The birth story actually starts a few days before his birth, Friday April 25,2003. Dave and Gavin had been sick all week. I stayed home with Gavin in the morning until Dave could come home to be with him. I went to work that day and felt a little "different". I had a menstral back ache and just felt like it was getting close. Well, it was close. I was 39 weeks. I told everyone at work that it could be that weekend and hopefully I wouldn't see them at work on Monday. That night we went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner and I had several strong contractions during dinner but nothing regular. I still just felt "not quite right". One lady commented to me, "Boy, you don't look uncomfortable but you're HUGE! Is it twins?" No, no no for the millionth time. Not twins. I love the comments people feel free to say when they encounter a very pregnant woman. That night we came home and I was laying in the bed waiting for the kids to get ready for bed so we could read stories. I was so dead tired though I was about to collapse. I knew something was happening because I just wanted to be by myself. Just the mere presence of the kids was annoying me. So, I did basically collapse at about 8:30. Dave woke me up at 11:30 because I was sprawled over the whole bed. Then, I felt bad that I had fallen into a coma practically and didn't read to the kids or even say good night. I got up to have a little snack, brush my teeth and get ready for bed for real this time. When I lay down in bed, I thought my water had broken because it suddenly felt so wet. I got back up and Dave asked what was wrong. I went into the bathroom to check and realized it was actually the mucous plug. It seemed like a lot though. I went back out and said, "Well, we're definitely having a baby soon. My plug is coming out." When that happened with Gavin, he was born 12 hours later. I had already been an 3 cm the day before when my midwife checked me so I knew it was possible it would get kick started during the night. At that point, I freaked out. I seriously freaked out realizing I was about to have this baby and I had to go through labor and such. All I wanted to do was go to sleep. I actually got nervous, shaky, cold and clammy. Then, I really freaked out realizing that Dave had taken cough medicine with codeine moments before I realized this could be it. That stuff knocked him out! He wouldn't be able to drive me if I did go into labor. So, I didn't sleep all night. I sat there worrying if I should alert my mom and sister who were coming from Phoenix who really didn't want to miss it this time. Also, should I alert my friend, Kara, who was going to be in charge of my other kids because she had to work on Saturday. I worried and fretted and freaked out about the hard work in front of me all night. Finally at about 5 I got up and made phone calls. I didn't have any activity during the night but I just felt the need to let everyone know. Kara went in to work and called someone in for her. Then, she came by to spend the afternoon with me while Dave took the kids to run errands. I even called to cancel a massage I had scheduled because I just felt weird about having one when I was so close. Kara and I had a light lunch ( I only wanted a smoothie which indicated to me things were close). We went and sat by the pool and nothing happened. No contractions and very little movement from this normally VERY active baby. More indications it was close since this is the same path I went through with Gavin. I think Kara was trying to get things started because she kept rubbing my belly and almost willing the contractions to come. I told her and Dave I wished I hadn't alerted everyone yet because I was starting to feel "performance anxiety". I felt like everyone was thinking, "Well, do something!" That was Saturday...nothing happened except that I did continue to lose the plug and I slept better that night than I had slept in about 4 months. I guess the baby knew I needed some good sleep hours. Sunday morning Kara called to say that she called in sick to work so she could be with me again that day. I felt really bad but all I knew was that it was very close. We had made arrangements for her to come up and take the kids swimming while I did some grocery shopping by myself. I really didn't want to but I was so glad I did. We also decided to invite some friends who were in town over for dinner that night thinking if we planned something the baby would come for sure. They came over and we had a very nice dinner. We sat outside and enjoyed the nice weather and I still felt like the baby would come soon but who knew when. Maybe that night. All of our friends left and I felt exhausted. As they were leaving we joked, "maybe we'll see you at 2 in the morning" since our friend, Lenore was planning on being there also. I commented to Dave how I was really thinking