Monday, September 28, 2009

Labor Story Sharing...

The husband asked a funny question the other night while his cousin and her husband (and their 3 month old baby) were over for dinner. Without us even discussing labor he pipes up:

"Why do women always want to share their labor stories? I mean, what is it with that?"

It was a really random question but it got me thinking, why do I want to share my labor story? I mean hell, I shared mine with millions of people over the Internet, and still to this day if someone mentions pregnancy or labor I can't WAIT to jump in and tell my story."Did you say birth? When I was in the hospital having Lucy..." Is it the empowerment that we feel? I mean, hello, I basically cooked myself up a new, fresh person for nine months and then expelled said person from my body completely by the force of...well, you know the drill.

I mean really, the husband can take credit for helping start the dough, but I baked the bread and toiled over the hot oven... ok, I can't think of an analogy with baking bread for labor, but you know what I mean, I did it. I did it for 9 months and then even at the end when I was exhausted, swollen, stretched and completely breathless with either a. seriously diminished lung capacity from the size of my pregnant belly or b. anticipation, I did it. I labored for almost 30 hours and I'm proud of it, I want to relive it in my mind because I'm still amazed at it. I want to do it again because I can't believe that I did it the first time (clearly mom-nesia has set in, no?).

I love telling my labor story to anyone who actually asks to hear it. I'm delighted when someone asks because then it gives me the chance to share something that before I had Lucy I always assumed I would consider extremely private and personal. I want to point at her and shout, "Hey, do you see this amazingly gorgeous child? I had her. Me! I did it!" and then I'll nod my head towards Rob and say, "This guy, yeah, he helped. But, hey it was mostly me and let me tell you it was a cold January day...".

What about you?

"Birth is the sudden opening of a window, through which you look upon a stupendous prospect. For what has happened? A miracle. You have exchanged nothing for the possibility of everything."
-William MacNeile

16 comments:

Candice said...

Me too!! I will tell anyone who will listen. Take for instance now. I'm going to tell you, like it or not. Long story short, I was in labor for an hour an half and had my son all natural. Then on video seconds after the birth I said, "Wow, that was a piece of cake!!"

Not at all how I thought it would go. I had not planned natural child birth by any means. Not to mention I'm a small person. I would have never thought I could do something like that. It was very empowering and I'm so proud.

Courtney said...

I think you hit the nail on the head! It still amazes me that i have carried 2 children and birthed them and now i am carrying a 3rd and will deliver him in just a few weeks.

Birth is an amazing expirence and i think us women just love to marval (and brag a little) about what we are capable of!

Unknown said...

I also love to tell my labor story! It is an amazing thing we woman pull off and we should be able to talk about it! Husbands are just jealous.

Amy said...

I love sharing Lexi's birth story...maybe it's because it was so fast (10hrs 40 min from broken water to birth) that I need to tell it. I'm not sure! Great question though!

Ker said...

Beverly - I LOVE the new layout. So much, in fact, that I decided to contact The Blog Fairy for my very own makeover. I *think* I found your blog through the Nest when I was pregnant, and I've always been a fan.

I hear you on the birth story. I love to tell people about how awesome my c-section was. Of course, I was nervous about it right as it was happening, but it all worked out just fine.

Bakin' babies is quite a feat - but as they say, "a labor of love." I look forward to the next time around :)

Bridget said...

Same here, I don't know why, but I will tell anyone that is willing to listen!

Also, love the new layout!

TexasBobbi said...

I tell those that ask, my favorite part is where my husband and nurse were talking about what was on the tv while i was pushing.

Miss Amelia Jane. said...

I think it's 2-fold. For someone like me, and yourself, we struggled so hard just to get pregnant, much less go through childbirth. I usually start my childbirth story out with "and then this Clomid..." Not that it puts down anyone that's able to do it naturally, emotionally we went through more to get to that point so yes, we're damn proud.

Secondly, as women, we have something we can relate to each other. While each of our birth stories are different (I was in labor for 3 days thank you very much), we still produced the end result. We like learning from each other. (maybe that epidural sounds great next time). It's a way for us, as women, to feel empowered and instantly connected. Great post!

sw said...

Interesting question from a MAN!
Every birth is a miracle..
I would ask him.."Why do men feel the need to talk about a basketball game they just played that lasted 2 hours..and they talk about it in detail for 3 hours??" I would love to have that questioned answered!!

Windy City Kelley's said...

I say shout it loud. It's a great accomplishment!

S said...

I love it! I also love to share my birth stories. It is such a miracle to produce a child. I think it is the one time in a Mommy's like that she can actually be a part of God's miracle. I mean, how can one body produce another one. It's simply amazing! I love to share birth stories....it's the best. Too bad for men that they will never really get to understand it!!!

Good Egg Hatched said...

Love the new blog! I'll let you know in about 3 months if I want to share my birth story too (most likely a c-section story)!

goodheartedmommy said...

I had 3 very different birth experiences, and I of course love to share them. Giving birth is such an amazing thing--why wouldn't you want to share it?

Anonymous said...

Ditto! I'm totally proud of myself for what I did and amazed that I could pull it off (46 hours of unmedicated back labor and natural delivery). I like to think that it can empower other women to choose natural birth over medicated births or c-sections (like if I, a totally weenie, can do it then so can you) but sadly it oft has the opposite effect.

I loved my baby's birth and am stoked to be able to say that with a smile. So you flaunt it!

Ms. M said...

Wow! Your post made me tear up-- and I'm not even a mom! Yes, YOU did bring Lucy into the earth and it's an amazing story!

Anonymous said...

I don't know why I'm always willing to talk about my experience, especially since it was not at all what I wanted (failed induction + c-section, when I planned for all-natural). But I think it's because it was such a momentous occasion for me--it is when I became a mother and my life changed forever. Even though I am still unhappy about my birth experience, the result of it, my son, makes everything okay. It's all worth it. And I love to hear other women's birth experiences because I want to learn from them, especially since I hope for a better experience next time.

I will say that my husband likes to talk about it, too, at least the surgery part, because he thought that watching it was really cool, and also he loved being the first person to shout "It's a BOY!"

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