The Other Labor Day(s)

I hooked up with this meme over at Rocks in my Dryer. You know, for us gals, sharing labor and delivery stories is like sharing an old war story. It's just in our nature to share, so here are my labor stories - the condenced version:

How long were your labors?
Sloan - 5 hours
Katya - 2.5 hours
Landon - hard to say, contractions off and on for about 24 hours but true labor maybe 7 hours

How did you know you were in labor?
Seriously? Ummmm...how about mind numbing pain that shot from the middle of my back to my knees. Yeah - the whole idea of when it's time, you'll know - totally applied to me.
Sloan - I had mild contractions all day until about 1:00 am when they jumped to crazy intense. Got to the hospital and found out I was a 6 and two hours later, he was here!
Katya - my water broke around 4:00 am, she was born at 6:20 - she wasted no time...she still wastes no time.
Landon - he took his time. Lee and I actually drove out to a Christmas party in Imperial the night before he was born - in a blizzard - despite contractions coming every 15 minutes. We've never claimed to be smart.

Where did you deliver?
Missouri Baptist Medical Center and loved it!

Drugs?
No, actually. I opted for no epidural. When I had Sloan they didn't even give me an IV, which was awesome! Before you think too highly of me you should know that I am deathly afraid of needles. Squeezing a kid out drug free is way more appealing than letting some yahoo shove a needle into my spine. That's just me. And, to be honest, my deliveries were so fast that an epidural just didn't make sense. By the time I felt unbearable pain it was time to push (oh, and to the author's of the book that said that once you get to the pushing in natural childbirth, it's much easier because you are naturally numb by that point - you guys are idiots...just sayin') Actually, when I walked into the hospital with Landon I was at an 8 and could barely feel my contractions. He was my easiest labor, despite being the longest - but my roughest delivery! Weird...

C-Section?
Oh, thank God no! They would have had to put me under I would have been such a basket case!

Who delivered?
Sloan - the house doctor because my doctor didn't make it because they thought since it was my first pregnancy it would take me longer to progress. I was only in the delivery room 45 minutes when the nurse checked and freaked out and told me to wait while she got help. I almost said a bad word in response, maybe I did, I can't remember. I vividly remember telling Lee to quit breathing in my face because he had bad breath. I felt bad about it later, but when you feel like your rear end is about to explode you really can't be held accountable for the things you say.
Tia-My OB just barely made it. He was waiting outside the room and told us to call him when I was ready to push. The problem was, when I was ready to push, she just came out. I think he got there in time to catch her with one hand just before she hit the table.
Landon-He was a little different. I couldn't really tell if I was in labor or not. In fact, when I got to the hospital, I thought for sure they'd send me home because my contractions were so mild. When the nurse said I was at an 8, I was shocked. My OB kind of rushed Landon's birth because he had a scheduled C-Section to get to, so he just told me to start pushing even though I wasn't really ready. I think that's why delivery hurt so much with Landon. But, you know, the pain is so short and then, all of the sudden, this perfect little being is in your arms and the pain is gone. It's so miraculous. If the newborn phase weren't so dang difficult, I think I'd have a couple more babies.
So there you have it. My labor stories without too much gross embarrassing stuff. If any of you want to join, click on the link above and link to the meme through her site. Happy Labor Day!