Labor Day on Memorial Day Weekend

Hudson Jude was born on May 27, 2011 at 11:57 a.m. 

Weight: 8 pounds

Length: 20 inches

Our little family of three has been blessed with a beautiful and healthy baby boy making us a family of four! Here is the story of his birth:

I had been anticipating my labor starting like it did with Savannah. But it was actually nothing like it was with her. I went to bed on Thursday, May 26 feeling fine with no signs of labor. I woke up at 4:00 in the morning needing to use the restroom, so I got up to do so. When I laid back in bed, I realized that my stomach was cramping. It wasn't too painful and I had been having cramps for about two months, so I didn't get too excited. I did lay awake watching the clock to time my contractions and they were right at 10 minutes apart. Still not getting too excited, I knew that even if this was the "real deal", I had hours of labor ahead of me. I had always heard that the second baby normally came faster so the thought did cross my mind that maybe I would have a baby before noon.

After a long day and labor with Savannah, my goal for baby #2 had always been to stay home as long as possible before heading to the birthing center. So I just laid awake in bed, not tired at all, watching the clock and timing the contractions. They continued to be anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes apart, but still nothing unbearable. With Savannah, we had been SO tired and this time we wanted to get as much sleep or rest as possible at home. I knew Caleb's alarm was set for 6:00 to get up for work, so I decided to not wake him.

The alarm went off at 6:00 and as Caleb started to get out of bed, I said "Ummm, I've been having contractions since 4:00." He replied with "Oh, so I guess I shouldn't go to work today." Yeah, babe....probably not.

I laid in bed a little longer while Caleb got up and loaded our stuff and the car seat into his truck. He knew I wanted to stay home as long as possible, but we also didn't want to wait too long since it was a 30 minute drive to the birthing center. I got out of bed around 6:30 to get dressed, brush my teeth, fix my hair and make the bed. I called my mom just after 7:00 because she was "on call" to come stay with Savannah when the "big day" was here. When she answered, I just told her "I think today is the day we're going to have a baby." And then told her how the past few hours had been. She wanted to know if she should come over right then or if I was planning to call again when I was ready for her. I told her no huge rush, but to go ahead and come as soon as she could get ready. She was on her morning walk, so she said she would leave as soon as she got back home in about 20 minutes. Between that and the 30 minute drive to my house, I knew she should be here around 8:00. 

I just walked around the house to pass time, still timing contractions and trying to wait until 8:00 to call the birthing center to let them know I was in labor and would on our way soon. Of the three mid-wives at the birthing center, the one I had been hoping to deliver this baby didn't go on call until 8:00 that morning. And I was told that whoever came in to start labor was the one who would delivered the baby.

I had a few really strong contractions just before 8:00, so Caleb wouldn't let me wait any longer and called the birthing center at 7:55. I got lucky because it was Leslie, the one I had wanted, that got the call from Caleb. He told her how the morning had started and that at this point, my contractions were at 7 minutes apart with some being 4-5 minutes apart. 

By this point, I was ready to go. The contractions were getting stronger and I was ready for my mom to be here so we could leave. Savannah was awake and had been for about 30 minutes. I desperately wanted to go see her, get her out of bed, give her breakfast and love on her before I left. But I knew that would be hard on her to see me leave and therefore make things harder on my mom. So instead, I just looked at her through the video monitor.

It was a little after 8:00 when my mom got to our house and she had my youngest brothers, Parker and Landon. I knew that Savannah would have SO much fun playing with them and that made me feel better. But still, as I walked out the back door to get in the truck, I had tears in my eyes thinking about Savannah and how our little family was about to change in a big, wonderful way!

The 30-minute drive and all the bumps didn't seem as bad as I remember them being when we made the drive to have Savannah. We got to the birthing center just before 9:00 and I headed upstairs to the birthing suite. The same room where I had Savannah less than 2 years ago. Leslie, the midwife, checked my cervix and said I was at a 5 and really soft, but his head wasn't in quite the correct position. I was thankful to be "half way there" and hopeful that I would progress quickly. 

I laid on the bed for as long as I could. It hurt to move too much. Denise was the birth assistant and she is the same one who assisted in Savannah's birth. While I was laying down she commented on how calm I was by saying, "I forgot what a stoic laborer you are.... so quiet." It's true. I don't make much noise except for at the very end... at push time!

There is no clock in the room so I don't have exact time frames, but I was on the bed for over an hour before getting up to walk around. The pain was SO low and my back was hurting extremely bad. I never felt a real "break" in between contractions. It wasn't a constant strong contraction, but it was a constant achy feeling. 

My plan was to try to have a water birth this time. I tried with Savannah, two different times, but my contractions always slowed down too much. This time, I was hesitant to get the tub of water in fear that it would prolong my labor. It was sometime after 11:00 that Leslie thought I could get in the water because she thought I was getting close to pushing, based on my contractions and the pain I was in. She never did do another cervix check, but I got in the water and was just ready to have this baby!

The warm water made me feel really hot, so Leslie kept bring a super cold rag to lay on my forehead, neck and back. I kept asking "how much longer?" and Leslie would just tell me that I was almost there. At one point, Leslie's arm was on the edge of the tub and I looked at her digital watch. The time was 11:44 am. I thought to myself, 'I can do this. I can have this baby by noon... come on sweet boy.' With a few strong and painful pushes, our sweet Hudson was born at 11:57 a.m. 

He was placed on my chest, crying so loud. He was slippery and warm. I was so happy he was here, in my arms, safely. 

After letting the umbilical cord finish pulsing, Caleb was the one to cut it.

Within 10 minutes of Hudson being born, we called my mom first so she could bring Savannah and then Caleb called his family and the rest of my family. Once my mom arrived with Savannah, Caleb went downstairs to bring her up before we let the rest of the family in. Savannah wasn't sure what to think at first, but she did want to hold baby Hudson and give him kisses.

I was surprised at how much dark hair Hudson had compared to the barely-there, light hair that Savannah had. He was 8 pounds exactly and 20 inches long. His head and chest were both 13.5 inches.

Caleb got to get him dressed and give him his first chiropractic adjustment.

After most of the family stopped by to see the newest addition, Leslie talked to us about the at-home care for both Hudson and I for the next couple of days. We got cleaned up, packed up and were on our way home by 2:45. 

Leslie {left} and Denise {right}

It was nice being home so soon after Hudson was born and not too late in the day. I am thankful that I was able to get in a few hours of sleep the night before he was born and that my labor wasn't too long. I came home without being tired and was just able to join my new baby and our sweet family.
We are SO very thankful to be blessed with a healthy and beautiful baby boy. He arrived one day before his due date, just like his big sister did.