I wouldn't be going back to work and I was a little bit bummed that I might be going in to work on Monday. We headed for bed at about 10PM and watched the news as usual. I fell asleep at about 10:30. At 11:30 I woke up with a start but I wasn't sure why. I got up to use the bathroom and then thought I may have been woke up by a contraction that was stronger than they had been. I laid back down to watch the clock and see if there was anything "regular" beginning to happen. The next one was 15 minutes later. The next was 12 minutes later and the one after that was 10 minutes later. I suddenly had a strong feeling of pressure in my hips and legs and I stood up out of bed. Dave woke with a start and asked what was wrong. I told him I thought I'd had about an hours worth of contractions getting closer together but I was having a lot of pressure. He jumped up at that time and we started watching the clock again. They became closer and closer at which point he said I should call the midwife as they were about 4-8 minutes apart. I was still not convinced these were real contractions even though they were harder than I'd had before. I was trying to resist calling since it was now about 12:45 AM On Monday April 28. He convinced me so I called. I was so relieved when the answering service said the midwife on call was Tanya, my favorite one. She had been the nurse at Gavin's birth and had since gone back to get her midwifery license so it was neat she was going to be the one at this birth, too, but as the midwife this time. She called back and I told her what had been happening. She listened through one and she knew we had at least a 1/2 hour drive. She said, "Well, they sound like they are pretty strong and getting closer together. I'll meet you at the birth center in about 1/2 hour." I said okay and hung up with her but I felt bad. "What if it's a false alarm? It's the middle of the night. I'd feel so bad getting everyone out of bed for a false alarm." I said I needed to use the restroom again while Dave got the kids up and out of bed. I heard Dave wake up Madison and say, "Mad, you need to get out of bed. Mommy is in labor. She's going to have our baby." Madison replied with a very groggy and a little but snotty, " I KNOW!" Then, she fell back asleep. LOL! Dave got them in the car. They continued to wait for me as I had a huge case of diarrhea which made Dave even more nervous knowing that was a sign we were getting close. I thought nothing of it. Finally, we got into the car and began our drive. I had called Kara and told her we were at least heading that way. I was convinced I would get to the birth center and she would send us home so I thought we could go to Kara's and crash there if we needed to. I also called my mom and told her since she really wanted to make it here for this birth. She missed the other two. I told her I wasn't convinced it was the real thing although watching the clock on the way there, the contractions were coming like clockwork every 3 minutes. She said she'd wake my sister and they'd be on their way. That was at about 1:30 AM. The drive wasn't as bad as I envisioned it would be but we also left when the contractions weren't too bad. I was concentrating through them but could easily talk in between them. There was one stop light that changed to red as we cam upon it and Dave stopped a little suddenly which was in the middle of a contraction. That made me uncomfortable and I said a few words about that! I talked to Kara again and she said she would sit in her car outside of her community and when we were approaching, Dave should flash his lights at her and she would follow us. We drove into the area where the birth center is and the speed bumps there are small but boy did they HURT to go over. So, I asked Dave to stop until the contraction was over. Kara got worried that we stopped and drove up next to us to make sure everything was okay. We got to the birth center at almost 2 AM. We got out and Dave got the kids out. Tanya came outside to see if I could walk in or if I wanted the wheelchair. I said I was fine and could walk. She was such a sweetheart. She then said, " I have the tub all warmed and filled for you to get into." She knew how much I wanted to be in the tub last time but didn't make it in time. I wanted to kiss her. I thought that was so nice and so thoughtful. Kara got the kids situated and they fell back asleep. Dave and I got arranged and got into the tub. I just stripped my clothes off except me bra and he got changed into his swim trunks. Ahhhhhh, the water was so nice. By this point, the contractions seemed to have picked up a little in intensity but I was still sure she was going to send us home. My friend, Lenore showed up a few minutes later and my in-laws did also. My BIL and FIL stayed out in the living room area where the kids were. My MIL came in the room. The