Avonlea Joy Eastin: Our Newest Beautiful Baby Girl

Avonlea Joy Eastin

I don't even know where to start...what a beautiful baby girl we have been blessed with!  She was born July 11th, 2013 at 1:14 pm.  She weighed in at a respectable 10 lbs 2 oz and was 22 inches long.  She is absolutely perfect.  We have named her Avonlea Joy Eastin.

We know many of you will want to hear the labor story, so here it is.  Tasha and I were watching a movie Tues night (July 9), when Tasha said she started noticing contractions but they were so mild that we went to bed and she slept through the night.  I went to work in the morning, but Tasha called me about 9:30 a said that the contractions were enough to make it uncomfortable to take care of 2 toddlers on top of it.  Contractions were off and on and fluctuating throughout the day (July 10) so she took a nap, we went for a walk, went to the store, and mowed the lawn.  Yes, Tasha mowed the lawn.  She convinced me it was simply another walk.  That night Tasha didn't sleep hardly at all because the contractions were stronger, but I slept well.  I still feel guilty about that...  We called our midwives about 7:30 am to let them know contractions were longer, stronger and closer together.  Pamela and Amy showed up at about 8:30 and started getting things organized and set up for the birth.  I had tried to get things semi-set up and get Gensie fed and ready to go to 'Uncle Ron and Aunt Dori's' before they got here, but things consisted mostly of my running from the living room to the bedroom to try and be with Tasha for contractions.  I didn't do a very good job...wasn't there for many of them.  Husband fail :(  I promise I am making up for it!  Tasha hasn't changed a diaper yet, so that has to count for something, right?  Anyway, back to the labor.  Due to our small hot water heater, the birth tub wasn't ready for Tasha to get in until 11 am where she stayed for the remainder of the labor.  I got in the tub with her about noon (I think).  I would like to say that husbands are notoriously famous for being helpless during labor, and I am sure I fit the bill until then.  All I got to do before that was hold her hand and ask if I could get her something to eat or drink!  Some people, even mothers, say that is enough but as a father of 3 I say it isn't.  When the love of your life is going through what she is, holding her hand does NOT feel like enough.  Everything I can do is so minimal compared to what she has to do!  Once I got in the tub I was able to rub her back, support her in different positions and feel that much more involved in things.  For much of the labor in the tub Tasha's contractions were spaced out (about 5 minutes) but they were long and strong.  It was about 1:10 pm that Tasha's water finally broke.  It was only 4 minutes later that Avonlea was here.  What a chubby newborn!  She was not drippy chubby, but I had to laugh when she looked like she didn't have a neck.  When there are chub rolls on the back of the neck...I guess that means you have a big baby.  I spent the next number of minutes just inspecting her.  All 10 fingers and all 10 toes were present and accounted for, and I couldn't stop staring at her and holding Tasha as she held our beautiful baby girl.  We were completely surprised that it was a girl.  The entire pregnancy we felt quite certain we were having a boy, but she fooled us!  We were so confident that we only had a few girl baby caps ready, so when the midwives went to get one they ended up grabbing a blue cap.  So now many of her first pictures make her look like a boy.  Sorry Avonlea!  That first day I had to laugh when I would look at her sometimes.  Anyone who is familiar with The Land Before Time may remember how Spike looked after Ducky helped him out of his shell...that was Avonlea.  She would open her eyes to a squint and I would just start to laugh because she looked just like Spike!  Every time I would ask Tasha what name she thought she looked like she would respond, "She is a little Pug dog.  We should just call her Pug".  So I guess the first names we considered for her were Spike or Pug.  I think we chose a better one than those!

These were taken about 30 minutes after she was born

I can't even begin to express how much we love our newest little angel!  She was born in the water and hardly made a peep; no crying or wailing.  A couple squawks, but that was it. Tasha asked her to cry a little bit just to hear her voice!  The water makes for a calming transition into the world, so no crying is common in water births. McKay and Genesis were at 'Uncle Ron and Aunt Dori's' so it was Tasha and I with our 3 midwives (Pamela, Catherine, and Amy) who welcomed her into the world.  Both Mom and Avonlea are doing great and are healthy as can be.

Grandpa and Grandma Eastin had scheduled a trip to come see us July 12th thru the 16th a while ago.  Tasha and I were very confident the baby would come the 1st week of July, so we didn't worry too much.  Avonlea had a different plan!  Grandpa and Grandma flew in on July 12th (Fri) in the evening.  So she came at the last minute!  McKay and Genesis sure love having them here as well (Mom and Dad weren't quite as popular anymore).

Mckay and Genesis came back home a few hours after Avonlea was born and were so excited to see her!  You could see the love they had for her already.  Here are the video's of McKay and Genesis meeting her for the first time:

We are so in love with our beautiful Avonlea Joy!  Here are some more pictures, and more will be following.

A few hours after Avonlea was born

My beautiful baby girls!