Your Birth Was My Favorite

Welcome to the June 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Embracing Your Birth Experience
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about at least one part of their birth experience that they can hold up and cherish.
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My darling Ariana, your birth was my favorite.  You are my firstborn, and it was all so incredibly fresh and new.  I woke up early with contractions ten minutes apart, although they didn't really hurt.  I went and taught 6 hours of high school and middle school, smiling to myself as they continued every ten minutes.  We actually went to the hospital a few times before they let me stay--I was so excited about meeting you!  Just before the last time, I was having to work quite a bit through each rush.  I would pull on the tall post by our bed just like pictures of some of the indigenous women that I have seen.  I didn't see the pictures till later, but it just felt right.  Between contractions, I read Calvin and Hobbes and wondered if you would share my sense of humor.

After we got to the hospital, I had an epidural and had to stay in bed.  Your daddy and I held hands and whispered, our eyes already overflowing with joy in you.  I tore a lot as you came out, but there was no pain at all.  Just delight in finally meeting you.  We snuggled and cuddled, and watched the snowflakes through the window.  You made my heart warmer than hot chocolate.  You are my friend as well as my daughter, and you still make my heart sing.

My beloved Joelito, your birth was my favorite.  Although we were so very, very excited to meet you, whenever I think of your birth, I think of peace.  I couldn't feel the contractions at all after the epidural, and was so surprised when they told me that you were ready to be born.  The lights were turned so low, we were all relaxed and sleepy.  There was a hushed reverence in every voice.  The nurse quietly asked if I would like to see you be born, and positioned a mirror.  The OB told me that you were so close to coming out that even a sneeze would push you out, and he was right.  The tiniest of pushes, and I got to see you slide right out, so very small and perfect.  You are the only one that I saw be born, and I will never forget.  Your birth was the most tranquil and peaceful of all, my favorite boy, and I seemed to see both a glimmer of laughter in your eyes and a stability and confidence, even though you were a newborn.  You are a faith-child, and you will accomplish amazing things.  Your birth taught me to breathe in peace, and to be fully aware of the wonder in each moment.

My precious Elenita, your birth was my favorite.  From the very beginning of pregnancy, it felt as though God and I were sharing a secret.  I was so sure that you needed to be born naturally.  I'll be honest--I wasn't sure that I could do it.  I was a bit afraid, but I knew I had to.  What an exhilarating ride that turned out to be!  I labored at home with Heather, and couldn't believe how manageable it was.  We went to the hospital and they were playing the stupidest movie ever--one of the Planet of the Apes sequels.  Even that obnoxiousness couldn't get to me, though, because I was too focused on meeting you.

I started to push, my water broke, and Dr. Bob's face went white as a sheet.  You had a prolapsed cord.  It was a God-thing that he didn't try for an emergency C-section, but just yelled for me to push and get you out now.  It was a God-thing that Heather was there to tell me in a quiet voice that you needed to be born right then.  It is a God-thing that you were born so quickly, without any heart decelerations.  After you were safely here, our OB told me that if I had had an epidural and pitocin, you would have died or been severely brain damaged.  I still get chills thinking of it.  My warrior princess, your birth taught me to listen and trust, and that I was stronger than I knew.

My adorable Amaya, my sweet night rain, your birth was my favorite.  I knew by this time that I wanted a home birth.  The funny thing is that nearly every night, I dreamed I was giving birth to you, and I was never at home.  I was so much more comfortable with my body, with pregnancy and with birth in general by the time you were here.  Heather was so incredibly generous with her gift of being our midwife.  I could never thank her enough for all she did.  The contractions started exactly when I had finished turning in grades from the summer classes, and as I labored with you, I was so tired.  Things kept slowing down more and more, and my fear started to grow.  When we finally transferred to the hospital, I felt like a failure and I was so scared.  We prayed so hard.

