So, here's the story of little Silas' arrival. On Thursday I had an appointment, and of course, my regular Dr. is in FL on vacation! I was already a few days late. They did a n0n-stress test, and a special ultrasound just to check on the little one. Out of 10 points, we only scored 6. So they sent me to eat lunch, and hopefully perk up the little baby. I went to lunch at Chipotle by myself, then to Cold Stone to cash in my birthday freebie. (Hey, I really wanted to wake him!) After that I headed to Super Target to get a little walking in. I started having some really strong contractions at that point, and thought we might not even need to do the test:) But, as things go, by the time I got back to the hospital they had calmed down. The second round of tests we scored a 10 out of 10, so no baby that day. (If we had done poorly, they would have gone ahead and induced me.) So, in my mind, I prepared for potentially another week plus! I had a hard time sleeping Thursday night, as we've all had really bad colds. Friday morning I woke up early to pretty regular contractions. I was sure they wouldn't stick around, so we just went on about our day. They started lasting longer, and coming closer together. Around 1 or so we started timing them. They were about 6 minutes apart and lasting about 1 min. 30 sec to 1 min. 45 sec. I waited till about 3:30 to call John. He came home, and I got in the bath and started my hypnobirthing CD's. They really helped me to focus and relax. The contractions were getting quite a bit more intense, and closer together. I labored at home until about 7pm, then we decided to head to the hospital. Of course, that was the LONGEST drive to the hospital, and I was so relieved to actually get there! They checked me, and I was about 5 1/2 cm. I met my nurse, Radiance, who was amazing, and definitely lived up to her name. She did fantastic with our birthing preferences, and really helped keep everything calm, and relaxed. The next while I did everything we had planned, changing position, using the birthing ball, listening to my hypnobirthing CD's, and relaxing music. John did a fantastic job helping me. I have to admit, I was not the nicest person through this phase:( As my Dr. was out of town, I met the on-call Dr. for the first time that night, and he came booming into the room! I was not very nice to him, and as he left he "hit" my leg, with the "keep up the good work" sport pat, and I told him very firmly to never touch me again! Things were getting pretty intense, and my contractions were starting to radiate down to my knees. The pain was pretty strong, but even more so I was starting to panic a bit. I had made it through labor, and 2 1/2 hours of pushing with Maren before they decided to do a C-section. So, I still had some fear that this birth would result similarly. Around 12:30am, Radiance checked me again, and I was at 9cm. Which was great, but the baby was still not below the point where Maren had gotten "stuck". So, I decided to go ahead and get an epidural to help me relax, and be able to focus on moving the baby down. The mood in the room, completely changed, which I was thankful for! Radiance started doing the "happy dance", Kira starting making jokes, and John took a nap:) I felt a lot more relaxed, and was able to focus on my baby again, not on the fear of a c-section. I ended up staying at 9cm till about 2:15am or so, so that was another reason to be thankful for the epidural. Around 2:15, I started pushing, and pushed until about 3:18am, at which time my beautiful baby boy entered the world, announced by his daddy--"It's a boy, Silas Rowan Felps!". I can't explain the joy I felt in my heart and in my arms. He was perfect! After all of the fear that I had overcome that Maren had been "too big" for my body, I was shocked to see my little guy weigh in at 8lb.13.8oz, 21 inches and with a head circumference of 14 1/2 inches! (2 pounds, and 2 inches bigger than his sister!) I just had a few little tears, that needed to be stitched up and we were ready to go. About that time my dad and Brynn arrived from a 12 hour drive from Montana. They were able to see Silas right away, which was precious to all of us. The birth was perfect:)
Daddy took Silas to the nursery for his bath, and I was able to get up and walk right away. I couldn't believe the difference already in not having had major surgery:)
We had to spend 48 hours in the hospital with Silas, which was hard because Maren couldn't visit. (Swine Flu precautions by the hospital.) John called Maren as soon as she got up Saturday morning. He told her she had a new baby brother. To which she responded, "Oh, I thought it was a baby sister. When can I see him?" My parents stayed with her, at our house while we where at the hospital, and I guess one of her favorite things to do was looking at pictures of "her little brother" on the laptop! My mom was so sweet, and told Maren that she would stay with her until her baby brother came home. So, mom didn't get to hold Silas until after Maren did for the first time. And for those of you who know my mom, that was a huge sacrifice.
We finally came home on Monday morning. Maren had the cutest little "big sister" outfit from Mimi & Botz. She of course wanted to hold Silas right away. It was so sweet to see her love for him already. We had bought a little doll for Maren, and said it was from her new brother. She got a little sad at first, and said, "I didn't know what to buy for him!" Her little sweet heart just amazes me. I think her daddy will have to take her shopping so she can return a little gift for Silas:)
We are all doing great! Silas is such a good baby. He latched on to nursing 5 minutes after his birth, and has done a fantastic job! He's a great sleeper, and only grunts in the night when he's ready to eat. He's so calm, and relaxed. I attribute so much of this to our preparation for his birth. We are so blessed!
