Silas' Birth Story- Part 1

My life and my marriage are forever changed from the birth of my sweet Silas Grayson.

I've been itching to write down Silas's birth story.

Natural birth.

I went into this with the mindset of knowing its better for mom and baby. Healthier and leads to a better, easier birth. OK great. So I'll do it.

My biggest reason for choosing natural birth is because this is what God created women to do. He designed my body to do this. But what I got out the whole experience was much more than I ever could have dreamed to ask for. The Lord reveled himself to me over and over again. I've had many women tell me natural birth is empowering, and yes, it is. But more than that, it grew and stretched me mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and forever changed my marriage and the way I view marriage. More on that later... :)

I'm feeling much more sore today than I had been and was told to take it easy (as if I haven't been taking it easy?! Maybe I did do a little too much this weekend... It's hard to sit around for days!)

Sophia is with a friend, Silas is sleeping peacefully beside me, and oddly enough, I'm not tired enough for a nap.. yet. ;) So write, I will!

Thursday the 15th I had a regular prenatal appointment at 11:00 AM. I was 39 weeks and 4 days along. I woke up feeling a little more achy than usual but didn't think too much about it. My doctor felt me having a ""long, hard" contraction and offered to do a cervical check to see how dilated I was. I really wanted Silas's birth to be as natural as possible, but I went ahead and said yes to the cervical check. I was 6cm dilated. Whoa! She asked me if I thought I was in labor since I had been having so many contractions, but I couldn't tell. When I went into labor with Sophia I knew right away that my contractions were different that they had been since they were hurting in my back. (With her they started on a Sunday evening, I woke up all throughout the night, and they were 3-8 minutes apart by Monday morning. When I went in to Labor & Delivery I was 4.5cm dilated.) Although uncomfortable, the contractions I was having with Silas weren't regular, and weren't keeping me awake. My doctor said to come back that afternoon at 4:30 to see if I had dilated any more and if I had, we knew it was labor.

So 4:30 rolls around. Went back and I hadn't made any change. Boo.

I woke up Friday morning feeling like I had done a million sit ups. Still not having painful contractions, just feeling really sore over my whole abdomen. I called my doctor and she said I could come in to get checked again to see if I had progressed any. I was a little worried and bummed than I had dilated so far without knowing it. In my mind, I had it all worked out that Aaron and I would labor at home for as long as possible, then go it when we thought I was close to having him. Goodbye to laboring at home! I started to get worried I'd wake up to a crowning baby (ha! I'm kidding. OK, half kidding.)!

I went in around 2:00 and I was 7cm dilated. Yay! But contractions still weren't regular and I still wasn't pain and able to chase around Sophia. Ah. So frustrating.

My doctor was on call that weekend and had two other patients already in labor. She offered to break my water that afternoon if I wanted her to. I asked how long she thought it'd take once she broke it and she said "maybe a few hours." If you've ever been pregnant, you know that last week before your baby is born is probably the hardest week of the whole pregnancy. Even harder than the sickness in the first trimester! As much as I believe in natural birth, and letting baby come when they're ready, I was mostly on board with her breaking my water. I was SO tempted to do it knowing I could be holding my baby boy that evening.

I drove over to the YMCA, and talked to Aaron about it. He just smiled and said "he'll come when he's ready. We prayed for 40 weeks and it's not 40 weeks yet." Then with a smirk said, "he'll come Saturday at midnight." He had been saying that for weeks. I wanted to shout "you don't know how uncomfortable I am!!!" and at the same time hug him saying "thank you, thank you" because this is what I really want. To wait.

Aaron was my rock throughout this whole pregnancy.

.....

Yeah.

Aaron was my rock.

.....

Ahem. Trying to type through tears.

He knew I'd be disappointed if I had my water broken and he knew I (and he) believed in letting things happen naturally. We had prayed from the beginning that this baby would be 40 weeks+ and Aaron was always there helping me believe it. Praise God for a husband that has faith!

My doctor told me she would call over to Labor & Delivery and let them know I might be coming in to be monitored or have my water broken but if I decided not to that was perfectly OK.

Had to snap a picture while walking the bridge at Shannon. We chose to walk around through my contractions between being monitored instead of me sitting in the Labor & Delivery bed.

We ended up going in around 6:30 that evening and it was too late to have my water broken. So glad I didn't have to make that decision again if they asked. We were monitored for an hour and I had another cervical check to see if I had progressed any more. I hadn't. Again, boo.

I don't think they could have sent me home since I was already 7cm, and they had offered to give me something to help get labor going, but they said if I wanted to leave we were free to go. So off we went.

Sophia had been with Aaron's sister Nikki that evening, and we decided to let her stay the night so we could have a night to ourselves.

