At 39 years old, Christi was happy when she found out she was pregnant for the second time. This pregnancy was more difficult than her first in terms of routine discomforts, but fortunately there were no serious complications. She received a big surprise, however, when, in her third trimester, she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. She decided to use the diagnosis as a wake up call to be more intentional about healthy eating and daily exercise. She was over a month into her diabetes plan when she got an even bigger surprise—her water broke at 36 weeks and 5 days!
She had planned for a medicated hospital birth, like the first, so it was very exciting when, a few hours later, she and her husband found themselves in labor and delivery discussing her midwife option. He suggested waiting to see if the contractions intensified on their own, but after ten hours without any progress, he agreed to increase the IV medication as well as her first cervical exam which showed that she is 3 cm dilated. Shortly after starting the medication her contractions began to intensify and gradually got stronger as the medication was increased.
After about seven hours, she received an epidural just as the contractions started coming very fast. As soon as the nurse did the second cervical check, the midwife was immediately called back to the hospital. At 5am—24 hours and 30 minutes—after her water broke, she gave birth to a healthy late preterm baby girl weighing 6 lb 10 oz at 36 weeks, 6 days gestation. In the first 72 hours of life, her baby struggled with weight loss, increased bilirubin levels and inadequate intake, along with the diagnosis of ABO incompatibility so they returned to the hospital for phototherapy to treat the jaundice. The therapy worked wonderfully and she was able to bring her baby home for good after less than 24 hours in the hospital.
Christi Silano Bio
Christi has been married to Anthony Silano for fourteen years. They spent the first ten years of their marriage in Hawaii and happily worked, studied and traveled. In 2017 they arrived in California and started their new adventure: raising a family. They have two daughters, Naomi, three years old and Leona, two months. They live with their adopted dog, Dez, in Santa Rosa, California where Christi works as a nurse practitioner specializing in geriatrics. In her free time she relaxes by baking, studying the Bible and jogging. He can be reached at csilano9@gmail.com.
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Milkies of Fairhaven Health
This episode is sponsored by Milkies of Fairhaven Health. Milkies is a line of products thoughtfully designed for moms, by moms, to help support you on your breastfeeding journey. Products include breast milk collection and storage, such as the award winning Milk-Saver, supplements, teas, nursing pads and much more! Milkies are generous offers 15% off all Milkies products with code BirthHour15 at www.fairhavenhealth.com.