contractions were still coming but they didn't seem that close together to me and I thought for sure she was going to make me get out of the tub since they seemed to have slowed down. In between contractions, I was still able to talk with everyone and joke a little. I heard Kara say to Lenore, "See, I told you we'd see you at 2 in the morning."Tanya was intermittently listening to the baby's heart beat and she wanted to do an exam to see how much I had progressed. She had a surprised look on her face and I thought, " Oh great! Here we go. Here's where she says it's a false alarm and sends us home." She said, "Michelle, you're at 8 cm!" I could not have been more surprised and I kept saying, "No way. really? No way." Then I asked, " If I am at 8 then why am I still able to talk to everyone in between?" She replied, " You're just doing a really good job and making it look easy. If you're trying to convince ME you're not in labor, it's not going to do you any good." She then reminded me that we were planning on putting in a saline lock just in case I started to hemorrhage like I did with Gavin. She tried to put it in a good vein but it was hurting so so so bad and she couldn't get a good line. I finally begged her to just take it out. It hurt worse than the contractions. So we continued on with Dave behind me for support and everyone else just sitting by with nothing to do but watch. Dave tried to help support my back and hips where it hurt so much but he just couldn't get to the right place so I kept swatting his hand away. He wanted to help somehow but the best thing for him to do was just be there for me to lean on. I felt like I had to go to the bathroom so I started to get out. Tanya said I could just pee in the water. It was sterile. It would be okay. Well, I was afraid I not only had to pee but possibly finish what I started at home. That I KNEW wasn't sterile!LOL! So, upon my insistence, I got out of the tub . I had one contraction on the toilet which reminded me how much better it felt in the water. I got back in the tub as soon as I could to avoid another "land"contraction. It was beginning to hurt a lot even in the water and I was resting in between them now instead of talking and I was leaning my head against Dave's legs which just seemed like the perfect thing for him to be "doing". It was what I needed him for in that time. I had stopped sipping water at about this point whereas before I felt like I couldn't drink enough. It was nice and cold which offset the heat of the tub which Tanya had just refilled with hot water even though I had wished she didn't have to. Dave also had a cool wash cloth and patted my forehead and around my neck. At some point Kara or someone put an ice cube in a wash cloth which felt great,too. That is until Dave was just pressing it against my head and causing a cold pain head ache on top of the contraction. I voiced my complaint about that one right away! I could hear everyone else talking quietly and in my head I was joining in the conversations, too, but I was too focused on when the next one was going to come. I was still thinking they didn't seem to be coming that close together. In my mind I was also talking to the baby..." Okay baby, things are going well. Let everything be alright. You can come whenever you're ready. I am ready to get this part over with and meet you. etc etc" Dave's mom stood up at some point and brought a hand held wicker fan over by the tub and began to fan me. Ahhhhhhh, it was so so so nice. The fan, the cool cloths, Dave to lean on, now if the baby would just make some progress. Tanya kept saying that I was making it look too easy and I kept thinking in my head she was crazy. I felt like I was whining and moaning a lot during each contraction. She was so sweet at one point when she said to me," You look so beautiful there laboring your baby. Your cheeks are all pink and you look so good while working so hard." I couldn't reply but inside I was smiling about what a wonderful thing to say at such a rough time. At some point I opened my eyes and I could see Madison sitting on the bed by Kara. I knew she wouldn't want to miss it. At about 3:45 AM Tanya decided to check me again because I was getting shaky and she wondered about transition because she said sometimes 3rd babies don't give much warning before entering the birth canal. She checked and I was so disappointed to hear that I was still at 8 but totally effaced. I went inside myself and wondered what was going on and asked the baby what was wrong. The answer came to me. Duh! Either the baby or I was waiting for my mom and sister to get there. Then I wondered where they were and thought surely it wouldn't be much longer. I wished they'd drive faster so we could get this over with! The contractions were hurting first low in the pubic area and then it would tighten in my back and high in