Tales of the Pregnosaur

All right, I have been pregnant four times. I am the first to say that each one was completely unique, regardless of the gender of the children.Thankfully, I was able to carry three of my pregnancies to full term, resulting in the births of three healthy children. When one mother discovers the pregnancy of another, or if the subject just arises, for some reason, we are compelled to share our "war stories" with each other. Don't ask me why. I have no idea, even though I find myself doing it, too.

The pregnancy that I had with my daughter was nice and uneventful, although my family wanted to kill me for being insane. I had quit smoking and was extremely hormonal on top of that. Plus, I was watching my body get bigger and bigger. The most exciting thing that happened during that pregnancy was childbirth, which was only six hours. My daughter was a healthy six pounds and 10 ounces and 19 inches long. My second ended in miscarriage at ten weeks. My third pregnancy brought actual morning sickness and in the last trimester, gall stones. That was so not fun. It was kind of cool to not gain any weight, since I was more than fat enough to be able to afford to lose it. My final pregnancy had morning sickness, a lot of weight loss and hyperthyroidism caused by Graves Disease. In the dead of summer, pregnancy and hyperthyroidism are hell.

My most unusual story of one of my pregnancies was the labor and delivery of my son Aiden, who was the result of my third pregnancy. While I was a veteran, my husband, Mike, was new to the pregnancy and childbirth thing. When I started having contractions, I started timing them. My mistake was in telling Mike that I was having them. He hovered and freaked out until I called the doctor and went to the hospital. If not for him, I would have waited and walked until it was closer to go-time. However, I caved and went to the hospital, where I lay in a bed having contractions that would not let me sleep, but not really progressing. I did this for twelve hours. Needless to say, I did not think well of him.

When I finally got to the point of delivery, everyone came running. I had my mom, husband, best friend, aunt and mother-in-law in the room. There were two nurses and the doctor. One of the nurses came to ask if the nursing students who were there for the day could come observe. I told her, "I don't care."

She said, "One of the students is a male. Is that alright?"

I said, "That's fine. How is he going to learn if nobody lets him observe?"

She said, "Are you sure?"

I said, "Lady, I don't care if you allow Congress to hold sessions in here, right now, as long as the doctor is watching where he's supposed to be watching and doing what he's supposed to be doing." This entire conversation was held around contractions and the whirlwind of people. Honestly, the only people I liked at that time were my aunt and mother-in-law, since the did not try to touch me or speak to me. The nursing students stood off to the side.

However, the best moment was when they told me to push, and I tried to tell them that I was not ready. I just wanted a moment to gather my breath and my strength. I thought the doctor was coming after me with the scissors for an episiotomy, which I did not want, so I went into a full back bend on the delivery table. I am not kidding. Full back bend. My belly was brushing the light. When I came down from that, another contraction hit, and I removed my feet from the stirrups and nearly kicked the nice doctor in the crotch. Thank goodness for his quick reflexes and sense of humor. Finally, I got myself straightened out, got my breath and strength together and got on with it, pushing out an eight pound two ounce little boy who was twenty and one-half inches long.

I am now a legend at that hospital in the maternity ward. I also am probably mentioned in nursing lectures at the local university. Well, if I wanted to be famous and anonymous at the same time, this is probably the best way to have gone about it. I do have to be impressed with myself, though. I can do a back bend, still, but I did not think it could be done while I was in labor. That is my most unusual experience during pregnancy. Although there are other interesting stories to be had, this one is the one that gets me the most teasing and ribbing from my family and friends. I have to admit it had to be a sight to behold, and it still gives me the giggles. My son, Aiden, is the most limber child I have ever seen, and my mother still tells me, "Well, after all, his mother did do a full back bend on the delivery table." She'll probably tell his wife and children about it all. I do not know for sure if I will admit it or call her a fibber. Only time will tell....

Source:

Personal Experience