Labor Day

Just like Kristen, I've been thinking about labor today.

It's funny how you sort of forget the bad stuff. I said sort of.

I still remember exactly how it felt to worry and pray for Maggie (a.k.a. The Muffin) as I was being put to sleep. I remember that split second of wondering if she was alive when I woke up in recovery. The five months that followed her birth seem silly now, but at the time I felt so guilty, helpless and hopeless. I don't know what I would have done without my vp email group. The Muffin- no real labor, 8 pounds, 8 ounces, 21 inches long

I remember those first real contractions on day two of birthing Ellie. I remember feeling so helpless when the pain was clearly out of my control. Then, the epidural. When it first started I was so relieved to be able to rest after over 24 hours in and out of the "bed". When it stopped working (the first time) I was in more pain than before. When it stopped working the second time, it was unimaginable. Baby Ellie-15 hours of "hard" labor and seven hours on the day before, 8 pounds, 7 ounces, 21.5 inches long

Now, I cannot even comprehend what it felt like it and I actually have moments where I'd love to do it again. I'll gladly be pregnant for 40 weeks and birth the baby. It's the contractions and the complications that remind me that maybe I shouldn't have one more. I could have pushed for more than the three hours it took to birth Baby Ellie, but give me contractions and a few times of pasing out and then the infection a couple of weeks later and I think I'm finished.

They are worth every bit of it.