Q & A

Pregnancy Fun.....I found this on someone else's blog and thought it would be fun to fill out for both of my pregnancies. When I lived in Chicago we would occasionally share our birthing stories in my moms groups. I love hearing other people's stories and remembering mine. I'm very intrigued by birth in general and can't wait to witness my new nephew or neice being born in February. Sometimes I think someday I may even want to train to be a doula. Anyway, here are some memories of my pregnancies. Share yours too, I'd love to hear about it.

1. were you married at the time? Yes to the same guy (John) both times
2. what were your reactions? With my first, soooooo excited and nervous the whole first semester that something bad would happen, I had to ban myself from reading the Internet and books about pregnancy problems. The second time, surprised and kind of scared (about parenting 2) and excited all mixed together.
3. how old were you? 26 and 27
4. how did you find out you were pregnant? 1st time I just felt different and also had a vision of myself pregnant (I know, wierd huh?). 2nd time- threw up after eating Chinese food and felt sick every night for a few days.
5. who did you tell first? John, our folks, my Grammy, bros, Emmy
6. did you want to find out the sex? Nope! I didn't find out with either child. My husband would have liked to (he likes to open Christmas and b-day presents early), but he yielded to what I wanted, thanks hon.
7. did you deliver early or late? My son was two days early and my daughter was born on her due date
8. did you have morning sickness? A little with my son, a lot more with my daughter, mostly first trimester ickiness!
9. what did you crave? 1st time- hummus for some reason, hot and sour soup, 2nd time- it was all about the ice cream.
10. who irritated you the most? no one really, maybe my husband a little the second time, sorry Johnny.
11. what was your first child's sex? Boy, second was a girl.
12. how many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 40 with my son (was underweight to begin with) and 35 the second I think.
13. did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Not until we got to the hospital and then my son's heartrate was dipping a little, but he came out fine. My asthma was poor with my daughter and I measured small throughout the pregnancy and was sent to a high risk obstetrician and had a couple more ultra sounds than before.
14. where did you give birth? Presbytarian Hospital in Albuquerque, NM with my son, St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago with my daughter.
15. How long was your labor? From start to finish with my son, 30 hours! With my daughter, about 11 1/2 hours.
16. who drove you to the hospital? My husband, my mom and mother in law the first time, only my husband the second time.
17. who watched? 1st time- John, Mom, Sharon, Midwife, nurses, nursing student (they asked me if a nursing student could watch after I had been in labor for 29 1/2 hours, I thought that was wierd). 2nd time- John, my friend Cathy (she was my psuedo doula), nurses, overseeing Dr, and two medical students who actually delivered my daughter.
18. was it natural or c-section? Natural.
19. did you take medicine to ease the pain? 1st time- No, I wanted to have a drug free labor and delivery (I have many asthma meds I have to be on anyway). 2nd time- Only pitocin. My water had broken on its own and my contractions weren't moving fast enough. I was worried I wouldn't be able to handle pitocin because it makes things intense pretty fast, but within 2 hours after starting it I was dilated and ready to push.
20. how much did your child weigh? Son= 7 lbs. Daughter= 6 lbs. 12 ozs.
21. did your child have any complications? No and No thankfully!
22. what did you name him/her? Emilio Jordan and Gabriela Joy
23. how old is your first born today? Son= 3 years old, Daughter= 18 months old today!