Amy called me around 4:30am on Saturday, January 28 to say her water had broken and they were heading to the hospital. I was excited for them but had torn emotions because my last wedding before maternity leave was that day too! Amy had known that from the beginning though and since they’ve been in front of my camera so much in the last year and a half, she and Andrew were so understanding of whatever needed to happen. But she promised to keep me up to date on everything going on.
The doctor actually sent them home later that morning for her to labor at home because contractions hadn’t fully started yet and she would be so much more comfortable in her own bed… and where she could eat! I told her to try and rest as best she could and to let me know when they were on their way back to the hospital.
Later that evening, she sent me a text that they were back at the hospital and staying put until they had a baby, doctor’s orders :-) But she hadn’t progressed much even though contractions were stronger so we decided we’d both try and rest and check in the following morning.
At 4:10am, she texted me that not much had changed but it had almost been 24 hours so she wasn’t sure if a c-section was in her future or not. Her “birth plan” was to get the baby here safely so she was ok with whatever needed to be done. Since this was the case, I decided to head on down and left my house around 5am and arrived at the hospital just after 7am.
Thankfully, the most important outfit was ready to be worn! Go Tigers!!
Turns out her water had not completely broken the morning before and the baby was doing perfectly fine where he was, so the doctor let her continue to labor through the morning. Around 9am, she was 3cm and as soon as they fully broke her water, she immediately went to 4cm. The next hour was fully of pressure and contractions… little did we know that Reese was working hard to make his way into the world because when Amy was checked an hour later, she was at 10cm!
NONE of us could believe it. Not even the doctors and nurses! Most of us had made guesses that Reese would join us early to mid-afternoon. But it wasn’t even noon yet!
Amy and Andrew’s families were there and it was time to start pushing.
The best thing a mama in labor can have is an amazing support system. And Andrew was EXACTLY that. He was so encouraging and loving and never left her side. He knew exactly what to tell her to encourage her to keep going and Amy was a rock star!
After 25 minutes of pushing… Coleman Reese was born at 12:15pm.
While Amy and Andrew were overwhelmed with emotion, I was trying to hold back my own sobs.
And doing a really bad job with it!
So many favorites, but this is at the top.
9lbs 7oz of cuteness!
Insert ALL the heart eyed emojis right here…
Daddy had some skin-to-skin time before Reese met the rest of his family.
The grandmas were over the moon!
And we all started crying again when Amy’s twin sister arrived :-)
Aunt Sarah was over the moon and immediately in love!
Andrew with two of his three brothers (the other one was on his way!).
But he and his wife made it :-)
High fives from Andrew’s dad are so rare that something really big has to happen…. like getting married or having a baby :-)
So two high fives were given last Sunday!
To see more Birth Stories, click here.
For more information about me capturing your own baby’s birth or Fresh 48 Session, click here.
