I found out in February of 1996 that I was pregnant with my third child. I already had 2 young boys. I was due November 8, 1996. My other 2 children would be 44 months (Geoffrey) and 22 months (Kristofer) when the third baby arrived. I had been hoping for a girl with every pregnancy, but after 2 boys, I was still without a daughter! When I got an ultrasound at 17 weeks with this child, I found out I would be having yet another boy! The pregnancy passed much like my others with no problems or sickness. My other 2 children had been born on holidays like I had. I was born on Father's Day, my oldest on Washington's birthday, and the younger on Christmas Day. Considering my due date and the fact that I went a week early with my last one, I figured this child just had to be born on Halloween!

On Halloween night, nothing was happening in the way of the baby coming. It was raining, but during a let-up, I took the 2 boys out trick-or-treating. I pulled them for blocks in our hilly neighborhood in their wagon, hoping the effort might bring on some contractions. When we returned, nothing was happening still. My mom and her best friend were at our house. I mentioned that my back was hurting, though it didn't seem to be anything important. I figured the wagon pulling with 50 or so pounds of kids in it was taking its toll! However, I kind of made a mental note, as a day or so before my other deliveries I had also had a little back pain.

I went to bed that night with no Halloween baby. The next day, I woke up to some pains. I didn't think much of them and laid in bed a while longer (it was 6 am). I didn't fall back asleep, so I noticed that they seemed to be coming off and on. I figured I should get up just in case this was IT. I went to the bathroom and tidied up the house. I timed the pains, which didn't hurt much at all, and found that they were regular. I informed my husband that this might be the day! I called my mom before she could leave for school for the day and said she might be needing to come down! She had her school call in a substitute, and she was on the road for the 3-hour trip. I also called my dad and mother-in-law (all also 3 hours away!). Dad was on his way. Mom's best friend came over to watch the kids until someone else could get there. We lounged around the house since my husband didn't go in to work. I got ready and was hoping things would move pretty fast with this being the third child. My other labors had been 39 1/2 hours and 16 hours. Well, I still wasn't in much pain by early afternoon. I had a doctor's appointment later, so I figured I would go ahead and go in to get checked, just in case things were moving along.

My husband went with me. I was examined and was found to be dilated 3 cm! I had been 2cm the week before, and 1 cm the week before that. The doc said I could go ahead and check into the hospital if I wanted. We went home first to gather up my things. After an hour or so, I was admitted into the hospital. When checked, I was dilated to 4 cm. This was about 4 pm. I got into my gown and sat around to wait in my labor/delivery room. I was hooked up to the fetal monitors and an IV. I had not had an epidural with my other 2 vaginal births and hadn't decided yet this time whether to get one or not. After a couple of hours, the pains were finally getting pretty bad. Thinking that I deserved to have a less painful birth this time, I went ahead and told them I'd take the epidural. It was about 7:30 when I got one, and I was at 7 cm. The doctor inserted the epidural in between contractions. I didn't feel anything but pressure when they put it in after numbing the area with a shot first. It was no big deal. Soon, the medicine started kicking in. My legs went numb, one at a time. It was weird, though, as I could wiggle my toes and feel touch, but I just couldn't move them by myself. All pain was gone during the contractions, but I could still tell when I had them and how long they lasted. It was really neat! There was no pain though I still had sensation. I was thoroughly enjoying it! By this time, my mom and her best friend were in the room with us, snapping pictures and using the camcorder.

Not long after I started enjoying the effects of the epidural, I was checked to be at 9cm! They started wheeling in the delivery supplies and warming bed. It was very exciting to know my child was about to appear! When I was fully dilated, I started pushing. I had wondered if I would be able to do it correctly with an epidural. However, things went just great! I could tell when a contraction was coming on, and I could feel where the baby was inside. I pushed like I had before, and things were progressing. It was just the neatest thing that I was able to tell what I was doing, but it didn't hurt at all! Soon, the baby's head crowned, and lots of pictures were taken of me with the baby's head sticking out! After that, he was soon out. He was born at 8:35 pm on Nov. 1, 1996. My husband cut the umbilical cord, and the baby was handed to me. I held him on my chest. He seemed to be rooting, so I offered him a breast. He latched right on and seemed to fall asleep! He was content for a while, then the nurses cleaned him up and did their thing. He weighed 8 pounds, 11.4 ounces and was 21 3/4" long. We named him Samuel Joseph Parker-Shipman, family names from both our maternal great-grandfathers.

I was fine and still smiling after the birth! I kept telling Mom and her friend how easy this had been compared to the others. It was just a great experience! I did not have an episiotomy and required no stitches. I had no headache from the epidural, and a few hours after the birth, I could move everything again! The baby was just fine and healthy, and I was in a great mood! My boys were brought to my labor/delivery room to see their new brother. I was later moved to a private room for the rest of my stay. This labor had lasted a total of 14 hours, 2 less than the last one