BIRTH STORY - written by DH

Keenan was born May 11, 2005, at 9:53pm. He weighed 7lbs 4ozs, and was 20 inches long! It was quite an exciting birth, as we never made it to the hospital! Here's how it happened. Yesterday morning, Alisha woke up with steady, stronger contractions, which were about 6 to 10 minutes apart. They weren't that painful, but stronger then before. We went on a long walk during the afternoon, and nothing seemed to change, so we were a little bummed that it might not be today. She had been having small regular contractions for about the last 3 days, so it didn't seem like it was progressing all that fast. After we ate some dinner (Caribbean Chicken, which Alisha now says might not have been the smartest thing to eat!), and Alisha decided to go and have a bath, as that worked to get the labor moving for her mother. While in the bath, I asked her if she was still having any contractions, and she said that she was, but it was hard to tell because she couldn't really feel them. At this point we started to joke about how this labor thing isn't all that painful, and Alisha said this was easy to handle. Not 2 seconds after she said that, her stomach had a massive rumble; it looked like the baby just kicked and punched in all directions, then there was a loud "pop". I said "Wow, that was some kick!" and she said "That wasn't the baby!" She had just finished saying that when her contractions kicked in full force, like nothing she had felt before! Here is where the pain coping we learned came in!! She had to stay hunched over on the bathroom floor while we called the midwives to let them know we think that the water broke. Maura (one of our midwives, Theresa and Toby came right after) said she was on her way, but not to get too excited, because we could still have lots of time to get fully dilated. However, when Maura arrived about 30 minutes later, Alisha had already began pushing, and when checked was fully dilated. We managed to get her from her birth-ball (thanks Joanna!) onto the couch, and within about 40 minutes he was out and in our arms! Didn't even have time to make it to the hospital! He was perfect! No complications, and as of today, he is doing really well. We will keep you updated, but we ask that no one stops by until at least Sunday (and please call first!!!) as Alisha needs her rest! Best wishes to our fellow class mates, and we wish you all a wonderful birth as well!