For many of us, Labor Day means a three-day weekend filled with family barbecues, pool parties, and end-of-summer fun. But amidst all of the celebration, it’s easy to forget how the holiday came to be.

Meaning of Labor Day

Observed on the first Monday of September in North America, Labor Day recognizes the achievements and contributions of workers, and the strides we’ve made to improve labor conditions for all.

Speaking of Hard-Workers…

As we celebrate hard-workers everywhere this weekend, we want to take a moment to celebrate some of the most industrious people of all – moms – who recently shared their memorable “labor” and delivery stories with us. Find out how they coped with the stages of labor, managed unexpected birth plans, and embraced the joy that comes from joining the “mom club.”

When Things Go “According to Plan”

“Luckily, things went according to plan. I feel grateful for that. Labor felt pretty short for me – I can’t quite say exactly how many hours, because I think I wasn’t quite interpreting correctly what it was in the beginning….only when it got really intense and obvious. And I think the anticipation of pain drives the anxiety more than anything else. Once you’re in it, you’re focused. Things went even faster with my second baby, but I think it was more emotional because not only was life changing again for us as parents, but we just totally re-wrote the life book of our first child in that moment. And that felt like a huge responsibility.” - Naoko

And When They Don’t…

“I look back and laugh about my idea of my “birth story.” For both children, I always envisioned my water breaking, us rushing to the hospital and delivering shortly after. That could not have been further from the truth. I created such a healthy, cozy environment for both of them that neither of them wanted to come out!

We were induced on Monday morning (St. Patrick’s Day), but my son decided not to enter the world until Wednesday morning at 1:45am. Since we didn’t know the sex, the doctor lifted our baby up in the air and turned to my husband and asked him to do the honors. My husband yelled “BOY!?!?” and we all laughed at his confused and overwhelmed face. I was exhausted but I was 100% in love.

Crazy enough, three and a half years after having our first son, the SAME nurse that delivered our first boy walks into the room. My water broke around 6pm and after three pushes at 1am, our beautiful baby entered into the world at 1:10am Sunday morning. What we didn’t know was that he would quickly be swooped into my husband’s arms as I was taken into the emergency operating room. The doctors couldn’t control my bleeding. Although I wasn’t able to leave my bed for a while, I am happy to say that thanks to some amazing nurses, doctors, and anesthesiologists, I made a full recovery.” - Tara

When You Have Time to Prepare

“I was 100% working from home at the end of my pregnancy, so luckily I was at home when my water broke. We had been advised that first labors are usually long, so no need to rush to the hospital. I wrapped up the spreadsheet I was working on, ate a good dinner, and headed to the hospital. That was on a Thursday night. My son did not actually show up until Sunday morning, so I was in labor for about two and a half days. Somehow, we managed to keep it a secret that we had gone to the hospital at all, which had been our plan. We surprised all of the new grandparents midday Sunday with photos and an invitation to come meet their first grandchild!” – Allison

And When You Don’t…

“For me, both my births were inductions and I chose not to have epidurals for either (I’m a wimp when it comes to needles), but that is where the similarities stopped.

My first son decided his birthdate was going to be three weeks earlier than we thought. Which simply meant that I pulled an all-nighter pounding away on my laptop, hooked up to an IV in the hospital with the hope of doing as much work as I could in the few hours I had left. The whole process was about 24 hours start to finish, and luckily for me the pain level was manageable. With my second, we had an induction date of 39 weeks, so I can only imagine what ladies going beyond that must feel… #getthisbabyout. His induction was short, only four hours from start to finish, but what I thought my pain tolerance was with my first, I way surpassed with his birth.

At the end of the day, though, once that baby is on your chest everything else is quickly forgotten.” – Aili

Happy Labor Day

Wishing our moms - and everyone - a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!