Birth stories

My friend Carmen asked about the birth stories of our children and rather than leave my long winded response in her comments I decided to write it here. Because, you know, they're soooo interesting! (To me, anyway!)

Headless Boy 1 was due on Thanksgiving 1999. No dice. I finally started to go into labor on Friday night, late, and didn't sleep. I finally got up around 6 to shower and the contractions slowed so much that I didn't need to go to the hospital. So I did what every first time mother should do. I went shopping. I think that I really freaked out the pimply-faced teenage boy who was checking-I had to stop at the check out lane and breathe and rock through a contraction. Skip ahead several hours to 2 am when I was really contracting hard and decided to go. HD and I got to the hospital and they told me to walk. Contractions went away-almost. Finally got pitocin at 7 am because I was only 1 cm. Because it was a holiday weekend they were short staffed and I couldn't get into my room until 9. (If you've had pitocin you know that at 2 hrs on it you are screaming because the contractions are coming FAST.) I had asked for an epidural with the pitocin but there was only 1 anesthesiologist on duty-holiday weekend!-and he was in a c-section. Perfect! Anyway, he finally got in after 10, the first stick didn't take and he had to do it again. Oh! and during the first stick, my water broke all over his shoes. (That will teach him to keep me waiting!) The nurse had called my doctor to come in and he arrived somewhere around 10:30 and reamed the nurse for interrupting his Sunday morning coffee. So he went home and I pushed. And pushed. For what felt like a life time. When the Doctor came back he had to give me a terrible episiotomy and used forceps* to deliver my precious boy. (There were no marks, or bruises, I might add.)Headless boy was 9 lb. 5 oz. and 21 in., and was born at 12:20 pm. I got to watch football that afternoon!

Headless Boy 2 was 12 days late. My doctor didn't think that we needed to encourage anything-I felt otherwise, and after the tears he relented. We went to the hospital at 5 am on a Wednesday. Pitocin at 7, my room by 8. Epidural right after that. We promptly fell asleep. Until 11:30! I asked the nurse if we should check the progress and she said, "OK". I was at 9 1/2 cm. She said not to push and went to call my doctor. The doctor breezed in at 12:15, I pushed twice, and HB2 was born. At 12:20. (Oh the irony!) He was 11lb. even and 22 in. (Yes, 11lb. The doctor even had the nurse weigh him like 3 times, or more. He was just sure that this baby would be about 8 lb.)

Headless Girl was the easiest for me-She was 7 when we got married and I got 3 kids for the price of 2.

*Despite all of this my doctor for these births was the greatest. All of the nurses said that he may be difficult to work with but if there are any problems in delivery he's the one that you want. I came to appreciate his (lack of) bedside manner.

So there you have it. Yes, Carmen, two different stories for two totally different boys. Best of luck to Julie-Babies are a precious gift from God!

Please play along-leave a note in the comments or link to your post if you have a blog. Thanks for indulging me, I love these stories, and I love hearing yours.