Before we headed home, I asked Aaron if we could go to Baskin Robbins because I just needed to eat my feelings! World Class Chocolate always cheers me up. ;)

We went to bed pretty early that night and I woke up Saturday morning saying "wow! Now I really feel like I've done a million sit ups!"

Saturday was turning out to be another normal day except that my contractions seemed a little bit stronger. Who knew we'd be having a baby that night.... ;)

Silas is here!

And just like that, we're a family of four. 

I can't wait to start writing Silas' birth story. Little details are already escaping my memory. I need to write it all down soon! But not before I finish looking at the pictures. I'm only about half way through them. I keep waiting for some quiet alone time when I'm not too tired and I don't have to do anything else, but I haven't found that time yet... Juggling a toddler and a newborn is not for the faint at heart! :) I'm so glad my mom took as many pictures as she did. The night Silas was born is a night I want to relive over and over again. 

Silas Grayson Byrd. Perfect in every way.

SO close!!

Have to do a little update. I have a feeling (and hoping) I won't be doing another pregnancy post!

Today is 39 weeks and 5 days. Woo hoo!

Yesterday I had a regular prenatal appointment. I had the option of getting my membranes stripped but wasn't sure if I wanted to. I really do believe baby will come when he's ready and that'll make for the best birth for us. But it's so tempting when you're this far along and the words "speed it along, get it started, induce, so close" are being thrown around. But luckily, I didn't have to make that decision.

I decided to go ahead and let my doctor do a cervical check and I'm already 6cm dilated and I'm assuming totally effaced (forgot to ask, but was 50% at 38 weeks). Labor is half way done and it hasn't even started yet! She said there's no need to sweep my membranes, that he's "right there and ready."

We had the option of having my water broken this morning, but decided to wait. Shouldn't be too long anyway!

Again, woo hoo!!

Except, now I feel like a ticking time bomb. Ha!

Aaron and I had planned on laboring at home for a long as possible before heading to the hospital since we're shooting for a natural birth. Looks like we won't be laboring at home very long now! I have a feeling it's going to go super fast once real labor contractions start.

Speaking of labor contractions...

I hope I don't miss them. Heh. Maybe we'll have a home birth after all... ;) Kidding, kidding.
Yesterday my doctor asked if I thought I was in labor.
... I don't know?!
How do you not know!?
How can I be at a 6?!

Yeah, I'm having lots of braxton hicks contractions. Yeah, they're a little uncomfortable. But I've had them consistently since I was 15 weeks. It's life now! Labor with Sophia didn't hurt too bad until I was about 8cm dilated... Then I had her about 30 minutes later. Hope that's what happens this time.

Took a pregnant selfie. Aaron's not here to take a picture.

This morning Aaron asked where I was going all dressed up. 

Heh! Thought I should change out of my night gown... So I put on something equally as comfortable. Maxi dress to the rescue!

-Baby boy is head down and is still active, but the movements have changed from strong jabs, to moving slower and sloshing around. Except for his little feet on my right side. :)

-The night time acid reflux has been UNREAL this past week! I'm sleeping on a million pillows at an incline. 

-Somehow I've made it this far without any stretch marks and doing very little to prevent them. I must have good skin. ;) (Thanks, mom and dad!)

-Weight gain is at 30lbs.

-Much less swelling in my hands and feet. Still can't wear my rings, or shoes other than my black flip flops... But hey, no swollen ankles!

-Feeling super emotional.

-Feeling tired a lot.

-Feeling anxious.

Sophia keeps rubbing my belly saying "Baby Silas... Come out, come out! We're ready for youuuu!"

It's adorable. Big sister. :)

Baby update - 37 Weeks

We're so close!!!

I feel like I'm just waiting around for this baby boy. We've had everything ready (minus a few small things) for over a month now. I guess I should start some freezer meals...

The house is usually pretty clean now. Trying to keep it organized. I'll thank myself later when we come home to a clean house with our new baby. :)

Sophia and I dyed and washed (and washed and washed and washed!) all the flats for cloth diapering. 

Silas' things are all set up in our room. We decided not to do a nursery since he'll be in our room for at least the first year. He'll sleep in the co-sleeper crib for as long as he'll fit, and after that he'll sleep with us. Probably six months or so. I bought the co-sleeper at the JBF sale last year for less than half the original price. I wasn't even pregnant and Sophia was too big for it. But I couldn't pass up the deal and knew we'd eventually get some use out of it. So glad I did! It fits GREAT in our tiny room. 

The little mattress also lowers for when he starts sitting and pulling up. It also can connect to the bed, but it doesn't work out in our room. Our king size bed takes up too much space. But hey, all we do is sleep in there anyway. It also has wheels and is very light weight. It's basically a mini pack-n-play. At first I was hesitant to put it there since it's by a window, but we usually have the drapes pulled at night and that's a new window. If it doesn't work out there we can always move it to the foot of our bed.

