Your birth story in abbreviated form
Another piece from The New Yorker got me thinking. The new book "Not Quite What I Was Planning" is a compilation of six-word autobiographies from famous and run-of-the-mill people. Its inspiration was the ominous Hemingway sentence, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
Both the title of the book and the Hemingway sentence made me think of birth stories.
So I'm curious to know what you readers can do. Tell me your birth story (stories?) in six words. One tip from the book's compiler: use specifics.
Here's a (neither funny nor clever) try:
Told the midwife to "DO SOMETHING!"
or
Doctor and nurse watched from the corner.
I hope some of you are more inspired!
Both the title of the book and the Hemingway sentence made me think of birth stories.
So I'm curious to know what you readers can do. Tell me your birth story (stories?) in six words. One tip from the book's compiler: use specifics.
Here's a (neither funny nor clever) try:
Told the midwife to "DO SOMETHING!"
or
Doctor and nurse watched from the corner.
I hope some of you are more inspired!
Labels: birth story
82 Comments:
Three boys birthed: clinical, posterior, joyous.
Front seat, 60mph, early morning, WOW!
Nurse insists it's worth it. Correct.
Purple silence. My body betrayed us.
From my first birth:
Broken Water. Hours pushing. Vacuum extraction.
From my second birth:
On all fours, laughing him out.
"Tell Sarah I need her NOW!"
(That would be my very experienced midwife calling for the Ob-Gyn nurse as she spread the sterile drape. Ha. Our son was born a couple of minutes later.)
Unplanned cesarean. Stillbirth avoided. Overwhelmed...overjoyed.
She found her way through me.
Hmmm. I thought the never-worn item in the story was a wedding dress. I'll be thinking about my birth stories now, though.
dreams crushed, broken, and trampled on
"Next push we'll have a head"
(I told THEM!)
Nothing a few stitches won't fix.
Brooke. Shannon. Zachary. Alexander. Camille. Complete.
Beautiful, Strong, Calm, Knowing, Primal Yell!
Born into Mama's underwear: a hat!
Eleven hours; four hours; thirty-five minutes.
these are great. I'm going to keep this up for anothe day or two to see if any more come in. Each one really does tell its own little story. Thanks all!
He's Huge! No wonder that hurt.
(he wasn't really huge, but that was my first thought when I saw my baby boy after he came out!)
thank god i'm not pregnant anymore.
(horrible pregnancy - wonderful kid. these were truly my thoughts as his head came out, in a wonderful home birth.)
meredith
She's here! I feel empty inside ?!?!
Term son long labor forceps assist.
Twin daughters one live one still.
42 hours singing, never stronger, Thanksgiving.
Breathing him out, into our hands.
This is not how I birth.
Actually said to my nurse as I was being induced for severe pre-eclampsia. Ended in another VBAC but only after abx for GBS, pit and AROM, mag sulfate, foley and restricted to bed.
This is now how I birth.
Warding off ghosts created my deamons.
From my third, on Feb. 16th 2008:
Don't push, can't not, he's here!
epidural, episiotomy, fast, third degree, hysterectomy
- or -
would i still have my uterus?
nervous, crampy, cranky, tired, determined, euphoric!
(36 hours of labor--those are the adjectives that sum up my feelins over the course of time that passed. Thankfully the euphoria lasted the longest!)
Almost ruptured uterus. Cesarean saved us.
Humming along, easy, then BAM! Child.
#1 - Small Pill, Medium Baby, Big Cut
#2 - Spine on spine, hold on, pushing...
#3 & 4 - two babies, one labor, fast everything.
#5 - Holy Mary Mother Joseph - not Catholic.
:o) I want to hear the stories behind all of these (although some I already know)!!!
No, it's too soon... Oh! Look!
#1 - Push, then HOLD! Pelvis must expand!
#2 - TENS nipple stimulation makes induction easy.
#3 - Next time, leave for hospital sooner.
