Labor Day

I read about Jamie's "labor day" over at Rose Cottage, and thought I'd share my own labor day story...

How long were you in labor? Almost 21 hours!

How did you know you were in labor? Labor pains woke me up at about 1 am.

Where did you deliver? At the hospital as planned. We called my doctor early in the morning and she told us to meet her at her office around 7 am. Then, we went next door to the hospital. Unfortunately, it was a very busy day in the delivery area and I didn't have a room at first. They had me in a wheeled desk chair at the nurses station and they kept rolling me out of the way - right during contractions!

Also, it was neat that every family member had enough time to get here... even from several states away. My brother even had a flat tire, but made it just in time.

Drugs? Yes, I had drugs and an epidural. The drugs helped me sleep some during the day, but I don't think the epidural worked - I felt a LOT of pain. Also, I tried the "breathing" you are taught in Lamaze class... and it wasn't working for me. I worked through the pain by squeezing my husband's hand. :-)

C-section? No, but it was a possibility. I pushed for 1.5 hours and Alexandra's heart rate spiked twice. They said if it happened again, we needed to do a C-section. I did get an episiotomy and they had to use a suction cup to help pull out my average size baby. (7 lbs 2 oz)

Who delivered? Thankfully, my own doctor delivered. I love my OB-GYN. :-) In fact, it's quite a drive to go see her, but I will stick with her as long as possible.

If you'd like to "play along", copy the questions, post your Labor Day experience, and link up to Rocks in my Dryer.