And God honored my desire for a home birth in ways I never could have imagined.  The nurses gave me a birth ball and were so kind.  The OB on call was respectful and did something unheard of in our state by allowing Heather to catch.  We did pitocin for a few minutes--yeeeouch!--and then stopped.  I was still on all fours, the only bearable position, when he broke my water.  Those were the only interventions.  Then I felt you slide lower and begin to crown.  I reached down and felt your curls as your head emerged.  That is one of the best moments of my entire life.  I was the first one to touch you.  What an indescribable gift!  The ring of fire was nothing compared to the joy of feeling you be born, all nine pounds, six ounces (and that nuchal hand--no wonder you took a little time to work your way down!).  Even though we were in a hospital, I still got everything that I had hoped for in your birth.  They never washed you, and all that sweet vernix seemed to make your skin even softer than most babies.  I stroked you and nursed you and gazed into your eyes with tears of joy and thankfulness making you look all blurry.  You are contentment, our laughter-child.

My precious kidlets, each of you had a very different birth.  But each one brought something unspeakably glorious.  Your births were my favorites.

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Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

(This list will be live and updated by afternoon June 12 with all the carnival links.)

• I Had A C-Section. So What! — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama rewrites her birth story now that she has worked through the feelings of inadequacy and disappointment of not having the “perfect” birth.
• The Perfect Birth — Kellie at Our Mindful Life reflects on how a birth can be far from what we imagined, but still perfect.
• Own Your Birth: My Hope For All Expectant Moms — Andrea at Tales of Goodness shares how she owned her birth spiritually (while navigating it physically) in order to have a joyous experience.
• Carnival of Natural Parenting: My Birth Experience — It wasn't what Lily at Witch Mom wanted, but it was everything she needed.
• The Painless Natural Homebirth of BabyE — Shannon at GrowingSlower wants women considering natural birth to know painless births are possible.
• Reflections on Jemma's Birth ... 20 Months Later — It took a second pregnancy for That Mama Gretchen to fully embrace her first birth experience.
• Loving My Unnatural Birth Experience — Erika at Cinco de Mommy cherishes her very first birth experience, in all its unnatural glory!
• Be Careful What you Wish for in Birth — Amber at Strocel.com had two births, and it was the one that went to plan that she struggled with embracing.
• Redeeming an unexpected hospital transfer — Lauren at Hobo Mama looks back at her first, interrupted home-turned-hospital birth, and finds the beauty in what happened.
• All of it — Laura from Pug in the Kitchen had to learn to embrace the whole experience of birth even though it meant being naked . . . with an audience.
• Birthing Dreams & Realities — Momma Jorje never had a "dream birth," but she wouldn't change a thing about her births.
• Memories of Birth: Calm Amidst the Storm — While neither of her children's births had been quite what she expected, Cynthia at The Hippie Housewife cherishes one moment in particular from each of her birth experiences.
• Embracing Our Birth Stories — Luschka from Diary of a First Child shares a sensitive post on her recent birth which both did and didn't go 'to plan', and writes about the journey of coming to terms with the good and the bad.
• Two Beautiful Births — Sheila at A Gift Universe remembers how her mother brought out the beauty in each of her children's births, and tries to do the same with her sons' birth stories.
• Embracing My Supernatural ChildBirth Experiences... — Jenny at I'm a full-time mummy shares her fond memories on both her supernatural childbirth experiences
• Embracing the Hospital Birth Experience — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction believes that sometimes a medicated, induced hospital birth is the right choice for a natural parent.
• Carnival: Embracing Your Birth Experience — Stephanie at The Other Baby Blog embraces the birth experience from a paleobiologist's point of view and takes a look at how humans defy their anatomy.
• Reflections on My First Birth and Preparing for a Second — Abbie at Farmer's Daughter shares the strength she didn't realize she had until she gave birth to her son.
• becoming a mama - embracing my birth experience — Meegs at A New Day remembers the birth of her daughter Gwenivere, and the empowered feeling it left her with.
• What About Us? A Poem About Birth — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment shares a poem she wrote about healing from an unexpected and emotionally painful birth experience.
• Be a Man: One Father's View of Birth — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children shares her husband's advice to other fathers and partners.
