Being a mother has been an amazing experience for me. Giving birth was not. 做母亲对我来说是相当不可思议的经历，但分娩过程却不是。

　　After nine months of serious nausea, I could not wait to move on to the next phase. 9个月的妊娠反应让我对分娩阶段望眼欲穿。

　　Unfortunately, my son was in no such rush. 不幸的是，我肚子里的儿子倒一点儿都不着急。

　　When my due date arrived, my OB decided I should be induced. 预产期到了，我的产科医生决定人工催产。

　　My parents and my sister, Michelle, joined me and Dave at the hospital. 我父母和妹妹米歇尔都到了医院，和戴夫一起陪着我。

　　Some say it takes a village to raise a child, but in my case, it took a village just to get the child out of me. 有人说养个孩子得“全家总动员”，而我的情况是，仅仅是要把他生出来就得劳师动众。

　　My hours in labor went on ... and on ... and on. For my supporters, excitement gave way to boredom. 分娩过程很漫长，亲友团的兴奋劲儿很快就过去了，取而代之的是百无聊赖。

　　At one point, I needed help through a contraction but couldn't get anyone's attention because they were all on the other side of the room, showing family photos to my doctor. 我一度希望他们帮我挺过一次次阵痛，但没人注意到我，他们都在房间的另一侧给医生看家庭相册。

　　It has been a running joke in my family that it's hard to hold anyone's attention for too long. Labor was no exception to that rule. 这件事后来成了家里常提的笑话，它证明要长时间吸引别人的注意力是很困难的，分娩也不例外。

　　After three and half hours of pushing, my son finally emerged, weighing nine pounds, seven ounces. 3个半小时后，我儿子终于出生了，体重约4.3千克。

　　Half of that weight was in his head. 他的头占了体重的一半。

　　My sister is a pediatrician and has attended hundreds of deliveries. 我的妹妹是儿科医生，参与过上百次分娩过程。

　　She kindly did not tell me until much later that mine was one of the hardest she had ever witnessed. 出于好心，很久以后她才告诉我，我的分娩是她见过最困难的。