Here's the preface: My mom had a child out of wedlock. She went from noticeable labor to baby in 40 minutes. No painkillers, no real pain. She met my dad, had a whirlwind romance and got married. Six weeks later he told her he was AWOL from Vietnam. Fun guy, eh? He served some time in the Brig after his court marshal, and my mom stayed with her family in the projects (section 8 housing in '69) where she carried me to term. Then she carried another month.
When she went into labor she had to call a cab. The ambulances wouldn't come to her apartment; it was too dangerous. My grandma came along with some magazines for mom to sit on, in case her water broke. The cabbie asked if it were her first child, and she replied, "no, it's my second." He stepped a little harder on the gas. He then asked how long was her first labor? She said, "40 minutes." and he floored the pedal. Good thing, too. I was born about half an hour later.
Here's how my mom tells the rest- "They took me to the O.R. and put me on a table. They had me put my legs on big leather pads, and strapped them down. They gave me a spinal block. (long-winded description of a spinal block, including all the medical terms she can remember) I went numb from the middle of my back down. I couldn't feel the contractions, but I could see them like a big rope under my skin, right down my belly. Three good contractions and out you came!"
I was 9lbs, 3oz. That's what? Almost 4 kilo's? They put this huge purple baby on my mom's tummy, and started trying to suction out the fluid I had swallowed in my eagerness to breathe in the world. So that's how I came to be. So ready to tackle the world I started breathing in the birth canal. I LIKE life, and I expect to be here a very long time, revelling in all this world has to offer.

Welcome to my past. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed living it. ;)