I cleaned out two dresser drawers and a side door for Silas' diapers and clothes (0-6months) and put up a small changing pad. We've been practicing keeping the dresser clean since it'll be the changing area for a while. It's working out great! 

This past year I've really been into living minimally. Living with only what we need and love. For a while, I was in a constant state of purging. Somehow, I'm still getting rid of stuff every day... Sheesh! But I am impressed with how well everything fits into our room. Aaron and I each have a small closet and a little bit of space in the dresser. We actually haven't ever been able to use our chest of drawers because it's never fit in our room! Ha!

Eventually, Sophia and Silas will share Sophie's bedroom and we'll change the hot pink decor to something more neutral. I'd love to get a simple, toddler-friendly loft style bunk bed set for them. You know, one where the bottom bunk is basically on the floor and the top is somewhat enclosed on all edges? Although I love our home, I don't see us living in this neighborhood for longer than a few years. So hopefully when Sophia is ready and needing her own space, we'll have sold this house for a different one with a better lay out. For now our third bedroom is going to be the play/school room. Can't wait to get it finished and post pictures! (Sophia pulled out the baby toys for Silas to check out right before I took the pictures.)

Oh! Whoops.

The pregnancy! 

37 Weeks! 

I'm feeling huge.

I can't believe I have another three weeks to go. How much bigger will I get?! 

-In the clear to labor at home as long as I'm comfortable. Woo hoo!

-My hands (no, not from high blood pressure) and feet started swelling around 32 weeks, and mostly stay like that unless I'm freezing cold and sit down all day. And neither of those things ever happen, so yeah, it's terrible. 

-Aaron's been rubbing my feet at night and it is THE BEST GIFT EVER!

-Gained 29 lbs so far.

-Still no stretch marks... But am thinking I should probably start lotioning up. Things are getting tight in there!

-Actually sleeping better now than I think I have my whole pregnancy. Minus the fact that I'm up to pee exactly every two hours. (Thank you, water retention and baby sitting on my bladder.)

-Feeling pretty great throughout the day. Ok, minus the swollen hands and feet. It's not even my ankles either. It's my feet! I officially have one pair of shoes that for. Black Nike flip flops. Kinda limits the outfit choices. :/ Not even unlaced tennis shoes for comfortably! Or any other flip flops I have. 

-Always trying to up my water intake. Ah. 

-Soaking in as many sweet moments as I can with Sophia. Especially bed time. I know it's all going to change soon. Not sure who I'm more sad for, her or me? Trying to talk about baby brother with her more and more to help the transition. 

We can't wait to meet our baby Silas. Sweet boy. We're so close! 

Catch Up

I have a ton of pictures in my phone that have been sitting there. What's the point in taking them if I don't upload or print them out? Maybe I've just formed a bad habit of taking random pictures?

Anyway, here are some of the latest.

She's the cutest. Still naps the best in our bed and that is A-OK with me.

Daddy... always tryin' to give me a heart attack.

Got to spend some time with our sweet friends, Tish and Josiah. We miss them already!!

Touch a Truck was totally fun. And hot. But fun. :)

Sophia has been into dress up lately... She can also put on socks and tennis shoes herself. Along with every other pair she owns. Ha! We counted the other day. She changed shoes/socks/slippers/dress up shoes fourteen times. Yep. All day, every day.

Making some "banana swirl" for dinner.

Daddy. Whether it's spending an extra ten minutes making Sophia laugh to get through brushing teeth or pulling over when it's already past bedtime to see a train, Daddy always puts a smile on Sophie's face any time he can. Sometimes I have remind myself not to be so rushed about everything. Glad we have him. Sophia loves trains, especially The Polar Express. Every time we drive by the train station she talks about it being The Polar Express. The other night Aaron pulled over and let her climb around for a minute. Talk about making a two year old's night! He took her back the next day to really climb around and explore. :)

First dentist appointment. She did great and cavity free!

Sophia and I "helped" with the YMCA Kids Triathlon. Sophie was thrilled to go to work with Dad and wear a YMCA t-shirt. Aaron hopped in the pool to help and encourage the last little swimmer to finish the swim. Sophia so badly wanted to swim with Daddy. Putting her feet in turned into her swimming in her clothes and doing a little lesson with Dad.

Sister and Bitty Baby breaking in Silas' changing area. Bitty Baby is getting a "check up."

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend.

We had a full weekend!

Friday was spent in Eldorado with the Dorans, Aaron's sister Jennifer's family. Sophia LOVED seeing the girls and had been talking about playing with them for at least a week or two.

Saturday morning Sophia went with her Daddy Sammy to an Easter Egg hunt at ASU (notice the matching yellow and blue outfits). Had to snap a picture before they left!

