Madeline Gene

My "little" sister Madeline (who is much bigger than me) is 15 years younger than me. My mom thought it would be great birth control to involve me as a teenager in the entire process of her pregnancy. So I was there at just about every step of the way, at the amniocentesis, the ultrasounds and finally the birth.

However, I wouldn't say that the experience scared me into never wanting to have children. It was quite the opposite. While my mom was pregnant, I thought it was absolutely fascinating how the baby developed and I decided I was either going to be an OBGYN and deliver babies or I would be a surrogate mother for all the people who could not have children. Luckily I came to my senses!

After Madeline's delivery all of my high school friends were absolutely disgusted that I had seen my sister being born but I thought it was amazing. Besides throwing up after my mom's water broke, the entire experience was beautiful. In fact, I like to tell Madeline how I was the first person to welcome her into the world. Unlike my dad, I was in the catcher's position when she arrived!

I keep trying to remember this experience and not the many horror stories about labor that I have heard over the years. I like to think I am pretty tough but I have never been in the hospital, never had an IV or been hooked up to a machine. To be honest, I have never experienced extreme pain in my life. Like I said in an earlier post, I do not like surprises and I wish I had a better idea of how it is all going to happen. What I know for sure is how excited I am to meet our baby and as scared as I am, I am positive it will all be worth it. And, if you have a particularly pleasant birth story, please feel free to pass it along!