A Very Special Cinco De Mayo!!

And then there were THREE!! FINALLY!! We are happy to announce the arrival of our new baby! Part of me wondered if I was ever going to give birth or if I was going to be pregnant forever! ;-) We are thankful and excited to welcome our third child into our family.
Last night (Tues) around 8pm I started having contractions every 8-10 minutes apart. I was afraid to get too excited in case it wasn't really "it". The girls and I took a walk around the neighborhood around 11pm as things continued to progress the contractions had gotten 5-6min apart and a little more intense. I spent time on the labor ball and we contacted our birth support team to give them a heads up. Isaac and I took a walk at 1am and I was a little teary imagining 10+ hours left in the labor (given that Nate's labor was 26hrs and Joe's was 19hrs). The contractions were getting stronger still when we got back to the house and we called my doula and my mom to come over.
Around 2am-ish I migrated upstairs and got in the labor tub. Isaac joined me and was a wonderful support during the difficult contractions that followed. My mom and Julie (the doula) were both great at helping to provide counter pressure the ease the back labor I was experiencing. My sister and two friends who were there were all awesome as helping with whatever we needed, drinks, supplies, taking pix, etc. We were expecting the labor to take awhile but when it became clear that things were moving quicker than we anticipated we called the midwife to come over (just before 3am). I continued to labor in the tub and began to feel the urge to push but tried as best I could to breathe through the contractions rather than push too soon. I felt the water break a little after 3am and things moved quickly after that. I was able to feel the baby move down much more clearly than I did with Joe (pushing was a slow process with him - inch by inch for about 2hrs). It was really only a few contractions/pushes that moved this baby down the canal and out into the water. The midwife walked up the stairs just in time to "catch" the baby as she floated up to meet us. I was in such a state of relief and everyone was checking the baby to see if they were doing well it was a moment or two before I noticed the sex. I gushed "its a girl!!".
Our beautiful Christine Anne joined us via a gentle water birth at 3:34am on Wednesday, May 5th!! She was 8lbs 6oz and 21 3/4in long. She has alot of black hair and is quite possibly the most perfect looking baby I have ever seen! Not that I'm bias or anything! ;-) The boys slept through everything. Nate woke up around 6am as things were settling down and was very excited to meet his new sister. He said "She's just what we wanted"! He is a doting big brother to her already, constantly saying "Isn't she beautiful?". Its clear that he is completely taken with her. Joe is intrigued by her as well, though not so clearly as Nate. I'm sure she'll have all the men and boys in our family wrapped around her finger in no time.

Side note: With Nate I was in labor all day on Thurs and had him around 3:50am on Friday morning. With Joe I was in labor most of Wed and had him around 3:40am on Thurs. With Christine I was in labor Tues evening and had her just after 3:30am Wed morning. All three of my kiddos have been born in the 3 o'clock hour of the morning! How weird is that? ;-)