I screamed in the pushing phase with Dillo. It wasn't "ack I am in terrible pain" screaming; it was screaming for effort. In between pushes I clearly remember saying, in a normal voice, "This is so much easier than last time." (When he was born and placed on my chest covered with - note Steph - *blueberry* yogurt, I said to him, "Hello little one! You are so gross!" The nurses bust out laughing.)

I had two non-medicated labors and vaginal births and two episiotomies, and never took as much as a Tylenol afterwards. The endorphin high is AWESOME (and was even after Casper's birth, which was a lot longer and harder work than Dillo's). I would gladly give birth again if not for the whole year-and-a-half of sleep deprivation that comes after it (i.e. Actual Baby). To me it's much more like hard physical exercise - like running a marathon - than like pain.

That was the one and only time I had morphine, and it was very weird. I could still feel the pain, I just didn't care.

Yep. I yelled in pain when they reset my wrist, but I had the weird sensation the pain and the yelling belonged to someone other than me.

Oh I would pass a potty trained 3 year old twixt my nethers to bypass the sleep dep phase in a New York minute.

I had two non-medicated labors and vaginal births and two episiotomies, and never took as much as a Tylenol afterwards.

Same for the aforementioned mom. I am in awe of both of you.

it's much more like hard physical exercise - like running a marathon - than like pain.

Which is why the term is "labor".

Yeah. I don't want to think about how much medication I'd need to dull childbirth. Will never know.

She also had the baby crawling up the bed when he was one and a half hour old

The midwife gets credit for that?

Um, I feel like I should add, if I'd been in pain, I'd have taken Tylenol, or stronger stuff if necessary. I don't have an aversion to pain meds. I just wasn't in pain.

I don't think I'd be upset about pooping. These are nurses and doctors, they chat about grosser things over lunch.

I find poop to be soothingly universal. A great equalizer. Like the biggest jerkwad or asshat you run into during your day? Given the right circumstances, poop can flow uncontrollably out of his bottom, just like everybody else. We're all full of gross fluids and goop.

The midwife gets credit for that?

Yeah, that's just a thing babies do. Most newborns these days are swaddled as soon as they're born, but if you just leave them tummy-to-tummy with the mom they'll work their way up to a breast. It's very cool.

The misleading thing about the "OMG SO MUCH BLOOD" reaction is that delivering amniotic fluid and uterine lining is just about the least painful part of the whole process. I mean, it's liquid.