Our little Rhys Monkey

The day we have been waiting for has finally arrived. Our little baby Rhys Michael (pronounced Reese, it's the original Welsh spelling) was born on Saturday April 10 at 12:09 PM. He weighed 7 lbs, 12 oz and was 20 inches long. It all started last Friday. We were 3 days past my due date and getting overly anxious. I had an induction scheduled for the next Tuesday and did not want that to happen, so I was extra anxious to start labor on my own. My mom was here and 2 of my brothers were in town so we all went out to eat. We were joking about how my water was going to break right there at the restaurant. It was a blast hanging out with them, but my water definitely didn't break. After dinner my mom, Ryan and I went home and just hung out. The baby started acting all crazy and was moving and kicking unlike anything I had felt before. We decided to start getting ready for bed around 10:30 and I just wasn't feeling right. I had started to feel some random pains and that's when I said the infamous words to Ryan... Something is wrong, I don't feel right. We went to bed and I started kinda timing the contractions I was getting. They weren't very consistent, ranging between 5 to 7 minutes apart. So, I just tried to get some sleep, but ended up switching from laying in bed to pacing the floor in our bedroom. At about 2, Ryan woke up and helped me time and breath through contractions. I had planned on going natural for awhile and we started going through the exercises we had kinda practiced. I remember thinking as I was lying there listening to Ryan that there was no way I could go through this pain. It was already hurting and I knew that it was only going to get worse as the process continued.

At around 5 AM we were timing contractions at 2 to 3 minutes apart. Since this was our first pregnancy, we had no idea what to expect. We decided that 2 to 3 minutes apart was good enough to go to the hospital. We woke up my mom and all went down to the hospital. We got to the hospital around 5:40 and I was already dilated to a 4. They said that I was definitely in active labor and asked if I wanted to be admitted and have my water broken. We decided to stay, but I refused to have my water broken. I was scared of feeling those contractions more intense. Pretty much the rest of the labor consisted of me laying in bed as still as I possibly could and Ryan coaching me through each contraction. I didn't give into drugs. In fact when we got to the hospital, they asked me what I wanted to do and I said, I wanted to go natural. The nurses all seemed pretty supportive and the issue of drugs was never brought up.

Let me just say that Ryan was absolutely perfect during the whole labor. I could not have done it without him. Our nurse told us afterward that I was hypnotized by him. He just talked me through each contraction and kept encouraging me that I could do it. At one point he would put pressure on my knees during contractions to help ease pain. He did this consistently and for a long period. I know it had to be uncomfortable for him, but he did it without hesitation. I really am so grateful for him. All the nurses kept telling him how impressed they were with his coaching. Our nurse also told us that it was the best natural childbirth she'd seen for awhile.

At around 11:40, I started pushing. Pushing was hard work. But we made it through and it didn't seem like that long. Once Rhys was born, I just laid there exhausted from everything and was so glad it was over. I would definitely do a natural childbirth again. Especially now that I know what to expect. It was such an amazing experience to feel everything that was happening with my body. I felt like I had control over the situation and I told everyone what I wanted to do, instead of the other way around. I broke my water on my own, I told them when I needed to push. I also feel like it was a much better experience for Rhys. He was ultra alert right after birth, which all the nurses commented on. I'm really glad that we chose to do it naturally. Once he got cleaned up, Ryan and I were trying to figure out his name. We kept looking at him wondering what his name was. We both said that we saw him as a Rhys (one of the names on our short list). There was really no doubt in our minds, even though we didn't make it official until that night. Ryan's dad was named Richard Michael Whitaker, Ryan is named Ryan Michael Whitaker, and we liked the idea of having our little son named R. Michael Whitaker as well. We both felt that this little guy should be Rhys Michael Whitaker.

This little guy has just been such a joy in our lives since his arrival. We just stare at him, amazed by the miracle that we have witnessed. He's such a sweet baby and we absolutely love him. We had a slight jaundice scare at first, but that went away. We're still working on nursing, but it's getting easier for both of us as we keep practicing. Neither of us know what we're doing, but we are so happy to try and take care of Rhys the best we can. He's just perfect.