A Woman's Favorite Discussion Topic-- Birth Stories

I am not a big fan of doing Memes on my blog. In fact, although I've read and enjoyed them on other writer's blogs, I've never done one myself. I found this one on Lu's blog, though, and decided that with the new baby just weeks away, this Meme dedicated to pregnancy and childbirth would be a great one to try! I'll start with Gavin, my firstborn, and I'll tackle Maddie and Owen over the next few days...

Gavin Christopher ***; December 8, 2002

1. How long had you been married at the time of the birth? One year, four months

2. What were your reactions when you found out that you were pregnant? Extreme excitement. I had had a miscarriage at 12 weeks just a few months before and we were so thankful to have this new little life.

3. How old were you? I was 21 when I found out and 22 when he was born.

4. How did you find out that you were pregnant? I took a home pregnancy test, but I also had blood work done at the doctors because of my recent miscarriage.

5. Who did you tell first? Brian was with me when I took the test, but after that I think we called my family and then either Brian's mom or sister.

6. Did you find out the sex? Yes, we did. We were both hoping for a boy and that is exactly what he was. The office that did the sonogram offered to record on a video for us so we have a permanent reminder of that day!

7. Due date? December 1, 2002

8. Did you deliver early or late? Late, 7-long-days-late! In fact, my OB planned to induce first thing in the morning on the eighth day, but thankfully I went into labor on my own before that could happen.

9. Did you have morning sickness? Yes, terrible morning sickness for 6 months and mild morning sickness for the remaining 3! This may be too much information, but I was even still throwing up a week before he was born although it wasn't a daily occurrence by then!

10. What did you crave? Steak and ice cream, just not together! Even though I was sick, I still wanted to eat. I could NOT eat raw tomatoes or pineapple, though, which both had too much acid for my already weak tummy!

11. Who irritated you most? My boss where I worked for the first three months of my pregnancy who kept implying that morning sickness should be over by the afternoon!

12. What was your first child's sex? A boy, through and through!

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout your first pregnancy? A little personal, don't you think? I think I gained 39 pounds, despite throwing up and being sick!

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Not really. Everything went smoothly.

15. Where did you give birth? in our local hospital that was only about a 10 minute drive away

16. How many hours were you in labor? I woke up in labor around 1-2 am, but I wasn't sure until around 3 am. Unfortunately Brian, had worked late the evening before (at a different job than the one he has now) and barely got any sleep before heading the hospital around 7 am. When I got to the hospital my labor stalled and we ended up dozing and watching TV until things picked up again. Gavin was born a little after 2 in the afternoon so my labor was about 12-13 hours total.

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Brian did.

18. Who watched? No offence to anyone who feels differently, but I don't believe birth is a spectator sport. Brian was the only one I wanted at the birth. Of course, between the doctor, a nurse, a pediatric nurse, a respiratory therapist (because the amniotic fluid contained meconium), and few students who slipped in when I was in no mood to talk and asked me if it was okay if they watched, we were not alone!

19. Was it vaginal or c-section? vaginal

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Despite my plan to have a drug-free labor, after lying on my back for hours (even though they promised it would only be minutes) hooked to fetal monitors and an IV, I gave in and got an epidural at 7 cm.

21. How much did your baby weigh? He was a whopping 9 pounds, 4 ounces, although I can't say it was too big of a deal since I only pushed for 20 minutes.

22. What did you name your first born baby? Gavin (a name we liked) Christopher (his daddy's middle name)

23. How old is your baby today? He's 5 1/2 and he'll be six on his next birthday!

I love to hear about other women's pregnancies and births. Right now, especially, it is a fun thing to read about to pass the time! Please let me know if you do this Meme on your blog because I'd love to read it. Or if you'd rather, tell me your birth or pregnancy story in my comments section.