In honor of memorial day, http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2008/08/laborious.html has posted a labor day meme. Now I found it over at Kim's In a Shoe Blog. I have blogged my birth stories before and you can find them here.
To play along, just copy the questions to your own post and go leave your link with Mr. Linky at Shannon’s place. Please take a moment to leave your link here in the comments too - I would love to read your post!

How long were your labors?

1. 1. well braxton hicks contractions started at 6 months until I went into labor. This one was 3 weeks late so almost 4 months. Now actual active painful labor was about 7-8 hours.
   2. again had Braxton Hicks from about 7 months. He was only 1 week late. Actual active painful labor was about 7 hours.
   3. Okay with this one I was in active labor for 25 hours (1 of those was pushing).
   4. This labor was 52 mins from start to finish. Only about the last 32 mins were excruciatingly painful. Pitocin with no epidural!
   5. Well I went to 10 cm with hardly a contraction I could feel. Then when I they said I could push I had no huge to push. So they broke my water and then I had about 10 hours of really painful contracts (because he wouldn't turn his head) before having a c-section because the dr's wouldn't consider anything else.
   6. 32 hours of active strong painful labor. Again before having a c-section.
   7. Seemed like almost 60 days of labor. I was having pre-labor and labor symptoms that I had never experienced before. Never actually went into labor (I always go late and the dr wouldn't let me go too late) So had another c-section.

How did you know you were in labor?

1. I had felt like I was in labor for so long. I guess when I made my husband get up at 6 am and call the midwife because I wasn't letting him sleep anymore while I stared at him because I was in too much pain to sleep or be comfortable.
2. I woke up at 8 am with contractions that wouldn't let me sleep and figured I was in labor.
3. I woke up at 6am and knew I was in labor.
4. When after 15 mins. of pitocin I couldn't even speak thru a contraction.
5. After I got to 10 cms. and they broke my water.
6. I thought my water had broken early in the morning but by the time the midwife got to come and check they really couldn't detect anything. Figured it was a tear way high. Had been having contractions on and off all day but they completely stopped when the midwifes came and promply started again when they left. Around 4 am in the morning when everyone was asleep and I couldn't even ready e-mail or read blogs.
7. When after having a spinal in the OR and the dr came in and said they were starting the c-section.


Where did you deliver?
Well the first 3 were all born at home. The first one in Texas the other two in Ohio (the only two born outside Texas) each in a different home. Number 4 & 5 were born in the same hospital. Number 6 & 7 were also born in a hospital but each a different one.

Drugs? If you are talking about drugs for pain, none not even when I had pitocin. That was so much more painful than the 25 hour labor.

C-section? 3 One because the child refused to turn his head (which would result in his immediate delivery) and the dr was afraid of how big he would be (I birthed a 10lb 4 oz baby at home with no drugs but the dr. would have none of it), The next one because my water had been broken for 24 hrs and we didn't know why she wasn't turning the midwifes took me in the hospital and the dr there wouldn't consider anything other than a c-section because I had one previously and told me up front if he was my dr. he never would have let me go into labor on my own. The third one we saw a dr thru out my pregnancy and she was all for me having a VBAC if I would go into labor before 1 week overdue (did I mention I almost always go over 3 weeks late). Didn't happen so ended up with a c-section.


Who delivered? The first three were delivered by a midwife (3 different midwifes) The next 3 we saw a midwife for all prenatal care but in the end a dr ended up delivering them. Number 7 was by a dr as we saw her the whole pregnancy.

Baby's Weight & Length
1. 8lbs 6 ozs., 21 1/2 inches
2. 10 lbs 4 ozs., 21 1/2 inches
3. 9 lbs 15 1/2 ozs., 22 inches
4. 8 lbs 14 ozs., 21 1/2 inches
5. 10 lbs 2 1/2 ozs., 21 3/4 inches
6. 9 lbs., 21 1/2 inches
7. 8 lbs 11 ozs., 20 1/4 inches