Silas' Birth Story ... 9 years later

It’s very hard to describe how it feels to have a baby growing and developing inside of your body. I imagine that every woman feels differently. My pregnancy was without complication. It seemed almost too good to be true. I was born to have babies. Sure, I had morning sickness at first, but it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t tolerate it. Archie was so very supportive from the beginning. I was not alone. We could do this together.

Archie went with me to every Doctor visit. The day came when we could hear the baby’s heartbeat. We didn’t quite know what to expect. The Dr put the scope on my slightly swollen belly, but we heard nothing. Right away, my heart jumped into my throat. How could this be? Why us? They sent us for an ultrasound. The 10 minutes that it took to get ready seemed like an eternity.

When I first saw our baby on the monitor, my heart soared! The baby’s tiny heart was beating so strongly and confidently. This was our baby, alive and well.

We decided to find out the sex of the baby and were surprised to find out that the baby was a boy. Archie was the only person to believe that the ultrasound was right.

The monthly Dr visits turned into weekly visits. We were getting so close to our due date! This magical date was very important! This was the day that we would meet our child! I was getting huge and everyone commented on what a big baby this was going to be.

Well, our due date came…and…went. What in the world? Surely the magic date wasn’t wrong? The Doctor warned that the baby WAS getting big and if he didn’t come on his own, they would induce labor. I just knew that he would come on his own.

Twelve days after my due date, they scheduled to induce my labor on Monday, January 31st. The Doctor doubted that we would make it until then. I was already dilated 4 cm.

Well, he didn’t come on his own. We arrived at the hospital, Monday, January 31st at 7:45 AM. Archie was only slightly disappointed that he missed his mad dash to the hospital to have the baby.

After changing into an oh-so attractive hospital gown, the Nurse hooked me up to monitors and gave me my first IV. My Mom arrived shortly before 8 AM when they started the PITOCIN. The contractions were mild and being the novice Mom-to-Be that I was, I thought, “well, this is no problem, I can do this…I was BORN to have babies!” The Doctor came in at 8:15 and broke my bag of waters. HERE WE GO!

The contractions were getting stronger and I was getting weaker. I never thought that it would be this painful. I was still going to forgo the drugs.

2:00 PM- The Nurse checked me and I was still only dilated 4 cm! What in the world had I been doing for 6 hours? Give me some pain medicine; I don’t think that I can do this!
6:00 PM- The Doctor checked in on me and I was up to 8 cm! Now we’re making some progress, but OH HOW IT HURTS!

7:00 PM- I ordered up the epidural cocktail, “Ahhh, thank you!”

11:00 PM- Fully dilated and ready to push! And push we did. Archie counted and held one leg while the Nurse held the other.

2:00 AM, February 1st- I heard talk of a C-Section and am scared into pushing even harder. They turned off my epidural; I had an hour until the medicine would wear off. This baby HAD to come before then.

2:30 AM- The Doctor comes in and suits up. Whew! Relief is in sight!

2:48 AM- I hear the first cry from our beautiful baby boy. Silas Gillespie Cameron, 9 lbs and 21 ½ inches long!

When can we have the next baby? I was born to have babies!