The first time I walked down this road...

Yes, my very firm resolution was that I would not do tags. But this one, tagged by Tharini, I'd already done before on FB for Deej, so it was just a matter of copying and pasting! Is that a valid excuse?

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yes.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Delight and relief!

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
Nope.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
29+.

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
I had a very strong inkling at work. Even though we'd been disappointed many times before, I left work early to get home and do the test.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
The husband, my partner in crime.

8. DUE DATE?
April 24.

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Nope.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
No cravings.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
Nothing, really. Except may be for the heartburn towards the end when the baby was pushing up into my lungs.

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

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
The first time it really did not matter. All we wanted was a healthy baby.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
37.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Yes! It was a delightful affair. We had so much fun with all sorts of games my friends had planned.

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
I knew. I went armed with idlis and chutney for a friend who wanted some.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
No.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
At a hospital. I loved the birthing room. It was spacious and did not at all feel like a hospital.

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
13.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL/BIRTH CENTER?
The husband. My mom came along, but she went back home after a couple of hours.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
The husband, the doc and a nurse. We went back a few weeks later to give the nurse a box of chocolates, but unfortunately she'd left the hospital. Her presence was very soothing. I held on to her hand for dear life, my nails bearing down and gashing her skin. But she never told me to let go.

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural.

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
No.

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
8 lbs 4 oz.

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN?
A few days after his due date.

26. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN THE DOCTOR ANNOUNCED THE SEX OF THE BABY?
We already knew it would be a boy.

27. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION ON SEEING THE BABY?
Couldn't wait to meet this ...thing... that had been inside me for 9 months! I knew everything - the shape of his head, nose, mouth, the poke of his knees, his elbows, his tush, the sugar rush he got every time I ate cake. But I really didn't know him at all.

28. DID YOU CRY?
Nope. The husband did, as he cut the umbilical cord.

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM?
Big N!

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY
8 going on 9.

Updating to change the title to the one in the tag.

Updating to add a link to a relevant post: Labor of Love.