Birth Story - My Birth

Posted by Kim:

Seeing as though my birthday was last Wednesday, I thought I would share with you my Mother's memories of my birth! Yes, if I was on top of things I would have posted this last Wednesday, but seeing as though Carri ordered me not to work on my birthday, what could I do? I had to take it off. Anyway, here it is:

It is so funny because each year my Mom calls me up with the same expression. "I woke up with the worse back pain this morning." This is always how she starts the conversation. She says "I didn't even realize I was in labor so I just kept folding laundry" (this is the same registered nurse who didn't realize she was pregnant until she was 12 weeks along). Once the pain became more intense she and my Dad decided to go to the hospital (same hospital where she has worked for 43 years). So my Mom and Dad called my Grandparents (who lived directly across the river from where my parents lived) to let them know that they were going to go to the hospital. Meanwhile, knowing what was going on, my Grandfather watched out of his front window with his binoculars and could see the exact moment when my Mom and Dad left for the hospital. So what happens? Well of course when my Grandfather saw my Mom and Dad pull away from their house through his binoculars he and my Uncle get so excited they jump in the car and drive to hospital. Normally one would not consider this strange behavior because many times family wants to surround the laboring mother with their love and support (or at least wait in the waiting room to hear the good news). Well in this case, the problem was that my Grandfather sped off the hospital leaving my Grandmother (who does not drive) in the bathtub and no way to contact him or get to the hospital. Luckily my soon-to-be Aunt called my Grandmother and went over the house and picked her up so she could be there for the birth of her first grandchild as well!!

The story about the actually birth is pretty vague in my mother's mind. She can't remember how far progressed she was when she arrived at the hospital, she just said "I don't think they kept as close track of that as they do now." So according to her she labored alone in the labor room and they eventually gave her a little medication to take the edge off of the pain, demerol she thinks. All she recalls is feeling like she was "As Drunk as a Skunk" and waving to one of her best friends as she walked past her room yelling "HELLOOOO there Mary Margaret."

Then she was moved to a delivery table, three pushes and I was out! My Dad stayed in the waiting room "Cool as a Cucumber" as my family always said. The doctor came out and told my Dad that he had a Little Princess and that's about it.

My mother chose not to nurse me at all so they gave her a medicine that prevented her milk from coming in, but she recalls that I was "The cutest baby she had ever seen." But what Mom doesn't say that? My Dad said that one of his most vivid memories of meeting me for the first time was how long an thin my fingers were. This is so funny thinking about how short and stubby my fingers are now!!!

The highlights of the day that I hear every year:
All Back Labor
Grandpa left Grandma
Dad was as cool as a Cucumber
I felt as Drunk as a Skunk
3 pushes and you were out