my hip area. So, I would start out holding my stomach and quickly end up putting both hands over the top of my hips and applying pressure. Dave tried to help several times seeing that I needed one more hand but most of the time he just couldn't find the right place and I ended up swatting his hand away. So, Tanya asked at this point if I wanted to consider breaking my water. As we were talking, I heard my mom and sister come in. I thought, "Oh God, FINALLY! Now we can just have this baby." I did feel a little bit scared that I was going to have to go through the crowning part again but I kept telling myself it would be over shortly. I asked Tanya ( already knowing the answer of course) if breaking the water would make the contractions hurt more. She said," Yes, probably but it will also help get the baby down and you can have this baby. You're so close." I thought about it for a while and then I agreed but I said I wanted to wait until after this next contraction. So, the next one came on and seemed just like the ones before. Suddenly I felt this huge urge to push and BAM! The water broke and I giggled to myself, " Well, don't have to worry about that now." Dave said something to the effect of," Oh! I definitely know what THAT was!" ( he had the up close and personal view of the water breaking last time). They were all kind of laughing about it and joking at the power of suggestion. Meanwhile I was still having the urge to push and I put my hands down because I felt a lot of pressure when suddenly I was holding the baby's head in my hands. His head just came shooting out but no one else knew yet. I marveled at the hair on the head and I even thought it was weird that I could feel an ear! Finally someone noticed that his head was through since I had been covering it with my hands. Tanya asked that some one go and get the nurse. Tanya and Dave felt the baby's head and she checked for a cord around it's neck. With it's head sticking out, I just didn't want anyone to move it forward or backward because I felt like I might rip or something. I also had no more urge to push and no more contractions. I just sat back and took a rest like I was finished or something. Tanya was trying to feel around his neck and after several minutes asked if I could try pushing. I tried but it was totally fake. I told her I just couldn't. I didn't have to. I couldn't even find the right place to push. In the middle of all of this I had enough energy to squeak out," don't forget the video tape!" My sister had already thought of it luckily. After a while longer, I could tell Tanya was getting a little concerned about his shoulders. It seemed she couldn't get a good grip and maybe they were stuck. I was still no help and couldn't push. She finally said that I was going to need to get out of the tub and on to the bed. I have no idea how I did it or why with such ease but I just stood up and climbed out with the head sticking out of my body. Even during that time I knew it must look really funny. I just hoped the kids weren't freaked out. I wasn't even sure that Gavin was there. I hadn't opened my eyes enough to look for him. So, I stood on the edge of the tub but for some reason and I don't even remember doing it, I started to squat right there. It surprised everyone because they thought I was headed to the bed. Tanya then encouraged me to the bed where I lay down on my side. They got my legs in a good position (up by my ears I think!) and Dave was right up by my head so I wrapped my arm around his neck and felt that urge to push again. I hadn't realized I was digging my fingers into Dave's neck. I heard him say quietly, "oooow." I opened my eyes and realized that I really was hurting him. I released my grip a bit, apologized, and then went back to pushing. I finally felt the baby's shoulders pop loose but he didn't slide out as fast as I remember the other two doing. I thought, "geez, how big is this baby?" Everyone was encouraging me on and saying 1 more push but it seemed to take a lot until I felt that rush of baby and fluid shoot out and my first thought was I was so happy not to be pregnant anymore. I reached down to grab the baby without looking at the sex right away. That was at 4:19 AM. Tanya asked Madison and Gavin what the baby was since we had requested that they be the ones to announce it. Apparently we forgot to tell Dave's mom that because she was already shouting,"It's a boy! It's a boy!" I was so disappointed that she did that. The kids were on the wrong side of the bed but they came over and climbed up with me to check him out. He looked exactly like Madison did when she was born although he resembled Gavin also. Luckily, there was very little bleeding although that possibility still scared me and I kept asking about it. Everyone was reassuring me that it was fine. Tanya checked for tears/abrasions and said there were none. After a while, Dave cut the cord and we were officially separated. The placenta took forever to come and we waited and waited. She tried to push my belly a little top see if it was coming but I felt like I had to pee. She said that there were pads underneath me.I could just go if I needed to. After all that everyone in the room had seen, I just could NOT pee in front of everyone. LOL! So, we headed for the bathroom where I tried to pee and with Tanya sitting below me we sat and waited and waited. I again could not find the right place to push to go pee and the placenta remained in tact. During that time they asked if they could weigh and measure the baby and I agreed. 