient at Wendover OBGYN because the Wendover midwives are able to do waterbirths in the hospital. I was drawn to Daniela's calm yet confident bedside manner. I knew she knew her stuff, was invested in her patients, and was the exact person I wanted at my birth. And she's a Christian! So... at around 27 weeks in my pregnancy, I started seeing her for all my appointments and I went almost weekly because we had to get the right medications for managing my diabetes. During these visits, I always had something new to worry about... It could be shoulder dystocia, my water breaking with a breech baby, ending up with a gigantic baby no matter what I did, wondering if baby was moving enough... and on... and on... But at every visit, Daniela always listened patiently to my fears and she would give me a reality check and then direct me back to God - Always telling me that I have to have faith that He already knows! It was always exactly what I needed.
So finally... As we were in the last days of my pregnancy, I was READY. I decided early on in my pregnancy that I wanted to be induced at 39 weeks for two reasons. First, I wanted to be induced because I didn't want my water to break or my labor to start with a breech or transverse baby. Second, statistically speaking, it can be beneficial for gestational diabetes babies to be born in the 39th week of pregnancy because there is a risk of IUFD as well as baby being large for gestational age. I had an induction with Anna and I didn't fear induction because my body had previously birthed vaginally 3 times, so I felt best with going forward with the induction at 39 weeks.
The date was set. His birthday would be June 19, 2018 and the induction would start at 6:30am. I started counting down the days 6 weeks before! All the kids and I would count down the days. We couldn't wait to meet this baby!
After my 38 week appointment I was especially feeling good about things because we had his final growth ultrasound which showed that he was measuring 7 pounds 7 ounces. Because he still had one more week of pregnancy, we figured he would be right at 8 pounds at birth. I prayed for an 8 pound baby with Anna and she was one ounce shy of 8 pounds. This baby was looking to be right at her size also! He was also mostly behaving with his position... He was head down most of the time, but I could feel him slip out of my pelvis and move to transverse a few times a day. Since his size was no longer a concern, I was mostly worried about his position in labor. What if he flipped while I was in labor? Would we know right away? Would we be able to turn him back? Daniela would always tell me "Let me worry about those things." But I clearly have a hard time letting go.
Ray's parents took the kids on Sunday evening which was AMAZING because it left me all day on Monday to do last minute things. I went nonstop on Monday. I met with a doula client in the morning, then I went out to eat lunch with Ray, then I went home and got some stuff ready for the hospital, then I went and got a pedicure (my prelabor ritual), then I went and got my membranes swept by Tanya (one of Daniela's partners... another wonderful midwife), then I went and got an induction massage (my first one ever. It was awesome. Ruth at Touch of Serenity - go see her), then I had another meeting with another doula client, then I went home and told Ray what to pack from my seat on the couch (because my body was exhausted), then I took an amazing shower and got in bed. I slept SO hard that night!
When we got up on Tuesday morning, we were excited and ready. Ray got everything packed in the car and I fixed my hair and we were off to meet our baby boy! Sarah (my friend and doula partner) met us at the hospital. She was there for Luke's and Anna's birth... She knew I'd die if she wasn't there for Silas.
When we got to our room, Daniela and Stormy (my favorite nurse at Women's Hospital!) were quickly in there and getting us settled. He was head down, so that was a nice start. Daniela gave me lots of induction options to consider... After much thought, I decided to trust her first choice and go with oral cytotec. When she first checked my cervix, it was thick, 3cm, and baby was -3. She swept my membranes again.
By 8:45am I was already having mild contractions that were typically 3-4 minutes apart. Ray, Sarah, and I just talked a lot. I was in bed some, walking some, and sitting on the ball some. Just relaxing while things were chill.
We did more walking the halls. Contractions were not any more intense (I could walk and talk well through the contractions) and so I decided I wanted a nap. We went back to the room and I dozed between contractions for about an hour from 3:00-4:00. Contractions were more uncomfortable laying down, but I enjoyed the break.
At 6:15, Daniela came back to check on me. There was a slight increase in intensity with the pitocin. She wanted to check me and if baby was lower, wanted to break my water. I was hesitant about this because this baby had been so high and I knew I had tons of fluid. Again my mind went to worst case scenario of cord prolapse. This is so rare, but I knew it was possible. Finally I came around to the realization that I trusted Daniela and came to her for a reason... and I knew God was in control. So we decided to go forward with breaking my water. She made a small hole and let the water leak out slowly while Stormy applied fundal pressure. So much water came out. I was sitting in a pool. And I could literally see Stormy's hand get lower and lower on my belly as his head was finally able to engage in my pelvis with all that fluid out of the way.
Around 7:15, I got out of bed and things were immediately different. My favorite position was hanging over the ball that was sitting on the edge of the bed. Ray or Sarah would rub my back during a contraction. Ray would run his fingers through my hair and it was very comforting. I wanted things to be very intense before we turned off the pitocin and I got in the tub because I didn't want to risk things slowing down once I didn't have the synthetic hormone going in my body. Finally, I knew it was time to start filling the tub. At 7:40, Daneila checked me and I was 6cm and things were very intense. Sarah started filling the tub. The sound of that water running in the background and knowing I was going to get in was so reassuring! By 7:50 I was in the tub. What a relief! Especially between contractions I felt like I could get a break.
After that one contraction, I quickly went back to my comforting tub. The next while was quite a blur. Around 9:30 I started to feel like I wanted to push. I didn't totally have to push, but it felt better to halfway push than to just relax through the contraction. I was getting very frustrated because the pushing stage with Luke and Anna was less than 5 minutes and the babies shot out. This was an in between feeling and I felt a little lost. Daniela checked me while I was in the water and verified that I was complete and could push when I felt like it. I pushed all my babies out while sitting up, so I just assumed I would do the same with this baby. After some sad and ineffective pushing, Sarah and Daniela convinced me to flip to my knees with my chest hanging over the tub. With the next contraction I had a huge push and felt his head come out. After a short break, Daniela told me to push his shoulders out. That feeling of him slipping out is probably the most relieving feeling ever! He was behind me when he came out and Daniela helped pass him to Ray and Ray handed him up to me. I sat back down, put him on my chest, and just wept. And I was reminded again that THIS is why I love birth! This moment with Silas was one of the best moments of my life. Just immediate love and perfect peace between us. He came out so healthy!
Silas Nathaniel Bower
8 pounds 1 ounce
9:54pm
20 inches
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