The Mommy Survey

Haven't done one of these quizzes/surveys in a while (I don't count the hearing test ;-)) and now that all 4 of the babies within our small group are out of the womb (talk about mini baby boom between November and now!) the air seems full of talk of babies and first-time motherhood. Spied this on someone else's blog somewhere and thought it would be fun to do, too:

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Nope

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes

3. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION? Initially, a bit stunned, then we gladly looked forward to it.

4. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 26, a lot younger than the 30s I expected to be in when I started having kids (if I even decided to have any!)

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? Went to the doctor after I was feeling weak and tired. Took blood and urine tests, and it turned out I was already anemic, and this thing called pregnancy was exacerbating it.

6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Allan, of course

7.. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yes, and we did

8. DUE DATE? June 4, 2004

9.. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Not at all, fortunately. I had a bit of tiredness the first couple months (see #5), but that was it.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Ramen with Spam. To this day it remains one of my favorite dishes. I don't indulge too often because it's not healthful, but it sure is tasty! :-9

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Nothing, actually. Pregnancy and hormones didn't really affect me much except for the expanding tummy.

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Boy

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Nope. I was hoping for a boy (teenage girls are difficult-- I know, I was one!)

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? around 25 pounds

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yup, thrown by my friend Sara and all our CS grad student colleagues at UCSB. It was even hosted at the Geekhouse!

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? How is this different from #1? It was a surprise, no doubt.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? None at all, it was the most routine, uneventful thing ever.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? I always have trouble answering this question. I don't know when labor starts. If you're talking when contractions started (though they were mild and far apart), then 30 hours. If you're talking from the time the contractions shortened enough to the point that we went to the hospital, then it's more like 14 hours. And even then it was more or less bearable (meds helped, though!), so if you're talking about the really "bad" stuff where I'm cussing my husband out, then only a few hours.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Allan

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Allan

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Yup. I had 2 doses of Fentanyl so I could rest a little throughout the night (arrived at the hospital at 11pm) and got a spinal during my final push.

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 7lbs 3oz

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? May 20, 2004 -- exactly 2 weeks before his due date.

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Todd Allan

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 5 years and some change, hard to believe!