Laborious

It's generally pretty quiet around the blogosphere on holidays, especially on ones in which we're all glued to the TV, thinking hopeful thoughts for our neighbors on the Gulf Coast. 

Just for fun, I thought I'd pull out this meme I found.  In honor of Labor Day, it's about...well, labor.  And not the kind you get a day off for, either.

How long were your labors? 

Kid #1, 12 hours. 
Kid #2, 13 hours
Kid #3, 5 hours.
Kid #4, 10 hours. 

Clearly, Kid #3 was a speed racer.  Still is.

How did you know you were in labor? 

Kid #1, water breaking. 
Kid #2, water breaking.
Kid #3, mind-numbing contraction that came out of nowhere and sent me to my knees.
Kid #4, water breaking. 

Clearly, Kid #3 liked to make an entrance.  Still does.

Where did you deliver?

With all of them, at a hospital.  Where the drugs are.

Drugs?

See above.  Oh my stars, YES.  Actually, I recall an especially precious moment during my first labor in which I grabbed my husband's shirt, pulled him in toward my face, and growled "I WANT AN EPIDURAL IF YOU HAVE TO GIVE IT TO ME."

C-section? 

Nope, though Kid #3 almost was.  He was breech until the doctor did a successful "external cephalic version" at the last minute.  That was an especially delightful procedure in which my sweet husband stood watch over my shoulder, holding my hand, and then he leaned in to whisper, "Sweetheart, right now your belly looks like something out of the movie Alien."

Who delivered?

Doctors, and really great ones.  I've been so thankful for them to them for helping my little ones get to me safely.  And also, for bringing the drugs. 

Kid #2 was born in a teaching hospital in a Chicago.  After all the pushing and the breathing and the glowing over my new boy, I looked down to find my doctor, joined by ELEVEN doctors and nurses in training, all, um, observing.  Goodbye, modesty.

And after a slow labor initially, Kid #4 made a sudden, dramatic appearance, beating the doctor.   The nurses did the job.  (Though the doctor, interestingly, still got paid all the same...)

If you want to play along with this meme, just cut and paste the questions into your own blog, and leave your link below. 

And you Gulf Coasters stay safe.  We're praying for you.

1. April 2. My Twenty Cents Keeps Moving 3. denise 4. Mari Taylor 5. We are THAT family 6. Tricia on the Hilltop 7. Heather G 8. Muses of Megret 9. Jennifer 10. A Day with the Demos 11. Lady Why 12. Smockity Frocks 13. Tracy 14. Leslie (Lux Venit) 15. April 16. Rachel 17. Georgetta 18. Finding Normal 19. Dawn 20. Angela-Adoption Labor 21. Carrie K. 22. Noochymama 23. Joy @ When Does Daddy Come Home? 24. Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt 25. Labor and Delivery 26. Kellyn 27. Barbara H. 28. Elizabeth 29. mzzterry 30. Tracy 31. Princess in Boyland 32. Jennifer @ Extreme House Wifeing 33. Kim @ Beanish & Other Languages I\'m Learning 34. Daiquiri @ Call Her Blessed 35. Lisa @ Stop and Smell the Chocolates 36. Stephanie 37. KimC (mom of 9) 38. Amber @ BGH 39. aubree at tHe SoUtHeRn FaMiLY 40. Cibbit 41. Karen@candiddiversions 42. Suzanne B. (Beautiful Sisters) 43. Dana 44. Reformed Grits 45. Summer @ Wired For Noise 46. Jenny 47. Kisha @ Proud SAHM 48. Tiffany Flamm 49. Elizabeth 50. Chrissi 51. Tara@From Dawn Till Rusk 52. Monica @ Daily Dwelling 53. Melly K 54. LeeAnn 55. Stonefox (Heidi) 56. Anne 57. Kim @ Whims 58. Mandi @ Doodles Place 59. Kim (big babies) 60. Troye (Labor Days) 61. Cassie 62. Sandy@The DailyPoop =) 63. Erica 64. Mandy 65. canadacole 66. calina (Please don\'t send hate messages!) 67. Sarah Mae 68. Erin @ School Teacher, Superhero 69. Sandra @ Today\'s Housewife 70. Lynne @ Our Happy Home 71. Simply Shannon 72. Shannon (Muzbee Crazy) 73. Wife and Mommy 74. Renee @ rightfootforward 75. Brittany@Baby Butterflies 76. Shelley 77. Mom To Seven Sweeties & Mothering In Grace 78. Summer\'s Nook 79. Kari @ Just Another Day in Paradise 80. Shelly @ Life on the Wild Side 81. Tara (4 kids) 82. Sheri 83. The Miss Elaine-ous Life 84. Mrs. Sprinkles 85. Erin 86. Jen at mommablogsalot 87. Judy 88. Amanda @ The Family News! 89. Aahcoffee 90. Tree Climbing Mom 91. AmyG 92. April 93. Jenny (marathon labors) 94. Pamela 95. Steff 96. Mandi 97. Amy @ Tiny Blessings (preemies) 98. White Trash Mama 99. katherine 100. Jen 101. bubbles 102. Wifeof1Momof4 103. Melody 104. Jen@OurDailyBigTop 105. Nicole @ HeresTheDiehl 106. Jenn 107. Carrie (Fast Labor) 108. Little Missus Sunshine 109. The White House 110. Missy @ It\'s Almost Naptime 111. Leanne - SeetheWoods 112. Dawn @ Coming to a Nursery Near You 113. Meg 114. Elizabeth 115. Christrine @ Lily of the Valley 116. Robyn (3GirlsMom) 117. Mother Hen 118. Katydid and Kid 119. Laurie 120. Michelle@Life with Three 121. Trisha@Sweet \'N\' Sassy Girls 122. dawntrenee 123. John Deere Mom 124. Bridgette (big news) 125. ET @ Titus2:3-5

126. The Stiletto Mom 127. Linda (My Trendy Tykes) 128. Lindsey 129. kris 130. Mommy, the Human Napkin 131. EmilyV @ Random Ramblings 132. Shauna@Shaunarumbling 133. PsychMamma 134. Christa @ No End in Site 135. April B 136. Emma 137. Martha 138. KnappKnotes (2 homebirths) 139. He Gives Me Grace(Nicole 140. Jamie in Rose Cottage 141. Crafty Pumpkin (2 plus twins!) 142. Angela @ Breastfeeding 1-2-3 143. Erica 144. Karlene (Inksplasher) 145. Centimental One 146. Jill 147. Beth 148. Hannah 149. Whitney @ Baby Tunnel Exodus 150. Marin @ Frugonomics 101 151. Dana @ School For Us 152. Bree 153. Christa -- homebirth / waterbirth / preemie 154. Trina@FrugalDrMom 155. Crystal (pioneer birth) 156. Jennie C. (Far Beyond Pearls) 157. Lindsay 158. Susan(GermanBirth) 159. Military Wife 160. Kim 161. Sherri 162. Kathy 163. Jacy 164. Joan 165. Stephanie F 166. Christine @ Live to Learn 167. Shannonannon 168. Heidi (Gestational Diabetes) 169. Dawn\'s Daily Life 170. Mamikaze 171. Missy 172. Letisha 173. Angie @ Many Little Blessings 174. He & Me 3 175. FrugalFelicia @ The Savy Shopper 176. mamatutwo 177. Christi@BlahBlahBlog 178. Jennifer 179. Kathy 180. GaPeachInCO 181. Susan (ByGrace) 182. Room for Grace-1,296 hour labor 183. Therese 184. Cindy @ The Happy Ones 185. Keri @ christianfrog 186. Michelle B. (Our Full House) 187. Diva Ma @ Mommy Fabulous 188. Erin 189. Jenny @ A Latte Talk 190. cara 191. Half Pint Pixie 192. Marijke 193. Wade\'s World 194. Lorri @ The Mac and Cheese Chronicles 195. Tami @ Muddlin Thru Motherhood (watermelon stains, help??) 196. Half Step from Crazy (baby mixup!) 197. Tami @ Muddlin Thru Motherhood 198. Ritsumei 199. Mommy Brain 200. BecauseImTheMommy 201. MamaOlive 202. Q 203. simply anonymom 204. Stef @ LaytonFamily4 205. Delilah 206. Richelle @ Our "Wright"-ing Pad 207. heather @ me in the madness 208. Ashley 209. Ginny 210. Lele (home) 211. Cathy | Mommy Motivation 212. Cat 213. Whats Cook\'n In Junk 214. Stephanie 215. ML 216. Reese@crayononthecathedral 217. Jennifer A 218. Michele (epidural issues) 219. Brynna 220. juliana 221. Karen (Pediascribe) 222. Misty 223. anna at abdpbt 224. Mel 225. Ashley 226. fAiThFuL cHiCk 227. kisatrtle 228. Sandra (BORN IN CAR!!) 229. BusyMom 230. Maren 231. Stephanie 232. Tabitha 233. Andrea 234. Lisa\'s 6 girls, born in car, kitchen, shower... you name it 235. Jana 236. Raising Oaks of Righteousness - twins! 237. Leopard Spots 238. Katrina (Callapidder Days) 239. Kim 240. Kirsty @ Momedy 241. Melessa 242. Jessica @Musings of a Homeschooling Mom 243. April@ LittleAprilBigWorld 244. Kelli 245. Cindy @ Maternal Maddness 246. vicky 247. Jess @ NBP 248. Mel @ A Box of Chocolates 249. Corinne

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Comments

[Mel]

Better late than never, right? Fun meme! I love sharing my son's birth story, and it's always neat to hear (read) others'.

[faithful chick]

Sounds fun....thanks for the posting idea.

[Busy Mom]

What fun!

Love your site.

[Sandra]

Thanks for the fun. People are always surprised when I tell them that one of my children was born in the car on the way to the hospital. He will be turning 17 on Sept. 15. So, I survived it!!! lol :-)

[Helene]

I saw this on Stonefox's (Heidi's) blog and thought it looked fun! What a great idea for Labor Day! Wow, Baby #3 was in a hurry to get into this world....5 hours!!

I'm gonna play along too....just have to wait until my kids are in bed!!

[Lisa Russelll has 6 girls]

fun meme- thanks!

[The Diaper Diaries]

Ha, my #1 was born in a Chicago teaching hospital. You haven't lived until you have a student give you a pelvic while someone coaches them. good times.

[Momma Mac]

Oh, this was great! Thanks!

[Jessica @ Musings of a Homeschooling Mom]

Thanks for posting this meme! It was a lot of fun!

[Kelli]

This was fun- After enduring such pain, who doesn't deserve to share these stories?

[Jess @ NBP/MomDot/MCC]

This was a fun idea. :) Love it.

[WayMoreHomemade (Donna)]

Well, I thought about participating but, well, I didn't go into labor either time and have no idea what it's like. So, my meme would be pretty boring. Very cute idea, though.

[Jolanthe]

aww. nuts! I missed it! :) I just finished writing the post and did posted it, but the links are closed.

Jolanthe

[Melissa]

I missed it too. :( oh well, it was still fun!

[WarriorMoM]

Shucks. I missed getting on the list of links, and this is my first meme, too! I'm still giving you a hat tip ....

[Natalie]

I just saw this and played along on my blog. It's fun to think back on those important days. :)

[Tara R]

This was a GREAT idea! Thanks.

[Faerylandmom]

Bummer...I missed the Mr. Linky!!! Oh well...I went ahead and linked to my post here. Just click on my name. :-) What an exciting meme! I can't wait to read some of these!!!

[LeeAnn (AKA Frazzmom)]

Bummer- I just finished mine, but the links are closed... Oh well, I'll be faster next time!

I'm definitely enjoying reading all the other links tho'. Thanks!

[Becki]

I love talking about my labor and delivery! Thanks :)

[janis soule]

You ran out of linky's ... I must write quicker next time! :) Thanks for a great idea! Every minute of those 90 hours was worth it! :) lol

Janis

[Stephanie W.]

Thanks, I enjoyed those memories but I failed to attach my url. I am still new to all of this. Here is #214 url.

[Amy W.]

Ah, well, I missed the link thing. But I just added my labor stats to my blog. :)

[Tammy W]

http://munchinheads.blogspot.com/2008/09/childbirth-meme.html

[Whitney @ Baby Tunnel Exodus]

Thanks again, this was so much fun. It was my first meme so I got an overachiever's streak and read every single one of them. Whew! That's a lot o labor! :o) Be blessed! ~Whitney

[Jana (sidetrack'd)]

Fun meme. Might be good for me to play along even now since I can't seem to get birth stories written for my two. Thanks for sharing.