Gabrielle and Brett welcomed their son, Silas Archer on March 9, 2022. We met during a Spinning Babies class, or rather we were reunited there. I met Gabby years earlier when I attended MOPS. She would work in the nursery taking care of my daughter who is now 16 years old! It was fortuitous timing because I also happened to have an opening for February, so our journey together began in the last weeks of Gabby’s pregnancy.

Gabrielle went past her due date and remained patient as her body moved closer to delivery. She trusted her body and baby would know best when to come, unless she managed to remain pregnant past 41 weeks. All the hopes and prayers didn’t seem to convince Silas it was time to come out, so the induction day looked like the reality as Gabby’s cervix remained at 1 cm and her baby remained very cozy. She trusted that God’s timing was best and embraced the induction with open hands. Then at her final NST before the induction, her midwife was concerned with what she saw and felt it safest to move to induction that very day rather than wait one more. She went home to regroup and eat and returned to the hospital that evening for induction of labor.

First step was to ripen her cervix, so a balloon was inserted. Gabby’s body responded with contractions soon after and they were consistent at 3-5 minutes apart. It was 9:45 pm when she updated me, and the plan was to sleep as much as possible. By the next morning, with the balloon removed, Gabby was dilated 5 cm, 70% effaced, and her baby was still at -3 station. This was great change and set the stage for a good beginning. Pitocin was added to the equation around 9:00 that morning.

It didn’t take long for regular, strong contractions to take hold. Gabby sent for my support around 1:30 that afternoon, since she could no longer talk through her contractions. She had an exam right before I got there and she was moving forward nicely, dilated 6 cm, 80% effaced, and her baby was lower at -1 to 0 station. The Pitocin was at 10 mu.

Gabrielle leaned over the CUB on her hands and knees to cope with her contractions. Her midwife stopped in for a visit and praised her for all her hard work. She felt the contractions strong in her back, so a warm pack helped alleviate that pain somewhat along with her hands and knees position. Gabby even lunged through her contractions, knowing it would help her baby continue downward. The next position for labor was sitting upright in the bed as if in a throne. We tied my rebozo on the squat bar and Gabrielle pulled on it through contractions and leaned over the bar as well.

By 4:00 she was dilated 6/7 cm and her baby was at +1 station. With things progressing so nicely, and her desire to get in the shower, Gabby’s midwife recommended turning the Pitocin off and seeing if her body took off without it. She labored for 45 minutes under the flow of warm water as her labor playlist filled echoed in the bathroom. Some aromatherapy helped keep her space calming as well as helping with nausea too.

Gabby exited the shower still contracting regularly, so she returned to her hands and knees over the cub on the bed. It was 5:00 pm and she was considering her options. It was time for an exam so she would have all her information before deciding. And to our surprise, Gabby was still dilated the same, although she was 100% effaced and her baby was at 0 station. She was ready to get an epidural, and by 5:40 pm it was complete.

An hour later, Gabby was dilated 7 cm. But her midwife inserted an IUPC to get a more accurate read on the contractions in the event they might need to reintroduce Pitocin. Gabrielle labored with her knees around the peanut ball on one side, and then the other. Next, we placed the peanut under one leg to keep her pelvis asymmetric. And then at 8:35 pm she had just an anterior lip of cervix! It wasn’t long before she would be pushing.

Gabrielle gave her first intentional push at 9:30 pm and we quickly saw her baby’s head. She even reached down to feel for herself which is always an exciting moment. And she continued to push with such gusto that her baby’s heart rate showed some reaction to the strong squeezes from the pushing contractions. It didn’t take long though, because at 10:06 pm, after just over 30 minutes of pushing, Silas Archer was born! Fun fact: He was born to the song “Here Comes the Son,” by the Beatles! And this is the second time I recall a client welcoming a baby boy to that very song!) His cord was wrapped around his neck one time, which helped to explain the dips in his heart rate. But it did not have any impact on his Apgar score since he cried out right away.

Silas was met with tears and smiles, and so much love. His parents took in the details of his body—his hairy arms, the fact that he looked like his mom and seemed to favor his maternal grandpa too. He sneezed a bit at first which was the cutest thing. And in general, he was content to lay against his mom.

Gabby labored hard with Pitocin, and with the support of her husband, always felt strong, and loved. This is so important in birth. And it was a huge benefit for Gabby and her birth experience.

The Birth of Silas Archer 3/9/22