#4 - 15-inch head is 'nuff said.
I love this idea!!!!!!!!!!!
1st birth: Everything that could go wrong did.
2nd birth: Fast birth that brought me healing.
40 laboring, 4 pushing, 1 alone.
(Lengthy induction that lead to cesaerean)
Pushing *soooo* much nicer than contractions.
Ten pounds, two hours, no tears!
and
He's here, ran downstairs, called Mom.
Baby came out.
I came alive.
#1: prenatal midwife arrested, awesome unattended homebirth
#2: midwife care, two hour precipitous unattended
#3: midwife! quick, shoulder dystocia, huge baby
natural nine pounds.
big brown eyes.
kat
Bradley intentions...every intervention...happy ending!
"You're the best Christmas present ever."
"You're amazing. Your will be done."
"Are you comfortable?" "ARE YOU KIDDING???"
For my first one:
Moaning. Surgery. Tachycardia. Baby whisked away.
(we got him back)
Second one:
Everyone's heart's OK! Cuddle, nurse Charlie.
Disabled mom has gloriously normal birth.
Nine? No wonder. Push. Hello baby.
Baby 1: Two centimeters? No, 10! Hooray!
Baby 2: Two hours. 9#2 baby. I'm awesome!
Birth #1
stillness, urgency, removal, emptiness, finally joy
Birth # 2
Excitement, slowly progressing, pushing forever, joy
Birth #3
Peace, confident, relaxed, pushing, amazement, joy
What? Why? Epiphany. Bittersweet. The rooftops!
I can't. You can. She's here.
He was 6. She was 9.
One healthy kidney, one kidney lost.
baby 1- you're gonna cut me where?!?!?!?!?!?!
baby 2- scared the hell outta my hubby
ALL SO TOTALLY WORTH IT!!
Overcome with joy, overcome with sadness.
(our babygirl was stillborn after 2 years of infertility)
(to the disbelieving nurses)
See? I was too in labor.
Sweet Jesus, my vagina's on fire.
1st baby, Hard birth, easy baby.
2nd baby, easy birth, hard baby.
It's a boy! No, a girl!
#1: What the hell? Am I dying?
#2: Walked in, got naked, had baby.
#3: Why are we doing this again?!?
Who's that screaming? Oh, it's me.
I will never be the same.
E: birthtub leaked! slow heartbeat, c-section, LOVE.
T: unsuccessful VBAC. redhead!? peace, hmmmm vasectomy?
#1 baby: "I betcha she'sa 10:10 baby! repeat" - Doctor yelled this over and over..
And yes she was a 10:10 (apgar) baby. I thought he was referring to a weight of 10lbs 10ozs.
#2 baby: "Doctor went home. Panicked nurse."
#3 baby: "Slow trickle. Induced. Pulled tendon."
"Are you SURE it's a GIRL!?"
Parents had sex, I was born!
"Take it away; shoot it's father!!!"
reported comment my mum made when I was born...
9 pounds, sideways, wasn't gonna happen!!
#1 WOW. Hi honey, I'm your mom!
#2 Unwrapped cord, aspirated, beautiful pink girl
born at night, not LAST night!
20 hours,botched epidural, ow!,happy
4 kids...Never again! Planned induction! TTTS sucks!
Emergency, ambulance, dead? Anaesthetic, caesarean - daughter!
Induced, section, she cries, I bleed.
One boy, one girl, we're done!
Bloody long, bloody hard, instant love.
breech, planned Caesarean, distant, joy, love
Wet, too soon, waiting, panic, blue lights dash, calm
Surreal, Harry Potter, amazing, tiny, tinier, alone
Okay I cheated on this one but I think I deserve 12 words I did have 2 babies :-)
scared, wet, pushing, episiotomy, bullet, girl
Infertility, hospital horror, perfect daughter, grateful.
intimate, candle lit lounge-room, free
no leaving you at the firestation
It's a girl! Welcome little miracle!!
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