Seeking Pregnancy Stories

Is there a deadline?

that sounds like a great book! I will talk to my mom's club and see if we can get some of our stories together and send them to you...

Hi there. Whats the deadline for getting these stories in.

How did you come up w/ the "bump to baby" title? I dont get it...

Here is my labor story (my one and only). I experienced a great pregnancy. I never had a minute of morning sickness. I only craved vegetable soup, which I thought was odd. I had more energy during pregnancy than any other time. And I only gained 24 pounds. I couldn't have planned a better pregnancy. However, it took a turn for the worst as soon as labor started. The day I went into labor was one week before my due date. I had been shopping in a neighboring town all day with my mother. I felt great all that day. We were in Babies-R-Us checking out and the cashier asked me if I knew the sex of my baby. I said "Yes", and my mother looked completely shocked and surprised. We had found out the sex and chosen not to tell anyone. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait much longer to find out. Not long after we returned home, I started feeling twinges and knew I was in labor around 5:30 p.m. but not real contractions. So I waited to tell my husband that labor was starting for about two hours, since you never know how long it will take. I didn't want to get ahead of myself. I was told that first labors generally are long. At around 10 p.m. I called my OB-Gyn. He told me to come to the hospital when I felt like it and maybe he'd see me soon. At around the same time my husband went to bed figuring he'd need the rest later. Of course, I stayed up and did everything I could think of. I cleaned out the refrigerator, had a snack, took a bath, straightened up the house and made sure everything was ready. I had packed my bag for the hospital a few weeks earlier. I even hung a new mirror on my living room wall because I didn't know when I'd get around to it later. At around midnight, I couldn't stand that my husband was sleeping so I woke him up and we timed my contractions. When I bothered him he said," What do you want me to do? I can't do anything for you." But at least he stayed up. At about 2 a.m. we went to the hospital, about a 25 minute drive away. My contractions were about 4 minutes apart by then. I kept progressing pretty well. At about 6 a.m. the nurse asked if I would like to have an epidural, which I did. I figured I'd take it before the pain got severe. It felt like warmth running up my back. By then, I was exhausted. At one point, the babies heart rate dropped and nurses came rushing in. They said this meant the amniotic fluid was low and the doctor said the baby would need to come out soon. They didn't tell me what was really going on. I had made a Birthing Plan and was hoping to walk around during labor and use the Birthing Ball, which didn't happen. After that they had me strapped down to the bed with lots of monitors and equipment. Some time during the morning, I felt my water break. It was only a dribble. I had chosen not to allow any family members into my room, so my husband left for a couple hours to see them and get something to eat. I was aggravated that he was gone so long. I slept for a while and my husband rested during this time, too. When I awoke, I was fully dilated, so we waited for the epidural to wear off so I could push. I pushed for 2 hours. They could see the head. The doctor tried to use the vacuum, but couldn't get the baby out. I was having back labor by then (very painful, so they gave me another
epidural). At about 4:30 p.m. they decided to do an emergency c-section. The surgery went great. I could only feel a bit of pulling on my stomach. In total, I ended up having 3 epidurals. My daughter, was born at 5:22 p.m. by c-section, the day after I began labor. She weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces. My husband was with me, videotaping. We both cried. I got to see her and hear her cry. They said her umbilical cord was also partially wrapped around her neck, so she never would have been born naturally. Then I drifted off to sleep and didn't wake up until around 9:30 p.m. to see my baby up close and hold her.
I stayed in the hospital for three days. When they took me out in the wheelchair to leave I was crying because I was scared. I didn't know anything about babies or being a mother. I didn't know what to expect or whether I would be inadequate. There was also a fear of the unknown. I couldn't believe they were letting me leave the hospital with this little baby and I didn't know what to do with her. We had taken a Baby Care class at the hospital, but that doesn't cover it. I figure my total labor lasted about 23 hours, which is unusual.
Also, I have a breastfeeding disaster story if you'd like to hear it. That's why I don't want any more children because of the bad labor, delivery and breastfeeding dilemmas that I experienced.
J. Jones