Silas Primitivo Ripley is here!

Not a moment too soon our newest little man burst onto the scene! I was scheduled to be induced Friday January 7, and I won't lie: I was dreading it. But at 9 days past his due date on January 6, Silas finally joined the family. He is gorgeous and healthy.

The birth story

Wednesday night we were getting anxious to have the baby because we wanted to avoid an induction. (I loved my experience birthing Anthony naturally and I wanted to do it as much the same as possible.) So I noticed Wednesday night that I had been having several contractions and they were finally NOT going away like all the other times. We got everything ready for the morning and went to bed. I was a little afraid to go to bed, because that usually made the contractions go away. But...I love my sleep, so off we went. At about 4 am I woke to a really strong contraction. I slept through several more contractions until around 5:30 when they got too strong. I labored in bed for a while trying to stay relaxed to allow the contractions to work. At about 5:45am we decided to start getting our things together because the contractions were growing closer and stronger. While we packed up our things and got them ready, I labored through the contractions, finding places that were comfortable for us and ate some breakfast. Dan was a rock-star, meeting every request for help and just being there with me to encourage me through it. I had been hoping to make it long enough that we could see Vince off to school, but at about 6:45 I thought we better get going. Karley came over to take care of the boys' morning routine and she took Vince to school and then took Anthony to her house for the day so he could hang with her and John.

We left our house around 7:20 and got to the hospital around 7:40 or so. I got checked in pretty quickly and found out on my initial exam that I was dilated to 8 centimeters. I was glad to know the end was in sight and my sweet baby would soon be in my arms, but I was also a little freaked out that I was going to have to start pushing soon!

I found that the only comfortable position was the same familiar position I delivered Anthony from: kneeling on the bed, with my back to the room, leaning over the raised back of the bed. My own doctor had been checking in frequently to see if I had come in yet and he actually left the hospital about 10 minutes before I arrived. When he heard that I was already 8cm he knew he wouldn't make it back in time, so he sent poor Dr. Walker. He was totally unprepared for my labor style but he rolled with it. As a general rule, I pity the OB who has to assist my delivery because I'm pretty headstrong (hard to believe, I know) and I know my body well enough to refuse to comply with something that's too uncomfortable to bear.

Dr. Walker was unable to check me from this position or to break my water, so I delivered with the membranes intact. Apparently it's pretty rare for that to happen in a hospital setting since the water is usually artificially ruptured if it hasn't already released on its own. So when Silas came out he was shrouded in the membrane (this is called en Caul and there are some funny superstitions about this phenomenon). I didn't even realize all this until later, though I knew something was going on at the time because of the whispers behind me. I was afraid at the time that something was wrong with him. Anyway, my friend Mariah was there, photo-documenting the birth for us, so we have some really cool photos of it (which will never be posted here, but I might share with the strong of stomach privately, simply for the "cool" factor).

The whole time Dan was right with me. We had been planning for him to catch the baby, but I needed him with me so I could see and feel him encouraging me. Having his face near mine was what gave me the strength to do it. I am so thankful he was home for the birth; I can't imagine doing it without him.

So as soon as he was out I flipped over and picked him up and brought him to my skin. He was squishy and squirmy and beautifully perfect. He stayed with us, skin to skin and nursing for about 45 minutes before being weighed, measured and examined. He was 7lbs, 1.9oz and 20.5 inches. He has a head full of black hair (shorter than Anthony's was, but longer than Vincent's was at birth). He has a cute little birthmark under his chin that looks like a little teddy bear. He has been sleeping most of the day and is nursing like a pro every 2-3 hours so far.

The boys came to meet their new brother after Vince got out of school. Anthony kissed him and looked at him briefly but was more interested in the cool room mommy was in. Vincent was a proud big brother, and kept saying, "aaawwww!" He loves baby Silas already, and he's so excited to be the biggest and to teach AJ how to be a good big brother. I will post pics of the boys with their brother tomorrow. Right now, enjoy some photos by the incredible Mariah Charles!

My heart is full to bursting right now for all 4 of my guys. I'm more blessed than I deserve. And I am so humbled and grateful that God saw fit (as I should have trusted He would) to allow me to go into labor at the exact right moment. I love that he created me the way He did. I am blessed to have experienced using my body for its intended purpose.