My Birth Story

It was a dark and stormy night...

Okay, no...not really. I am going to do my best to recreate my birth story from what my mom and dad have told me. Granted it won't be that detailed, as it was almost 28 years ago (eep!). I'm doing this for some of the interesting points, as well as for my own memory.

I was born at 8:17a on September 17, 1981. Ever since high school, I always thought it would have been freaking awesome if I would have been born one minute earlier because 311 has a song called 8:16am, but I digress.

Apparently, the day before around 4p my mom went to the hospital. At that time she was 3cm dilated, so she had a while go to. (For those who might not know, I think you have to be at least 10cm dilated to push.) By early the next morning, my mom was still 3cm, so they induced labor...which, I believe, didn't happen quick enough, so they gave her more meds to basically induce her again. By this time, I was coming pretty quick and she had no time for drugs, so she had me naturally. (What a trooper!)

While my mom was in the hospital, waiting for me to come, they would periodically check to see how she far dilated she was and if they could feel me. Well, when the time came to push and they felt for me, they could feel my head. Or so they thought. Turns out, they were feeling my spine, not my skull. I was about to come out breech. There are two types of breech birth: feet first and butt first. I was coming butt first. (Which, btw, my dad said it figured...I was coming into this world telling people to kiss my ass.) The whole night and early morning they were feeling my spine and not my skull and if they would have known it was my spine, they would have probably done a C-Section on my mom. So, now my mom is even MORE of a trooper because she was having me naturally and pushing me out butt first. I was basically folded in half, ankles by my ears.

Once I was out, the doctor had a hard time measuring me because when they would go to put my legs down to measure, they would spring back so I was folded in half again. Apparently, I was like this in the womb. My mom said this explained a lot because she would feel a lot of kicking in the same area, but not from the same limb. To make this story a little more interesting...the doctor that delivered me? I was his first birth!

A few months down the line, my mom noticed that I was only turning towards the right, not the left. And when she would hold me up, my body "swayed" to the right. So, she took me to the doctor and found out that my hip joint was out of the socket because I was folded in half. It had been missed previously because whenever they examined me, my hip would pop back into place. So, I was fitted for braces and wore them around my legs for...well, I'm not sure how long. But they helped get my hip back into place.

So, there ya go...the story of my birth.

And, a little side note for those who know my first and middle names: Apparently my mom picked my middle name, my dad picked my first time. They put them together, my mom realized what it sounded like, laughed and they went with it. My parents are just awesome. ;)

And I know my dad reads this...if I am missing anything or if anything is wrong, let me know. I want it to be as accurate as can be. :)

Music: Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea