“William ‘Hudson’ arrived Tuesday at 1:36 p.m.  He weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 inches long.  He was 22 days early but he is doing awesome!  Our birth story began early Tuesday morning around 1:00, when my water broke while sleeping.  I quickly awoke Billy and we called our midwife to confirm that is truly what just happened and what to do. We hoped this wouldn’t change the plan by having to go to the hospital any earlier because my water broke.  She told me to eat something high in protein and try to go back to sleep.  Billy cooked us some habanero chicken sausage and eggs…this will always make me think of labor!   My contractions began around 1:30, coming every 5 minutes for about 30 minutes.   They then settled down to 10 minutes apart for the next 5 or so hours. Sometime between 6-7am the contractions increased back to 5 minutes apart.  Throughout this I was mostly draped over the birth ball and holding onto it.  That seemed to be the only position I could handle.  I did NOT like my lower back touched, however upper back massages and foot massages were nice distractions.  Billy was running around the house like a chicken with his head cut off because our hospital bag was half packed.  Breathing was definitely my ritual and was what I leaned to the most.  Rocking and moaning together provided some relief as well. I called my midwife and she said we could come in if we were uncomfortable, however everything sounded normal.