• A Birth Monologue — Kat at MomeeeZen shares a monologue she wrote during the process of healing from her birth experiences.
• Forgiveness: My Birth Journey — Leah at The Crunchy Farm Baby discusses what happens when her planned homebirth doesn't end up the way she wanted, and explains her journey of forgiving herself for losing that "perfect" birth.
• Patching together a perfect birth — KrissyFair at Think Mama, Think learned that sometimes a perfect birth happens in pieces.
• Celebrating and Sharing the Possibilities of Perfect Birth — Terri from Child of the Nature Isle joyfully shares details of her perfect births and wishes to inspire a more positive cultural expectation about birth.
• Instinct - Embracing Your Birth Experience — Laura at Laura's Blog reflects on instinctual moments during and after the births of her two daughters.
• I was Foolish Then — ANonyMous at Radical Ramblings describes how foolish lack of preparation for childbirth led to a feeling of powerlessness and fear, but that in the end she had her baby in her arms, and that's one thing she can celebrate.
• Sometimes no plan is the best plan — Tat at Mum in search contemplates that maybe she doesn't need a birth plan for her upcoming birth.
• Disturbing the peace — Kenna at Million Tiny Things thought she would be a calm, quiet baby-haver. Ha!
• Accepting the Unexpected During Birth — Emily at S.A.H.M i AM imagined herself laboring on a birthing ball but she never imagined where she'd really be most comfortable when the time came...
• Sacred This Time, Too — Kimber at The Single Crunch learned enough to know that the way she birthed wasn't they way she wanted to; but she also knew to enjoy it for what it was.
• The Birth Partner: A Great Natural Labor Companion — Justine at The Lone Home Ranger thinks that the secret to her pleasant natural labors was having a great support system.
• the Best Thing About My Labor Experience — Crunchy Con Mommy realizes that amidst all the things that seemed to go wrong with her labor, the love and support of her husband was the one thing she could always count on!
• Your Birth Was My Favorite — Dulce de leche describes some of the highlights from each of her four births and explains why despite the differences, they are all her favorites.
• Birth Story: Part One - Moon on a Stick! — Gentle Mama Moon tells the first part of her birth story to share some of the delight of labouring at home.
• Embracing My Birth Experience by Sharing My Birth Story — Dionna at Code Name: Mama made peace with her first birth by sharing the story with her son.
• Focusing on the Beauty of Birth — Julia at A Little Bit of All of It shares the beautiful aspects of her birth center water birth.
• A Joyful Induced Delivery — Amy Willa: Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work notes the meditations and perspective that helped her achieve an unmedicated birth despite being induced for medical reasons.
• Finding Joy in an Imperfect Childbirth Experience — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now tells what she learned from her two very different childbirth experiences.
• What's to like about a c-section? — Jessica at Crunchy-Chewy Mama is glad she her second child at home, but she also cherishes much about the c-section she had four years earlier.
• What Story Will I Tell? — Rachael at The Variegated Life realizes that the way she tells the story of her second child's birth matters — and could be exhilarating.
• I Quietly Put My Hopes to Rest E — Erica at ChildOrganics shares her emotional ups and downs with the highly intervened birth of her special needs daughter, Bella.
• Tale of Six Births — Jessica at Instead of Institutions appreciates that unique challenges and joys of each of her births.
• Labouring naturally: nature’s gift — Caroline at stoneageparent describes the most beautiful, spiritual aspect of the labour of her son, the first stages along a bumpy road to giving birth.
• All The Woman I Am. — Lindsay at This Woman's Work shares a poem about letting go and surrendering during the thralls of labor.
• A twin birth story: embracing the unexpected — Megan at The Boho Mama shares her twin birth experience and how she found the silver lining when faced with preterm labor, premature birth, and a two-week NICU stay.
• Giving Birth With Eminem — Kerry at City Kids Homeschooling shares how fiery rap music contributed to an empowered homebirth with her third baby.
• Two Different Births — Cassie at There's a Pickle in My Life shares how she learned from her first birth experience and how to trust yourself and your body.
• Embracing Our Potential: Birth as a Metaphor — Sheila from A Living Family guest posts at Natural Parents Network and expresses how birth has served as a metaphor to help her through other experiences in life.
• Little Sister's Birth Story: Our VBAC Adventure — Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama describes the recent birth story of her baby girl, her pride in an epidural-free VBAC, and how her story isn't exactly the birth experience she had planned for.
• A Journey in Birth Confidence — Shannon at The Artful Mama shares her experiences with labor during both of her sons' births.