“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.
“He helped me stay focused on my breathing…”
We arrived at the hospital around 10:15 a.m. and after getting checked in I was already 8cm dilated. The rest was a whirlwind. Billy was awesome! He was with me the entire time and never left my side. He helped me stay focused on my breathing between every contraction to save up the energy needed to push. We also couldn’t have done it without our team-my mom, 2 sisters, niece, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law were all there to cheer me on when I thought I couldn’t push anymore. Hudson took an hour and a half of pushing to finally arrive. They were a tremendous help to Billy and I both! Billy was the one to yell ‘It’s a boy!’ and to cut our son’s umbilical cord. It was a really amazing experience; I wouldn’t have wished it any other way. My midwife allowed our experience to be just what we wanted, totally natural. Hudson helped us out too with labor only lasting 12 hours.” Billy & Carey R.
“I felt confident entering labor…”