Silas' Story

On Monday, January 5th, we started our day by heading to the Carlot to do some work on our van. We decided to all go so me and the children could see Mom and Dad for a bit. Josh and I walked to Dunkin Donuts from the carlot and got stuck in the middle lane walking back. He was so protective of me, it was sweet. Then, we picked up Patrick's Mom and headed south to Naples. Our midwife appointment was at 4, but we went to Naples early to do some shopping. The girls have been saving money for almost 3 years to buy and dollhouse. But, now they're thinking they may want another American Girl Doll instead. So, we took them to a dollhouse store (really cool, and really expensive), and to a store in Naples that carries American Girls dolls and clothes. With 30 mins to spare we went to Jason's Deli for a quick bite to eat, then to our appointment. We love our midwife and were so excited to see if we're any closer to "Baby Day". I had been dialated to a 3 for about 2 weeks. We were thrilled to learn we were now 4 centimeters!!! We headed back to Fort Myers and decided to head for my parents for a bit. Dad had taped a movie for us that we wanted to watch. When we got there Mom and I headed to CVS to get a few groceries and it was there I started to have mild contractions. They were a little painful, but so mild that I thought I could be mistaken. When we got back to Mom and Dad's house I had regular 10 mins apart contractions for about an hour. This is so different from what I thought it was going to be. The girls were so quick! When they went to 7 mins apart I decided to tell Patrick I wanted to go home for a bit. So we went home and within an hour the contractions were 4-5 mins apart, so we called both my Mom and Patrick's Mom and told them to come over, then we called our midwife. Patrick started to get nervous because contractions were getting closer and he didn't want to deliver the baby on the interstate! So, we left our house with both Grandmas following us. Patrick drove like a Madman! He was weaving in and out of traffic, but Mom kept right up with him. When I had a contraction Josh timed them and wrote it down on a sheet of paper. The children were soooo excited, but they did good to keep quiet during contractions which were about 4-5 mins apart. When we got to the Birth Center (around 9pm I think) and I laid down on the bed.....Contractions stopped. Ugh! I had about 10 mins to rest which was good, because I had to be hooked to a monitor for the first 10 mins. Then.....they started again and all the pain was in my back. My baby was still posterior and this made it very painful. Patrick, Mom and Denise stayed with me in the Birthing room that I picked. (There's 2 to choose from) It's a beautiful room with a huge tub and very calming decorations. When we arrived they already had some soft music playing in the background. The children were in the larger waiting room. Soon, my three sisters arrived. I was so glad they were there, too.

Labor was difficult. Very difficult. I had so much pain in my back. The rice packs they had were wonderful heated up on my back. Standing also helped too. After a while I wanted to try the tub. I stayed in there for about an hour. It was calming and I was thankful. The water started turning colder, so Patrick wanted to be sweet and add more warm. When he first turned on the water it was freezing cold! I don't know what I'd do without my husband. He is very calming to me during labor. My Mom kept telling me that I'm doing a good job, her encouragement was so sweet. After about an hour in the tub, I had a strong desire to get out...so much for having a waterbirth! Once I got out things progressed super quick. The back pain was unbelievable and I was feeling very out of control. Towards the end, with each contraction, I would scream out in pain. My poor children could hear and it made them nervous. I'm so thankful my sister's were there to be so reassuring to them. Josh said he finally had to put his hands over his ears.

My baby boy entered into the world at 12:31 am. When he came out he looked so long to me, and skinny too. Patrick was quick to say "It's a boy!" We were both so excited. We wanted the kids to be able to come in right away, but the placenta took a little longer than it should, so they were able to see him when he was 30 mins old. We were all so proud and excited. He weighed 8 lbs and 13 ozs. We all thought he was so beautiful! We left the Birth Center at 5am to bring our baby home. What a feeling! We're now a family of 6! That afternoon we decided on a name for our new baby boy: Silas Boone Gimenez.

Welcome to our family Silas, we're so glad you're here.