On Sunday, April 8, after a super-productive day for Shannon and a brisk walk, her water broke around 10pm. Well, it was more of a constant trickle over many hours so we weren't quite sure if this was "it." But it was - contractions started a few hours later. We were at the finish line.
Beesly knew something was up and mostly waited by the door that next day. Either serving as our protector or signaling she knew we were going to leave her and wanted to be prepared to hop along for the ride, we're not sure. But it was adorable.
We enjoyed perfect weather as Carl drove Shannon around and keeping her distracted the next day. She got a massage and her favorite BLT from Parker and Otis. Carl put his incredible partner support skills to work that we learned in our birth class. We were on cloud 9 with excitement.
Lori, Shannon's best friend, flew in from Austin and arrived around 8pm. Contractions were between 5 and 10 minutes apart at this point. We picked her up from the airport, Shannon rested her head on Lori in the backseat and contractions picked up immediately. This was the first sign that the connection between mind and body during labor is a powerful thing.
We arrived at the Birth Center around 10pm and Shannon was 3 cm dilated and encouraged to rest up - it was not close to being over yet.
"Team Awesome" was prepared, and quite impressive despite the lack of sleep. The midwives only came in to monitor vitals and check on us every so often. They remarked to us later that they saw what incredible support Shannon had and realized they weren't really needed much more than that. (They were right)
Carl and Lori knew just what Shannon needed... they stroked her hair, gave her a shoulder or a hug when she needed it most and came up with a quite ingenius way of applying heat to her back (that's what you get for marrying an engineer, folks).
Towards the end of her pregnancy, Shannon was really looking forward to laboring in the tub. But unfortunately it wasn't an option until she was much farther along because her water broke so early. So she pretty much labored like this the majority of the time:
Quiet, checked out, using visualization. She sat in this rocking chair for hours and had no idea what was going on in the room around her until the contraction was over. It was miraculous.
Around 10am the next morning, Sarah, our midwife had a heart-to-heart with Shannon about her level of exhaustion. She was just 6 cm and labor was just not progressing quickly. She told her about her option to transfer to the nearby hospital and get started on pitocin to speed things up and an epidural to allow her to rest after such a long labor. But she knew she had a little bit of fight left in her and right after this conversation, just bounced out of bed and kicked it to another gear.
Carl and Lori supported her while she did "circuits" -- walking the parking lot, climbing three flights of stairs, bouncing on the birth ball, leaning on the counter. They supplied gatorade, ice chips, and hands to hold on to. She transitioned with their help. And then promptly got in the tub.
The next check, she was still only 8 cm but Sarah thought she could push through to 10. And she did.
She spent the next 30 minutes pushing on the bed with her team by her side. The first thing Carl saw was a head full of dark hair (a definite surprise). Shannon reached down to feel her boy coming which made her push with even more strength.
Then, he arrived. Carl caught him and brought him to Shannon's chest at 3:50pm on April 10th.
Our hearts swelled with love in that moment, beyond what we thought was even possible. We would never be the same. At long last, we were parents.
Stuart Jack, our little man, is everything we dreamed of and more. He loves kicking his chubby little legs to get attention and show off. He already coos and "talks" quite a lot. He is always alert (read: rarely naps) and studies the world around him with intensity. We're convinced he has rhythm and loves dancing around the living room while we sing to him. It is very apparent that he is ours.
Thank you all for your overwhelming love, support and encouragement during this pregnancy. Our family is lucky to have you along for this incredible journey.