Then we went to my dad's friend's house in Christoval for another egg hunt, hot dogs and smores, and songs around the fire pit. Sophia pulled this little wagon all over the place!

Sunday we went to church.

I haven't even mentioned yet that we joined a new church! Aye!

Back in November we randomly decided to go to Freedom Fellowship one Sunday. We loved it. And we've been going ever since. I think it was in February that we joined. I can't even remember? Maybe early March? Anyway, it just felt really good, and right, to be there. We're just the Byrd's. Aaron, Ashley, Sophia, and baby brother on the way. :) Not Kevin's daughter's family, Logan or Jordan's sister's family, Robin's daughter's family. I never really of thought this before, but now that I think about it, it doesn't feel like my family's past is hanging over me anymore. It's freeing. And I didn't realize how badly I needed that until I went to another church. I can feel myself, and I know Aaron feels the same for himself, growing and stretching in ways I wasn't ready to while going to CCSA. Freedom is very similar to CCSA and I think that's why we feel so at home there. We still love all of our CCSA people, and that will always be home to me. But right now, Freedom is exactly where we are supposed to be.

After church we went to my mom's in Grape Creek for dinner, a walk, decorating eggs, and hanging out. I need to go over there more. It's so peaceful out there. We had a great time.






























I'm pretty sure Sophia had more candy than she's ever had... But no worries. Aaron and I helped her out eating it all up. ;)

Asthma

A few weeks ago we found out Sophia has asthma. Totally caught us off guard since we've never really respiratory issues with her. I mean, this 32 weeker didn't even need oxygen at birth! She did have some breathing issues a few months ago and we took her into the ER one night. The doctor said it was a bronchial infection and sent us on our way with a prescription. So I guess that was the first sign of asthma since there was wheezing, but it was anything like this last flare up.

Started with a runny nose, turned into little cough, then major wheezing and trouble catching her breath. Pretty scary. Happened fast. Definitely not like anything I've ever seen. Much different than being "sick." That week we had done all the normal stuff we do when we get colds like elderberry, probiotics, tea, honey and lemon, natural cough syrup, essential oils, cool mist humidifier, but none of it was working and we didn't know why. Usually we can kick whatever virus we have pretty quick using all of that...

Long story short, Sophia woke up from a nap on a Friday afternoon having a real hard time breathing. I sent some videos to my sister-in-law, Nikki, asking if I should bring her in (she's one of Sophia's pediatrician's nurses) and she showed the videos to the doctor. He took one look and said it was asthma. We were able to get all medicines and a breathing machine within an hour and scheduled an appointment for the following Monday. We are so grateful for Nikki. I feel like we're always asking her something about Sophia or needing this and that, and she never seems to mind. At our appointment on Monday her pediatrician said the asthma is because she was premature and she'll probably always have respiratory issues. Wow. 

He has her on a daily preventative medicine and another one to take during flare ups. And it has been a journey!  We've had serious behavior issues since starting all of the medicine. It was like a light switch. Full blown tantrums, yelling/screaming/crying/hitting, extremely hyper, melt downs over tiny things... Lots of things we've never seen from her all happening within 24 hours of starting the meds. Blah. Sure some of it is her age but I'm telling you, we saw a drastic difference in her almost immediately. It's been tough. We mostly just feel bad for Sophie. Poor little girl. It's hard enough to  sort through your two and a half year old emotions... But Aaron and I fully believe she will be healed and overcome this asthma and that it is only for a season (could be months or years, but definitely not speaking this over her life!). We're thinking it might be allergy induced, so it just might literally be seasonal. Heh. ;)

Breathing treatments were tortue for the first two or three days. So sad. But eventually Sophia got the hang of it, and she doesn't think twice about it now. She won't be able to use an inhaler until she's three, so we're still doing treatments daily for her preventative (ack!). If she starts coughing, we'll do albuterol treatments every four hours until the cough goes away, but so far we've only had to do those the week this all started.

Tia Nini came over as soon as she got off work that Friday. It took Sophia about an hour to get through the first treatment. Again. I'm so glad Nikki was there. I didn't know albuterol makes you shaky. Had Nikki not been there, I would have panicked thinking she was having another febrile seizure! Phew! This was probably the last two minutes when she finally stopped crying and kept the mask over her face.

Piglet gets lots of breathing treatments, too. ;)

We tried several different ways to keep her busy during a treatment, but the best way seems to be the TV. More specifically, Frozen. I don't even want to admit how many times we've seen that movie! But hey. Whatever gets the job done!

Sophia and Aaron woke up sneezing yesterday, and Sophia has had a runny nose since. She seems pretty stuffy tonight. Can't help but be a little nervous about what's to come. I'm wondering if it's from all the wind and the high pollen count. Probably is. But I do feel better knowing we're starting to understand asthma, have everything we need if she has another flare up, and that we can catch it sooner.