Silas's Birth Story

I haven't taken the time to put my thoughts into this, but this is my doula's version of Silas's birth =)

The Birth of Silas Ethan Buoniconti

Silas’s expected date of arrival was May 31. Deanna was expecting to meet him earlier than May 31, however God had a very different, but perfect plan for Silas’s birth date. Deanna’s husband, Brock is on a year tour in Afghanistan and Deanna never knows when he will be by a phone or computer. She has been blogging so that Brock can stay updated on everything when he has the opportunity to get on the computer. Deanna has wondered when and how her husband will find out about the birth of their child. Fortunately, Monday night Deanna and Brock were able to communicate and she was able to tell him that labor was starting.

In the late afternoon of Monday, June 7, 2010, Deanna went in for a checkup at Beach Cities Midwifery to see how Silas was doing. At that appointment, BJ Snell, Deanna’s Midwife stripped her membranes and told her to take Castor oil in the morning. Deanna really wanted BJ to be the delivering midwife and BJ would be on call for the next 2 days. After her appointment, Deanna was feeling crampy until about 10 p.m. when labor contractions started 7-10 minutes apart.

At midnight Deanna texted me, her doula, that she was having rushes 7-10 minutes apart for 2 hours, saying, “I just thought I should tell someone.” At this point Deanna wanted to be alone in the dim peacefulness of home, but being alone she wanted to know there was someone who knew what was happening. By 1:30 am her rushes were about 6 minutes apart. When Deanna would close her eyes, she was able rest for what felt like, “A nice long rest” in reality it was about a 3 or 4 minute rests in-between rushes. Nausea set in by 2:30 a.m. and didn’t let up until she was pushing. At 2:30 Deanna also lost her mucous plug. Things were progressing so perfectly.

Between 12 p.m. and 4 am, Deanna and I were texting back and forth full sentences. She’d tell me what was happening, or if something changed and I would remind her to drink, rest and snack. At 4 am I received a text saying, “OK, I’m ready for you to come, I don’t want to be alone anymore.” Then at 4:10, I received another that showed she was not going to take the time for sentences anymore. It said, “Porch light on. Yellow ribbons on post. Door open.” It was very clear even in her text message that Deanna’s demeanor had changed and labor was progressing. I was very excited that she had done so much of her labor with such strength and confidence and I knew that she was getting very close. I arrived at Deanna’s house at 4:15 with her on lying over the birth ball. Emily, her friend and neighbor arrived about 5 minutes earlier and suggest she call BJ, who then suggested she get in the bath, so Emily ran a bath for her.

Deanna’s rushes were about 5 minutes apart by this point, although, it was hard to time every rush. Deanna was so clam and quiet that we couldn’t tell when the rushes would begin or end. Every once and a while, she couldn’t get in the right position and she’d vomit about every 3-5 contractions. Other then that, she was so quiet and still. After the bath, Deanna went back to the ball for some time, then to the couch to lie on her side while continuing to throw up. Emily and I gave her Gatorade and she was willing to eat a couple bites of grapes and toast. The vomiting seemed to be taking much of her energy.

About 5 am, Deanna would occasionally feel pressure on her pelvis with some pain in her back and the rushes didn’t seem to fully calm. At 6 am she very quietly while lying on the couch with her eyes closed said, “I don’t want to do this anymore.” I think she just wanted to go to sleep and be done, her energy was dying. Still, she continued on in the same quiet and still manor as the rest of the night. At 6:45 I suggested that Deanna call BJ, her rushes had been about 5 minutes apart for most of the night and they were 2 minutes long. BJ hearing how calm Deanna was, never would have guessed how far along she was in her labor by the sound of her. She suggested we wait a half hour and head on over to the birth center. At 7:30 Emily drove Deanna to the birth center and I followed. We arrived at 8 am and Brock called just as we got to the there.

Deanna’s vomiting had slowed down, but the nausea was still present. We got to the examination room, where Deanna’s blood pressure was checked while she was standing, she was so exhausted that she just lay right where we were on the floor. That’s when BJ came in, so gentle and clam. She spoke with Deanna to asses her and she checked her progress. At this point BJ noticed her water had broken sometime before we arrived and she was wonderfully at 8 cm. We moved Deanna to the tub, she seemed to have such courage and strength. Deanna’s computer was set up and Brock was able to Skype from Afghanistan. All in God’s plan, he got to watch the birth of his first born child from so far away, it was amazing.

Just before it was time to push, we prayed for Deanna and Silas. She had been going through the night with so much vomiting that I felt she needed a little added strength from God. BJ checked Deanna’s progress again because she was feeling more pressure like she had to go to the bathroom. She was almost dilated except for a lip of anterior cervix. Given her options, Deanna decided to push through it while BJ held it aside and Brigette gave her some arnica. She was successful in pushing through the lip of cervix and Silas was born amazingly after 40 minutes of pushing. Brock was able to be on Skype the whole time and 2 hours after he was still there gazing at his new baby. You’d here him say, “He’s so cute.” And laugh that new parent laugh when they see how cute their baby is. Silas Ethan Buoniconti arrived at 9:55 am, June 8, 2010. All in God’s perfect timing with his daddy able to be there on Skype.

Are you pregnant? Considering a doula? I highly recomend it!

check out Kristen's website here! http://bestocdoula.com/