This is my third baby, and I felt awful for nearly a week leading up to his birth. I'd been having flu like symptoms without fever and was so incredibly exhausted. I'd also been having contractions that sometimes got more regular and painful, then stopped. Finally, my water broke as I stood up from dinner around 7 PM last night! Contractions immediately started two minutes apart and almost continuous, and got painful fast. My husband and I dropped off the kids with friends quickly and headed for the hospital. Julian Raphael was born after a natural labor at 12:54 AM, our biggest baby at 8 lb 3 oz and 21 inches. No tearing or problems for me, and he is nursing like a champ. We are so very blessed!