8 lbs 2 oz. and 19 1/2" long...my biggest yet and the earliest (1 week early). We decided I didn't have to pee and moved back to the bed where we waited more for the placenta. The nurse came over and felt around my belly a little. It finally seemed to pop loose and came out. Tanya and the nurse commented on how big it was. I laughed to myself that it was the "twin" everyone referred to when they thought I looked so huge. The baby was wide awake and looking around and seemed ready to nurse so I put him to the breast where he knew exactly what to do. A little while later everyone was leaving to go home and try and get a few hours of sleep. Madison and Gavin went to our house with my mom and sister. Dave, me and our new little miracle got cuddled on the bed and tried to take a nap and decide which name was his. We slept for a few hours until the nurse came in and said another woman was in labor and had wanted to also use the tub. She said we could stay there but she'd have to move us into one of the other rooms or she could discharge us. She seemed to be encouraging us to stay but we decided we could just as easily leave and go home to sleep since we had help with the older 2 ("The Bigs" as they are now referred to). The baby had this funny squeaking he was doing and they were worried he was having trouble breathing but she said he seemed to be okay. We thought he was going to just be a noisy baby. This squeaking continued throughout the day. We were discharged at about 11:30 AM. We did get a call that morning that said Gavin's strep test came back positive for strep. That is not what I needed at that time was to deal with giving him medicine and thinking I might have it too since I had commented to Dave that my throat was sore that morning also. At home we got to sleep while my mom and sister tended to "The Bigs" and the baby (who still did not have a name but we were pretty sure his first name would be Easton). It was almost like pure heaven to sleep on my back again. Ahhhh how I'd missed that. The after pains were almost unbearable with this third baby and even brought tears to my eyes a few times. Luckily, they only lasted throughout that day. Apparently at one point, Madison was holding the baby in my Laz-E-Boy. Gavin crawled in next to her and fell asleep. Then, Madison fell asleep so all 3 were sitting together sound asleep. We have a precious photo of it. We were trying to get Dave as much sleep as possible because the next day was a big interview he had for an Assistant Principal job. So, that night, I said I'd be up with him and Dave should just sleep. As my other two also did, the baby cried and screamed and screamed all night. He seemed so disoriented and so distraught. The only thing that comforted him was to nurse but he was making me a little sore and I was afraid of starting things off wrong again so I wasn't letting him latch on ALL night long. It was a long night and he kept the whole house up. It sure opened up his lungs because the squeaking stopped once he found his voice. His constant nursing helped my milk come in quickly and he never really lost much birth weight. He was a hungry guy. Finally, by about the third day after birth, we went back to the birth center for a follow-up and for a throat culture for me since my throat was still sore. It was then that we decided he needed to have a name. It was then that we decided on Easton Robert. Robert is my dad's name, it is Dave's dad's middle name, it was my brother's middle name, and Dave's mom's maiden name is Robertson so we covered a lot of bases using that name. So, that is how our journey with Easton began. His brother and sister love him so much a little too much in fact. Madison is like a second mother to him and Gavin can't get enough of him. Gavin is having the hardest time adjusting but I know he'll realize our love for him hasn't gone anywhere. Our circle of love has just gotten bigger to fit in the one I knew was still missing. I believe with Easton, our family is complete as Dave and I had envisioned it long ago when they were just a dream.

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Michelle
Mommy to Madison, Gavin, and Easton a.k.a. Caboose