the labor & birth survey

I've been meaning to fill out, just for fun I guess. And I'm bored.

Was your baby planned or a surprise? Very much planned.

When was the original due date for your baby: September 15, 2004

What is your baby's birthday? September 15, 2004

Was he early, late or on time? Right on his due date.

Did you know the sex of your baby before he was born? Yes, we finally got the right information at 28 weeks. (At 20 weeks we were told it was most likely a girl)

How did you know you were in labor: Contractions were 4 or so minutes apart, and about 45 seconds long. The midwife on call said "You could wait until they are lasting about 1 minute" but Doug and my mom thought it was time to get going.

Had you had any false alarms: nope

About how long was your actual labor: about 14 hours

When did you go to the hospital: Wednesday September 15 @ 5 AM

Did you have an OB or midwife? I saw a few different midwifes and had Marla for the delivery, we liked her.

Did your water break or did they break it for you: I really didn't want it broken, I wanted it to break on it's own. But, the nurse broke it on accident when she was checking me at about 9:30 AM

Did you get sick at all: I threw up once during labor.

Did you have pain meds: NONE!

Did you have any complications: I pushed for 3 hours! Zander was a big baby and his heartrate dropped a few times during pushing so I was given oxygen.

Who was in the delivery room with you? Doug, my mom, my midwife Marla and the hospital nurse.

What time was your baby born: 1:18 PM

How much did he weigh and how long was he: 9 pounds 8 ounces, 21.5 inches

If you could, is there anything you would change about your birth experience?
I wish we would have had the video camera on, not from the crotch view, but we had it set up to be on the side up near my head. No one knows how to do anything with the video camera but me so it didn't get turned on. I wish I would have had the moment Zander was born on video, I can only try to replay it in my head.

I would have also had my sister in the room taking pictures, again, not from the crotch view.

I would have waited to start pushing until Marla was in the room. The hospital nurse had me pushing all wrong, it wasn't the way we wanted it to go. I woud have utilized the squat bar and the all-fours positions like I wanted to. Birthing on your back is the worst way to go, especially with a huge baby. I knew this, it just didn't work out the way I wanted it, too. Otherwise everything was good, except I wish we would have birthed at the birth center instead of the hospital. Oh well.

What one thing about your baby's birth really sticks out in your mind? It was amazing. Pushing my baby out like that was the most amazing thing I've ever done. I believed in myself and my body and I knew I could do it without drugs. I was on a high, I felt so strong and empowered.

What one thing do you remember most about your baby when you saw him for the first time? His poor little cone-head from being in the birth canal for 3 hours. He was beautiful though, and HUGE!

Who came to visit: my Mom & Dad, Melissa & Mickey, Mike & Lindsey, Marty & Colby, Doug's Mom & Dad, Dani, Mikey and Madison. They were all in the little waiting room from about 9 am until the baby was born. Doug's grandparents also visited us, twice.

Who was the first to hold the baby: Me! I helped pull him up to my tummy. Then Doug, then my mom. When the kids came to visit I think Colby was first, then Lindsey.

What did you do the hours after the baby was born:I scarfed the food they brought to me but I couldn't eat the sandwich cuz it was turkey or something. Our families came in the delivery room. We got moved to recovery. Doug's family got me more food that I could eat. Tried breastfeeding a bunch of times but Zander wasn't hungry. Fought off the evil nurse witch that wanted to give him formula! Eventually he nursed. Then slept.

Did you know what name you wanted before he was born: Yes, I knew I wanted Zander Daniel since before I became pregnant. Convincing Doug was the hard part.

How long did you stay in the hospital: I spent 2 nights, so we got discharged on Friday. I needed the sleep and rest but it sucked fighting off formula-feeding evil nurses! And then the different lactation consultants we're annyoing. And having to keep track of how much he nursed and when and his poopies and pee's. Ugh. That sucked. But I'm glad we stayed 2 nights because coming home to Vinnie was a challenge.

Random hospital memories:
Scarfing the food everytime it came. I was so HUNGRY I couldn't wait for the food to get delivered and I would eat it all up so fast. And it wasn't that bad. I enjoyed the breakfast of: oatmeal, toast, eggs and a hash brown with milk and juice. And for lunch and dinner I'd have a gardenburger, fries and fruit.

The second night we stayed Doug brought movies from home, we watched Singles, then Vacation, then High Fidelity.

I remember thinking "Wow, I don't have to go to work for like 12 weeks!" haha. (Oh, I miss materity leave!)

We had an awesome recovery nurse the first day, it's just he one that was on that night sucked ass. Then our awesome nurse came back the second day and we told her about evil nurse. She made sure we had a good pro-breastfeeding nurse the second night, and she was good. The last day our nice recovery nurse stopped by to say hi, she wasn't even working!