Baby treasure.
So this amazing little boy was born in the wee hours this morning. A week late-if you believe in late. Baby's are like wizards and Midwifes; they arrive precisely when they mean to. He was well anticipated.
I got the call a little after Midnight-water had broken, clear fluid, contractions were a few minutes apart. I had a 30 minute drive ahead of me, both my students coming from even further away. I hoped they would make it. I got them on the road and then gathered my things. I hadn't yet fallen asleep, so I was wide awake as I made the trip. It was dark on the back roads, trees silhouetted, looming overhead, perfectly still. A storm was coming in but this was the quiet before. Not a lick of wind. An occasional dried brown or red autumn leaf would fall straight down from the trees and land on the freshly paved blacktop in my headlights. It was eerily still. More like a Halloween night instead a few days before Thanksgiving. I cracked the window and a cold crisp mist filled my nose. Storms coming...
I felt an urgency to get there. Sometimes I feel this on a way to a birth. The fear of missing it. My foot gets heavy on the pedal and I have to calm myself. Soon enough I'm on the crunchy gravel of the driveway, breathing a sign of relief, because no matter what I walk into-I made it.
And I walk into a mom that sounds like she's 9, sitting in a pool of clear amniotic fluid. I didn't even bother to check her. She has her two sisters with her. Loving her like only sisters can. Sweet and tender, strong and encouraging, with enough humor to keep things loose and light. Ina May would've nodded in approval. Things were already mostly set up, being this was not a water birth-mom planned for land-I had much less to do. Lay out some gloves, get plastic on the bed, clean mama up a bit, take vitals and listen to baby-all was well and soon enough I had settled in to the wait, which I expected wasn't long. We chatted in between contractions and a sweet laughter would fill the room. Can you honestly imagine a better feeling than to be born into so much sweetness and love?
Soon enough my students arrived. It was weird to not have to deal with a birth pool. I forget how much work it is to blow it up, add the liner, fill it and then afterwards; drain it, toss the liner, wipe it all down, flush the pump with clean water, find a new home for the hose, deflate the tub, roll it all up and reload it for the next birth! Whew! We felt a little lost with no tub to deal with. But it was very cool to have that time to just love on the laboring mom, massage her tense muscles, whisper words of inspiration, prepare tea and other such tasks ahead of time even though baby was so very close.
A little encouragement later and pushing had begun. It's such a perfect rhythm: push pause, push, pause. Everything stretches and gives way inside mom and she has time to regain her focus during the pauses-meanwhile baby is shifting, millimeter changes, tipping it's head, tucking it's chin, pushing it's little head bones all compressed. And then the head is born.
I tell her to feel her baby's head and she cries with relief and says hello to that hairy little person-boy or girl-still unknown and doesn't matter. Here you are little person, only your head in the world, not even named yet and you're being told how loved you are...
Mom pauses, catches a breath and pushes again, baby's ribs tuck in tight the diaphragm compresses and I'm feeling it all as baby slides into my hands. There's nothing more sacred to me. To be called to be this person. Everything pauses-in me, in her, in the room. I just held him there for a moment facing her, still between her thighs, while she caught her breath. I gave her that pause. She pushed herself up to more of a sitting position and then reached down and pulled him up to her chest. She hugged him tight, still not realizing it was a "him." Not worried about breathing or heart rates (although we were monitoring these things) it is always so fascinating to me how this process works and how instinctivly a mother doesn't worry about these things right away. Sex of the baby is even further away from her thoughts. She just held him, tight, like a treasure she had searched so long for, and finally found. How loved he must have felt as he breathed his first breaths and regulated to the outside world, completely engulfed in mama's arms. 6 women and one man in the room and no one said a word, no one screamed, no one announced anything, we all together without saying a word held this beautiful space for her to just have this treasure all to herself she worked so hard for. Her other two sons came in and she finally held him up to see-It's a boy! Three sons!!!
He of course passed his newborn exam with flying colors and weighed in at 9 pounds and 2 ounces. Welcome sweet baby boy. May you ALWAYS feel the love you were born into on this day.
I got the call a little after Midnight-water had broken, clear fluid, contractions were a few minutes apart. I had a 30 minute drive ahead of me, both my students coming from even further away. I hoped they would make it. I got them on the road and then gathered my things. I hadn't yet fallen asleep, so I was wide awake as I made the trip. It was dark on the back roads, trees silhouetted, looming overhead, perfectly still. A storm was coming in but this was the quiet before. Not a lick of wind. An occasional dried brown or red autumn leaf would fall straight down from the trees and land on the freshly paved blacktop in my headlights. It was eerily still. More like a Halloween night instead a few days before Thanksgiving. I cracked the window and a cold crisp mist filled my nose. Storms coming...
I felt an urgency to get there. Sometimes I feel this on a way to a birth. The fear of missing it. My foot gets heavy on the pedal and I have to calm myself. Soon enough I'm on the crunchy gravel of the driveway, breathing a sign of relief, because no matter what I walk into-I made it.
And I walk into a mom that sounds like she's 9, sitting in a pool of clear amniotic fluid. I didn't even bother to check her. She has her two sisters with her. Loving her like only sisters can. Sweet and tender, strong and encouraging, with enough humor to keep things loose and light. Ina May would've nodded in approval. Things were already mostly set up, being this was not a water birth-mom planned for land-I had much less to do. Lay out some gloves, get plastic on the bed, clean mama up a bit, take vitals and listen to baby-all was well and soon enough I had settled in to the wait, which I expected wasn't long. We chatted in between contractions and a sweet laughter would fill the room. Can you honestly imagine a better feeling than to be born into so much sweetness and love?
Soon enough my students arrived. It was weird to not have to deal with a birth pool. I forget how much work it is to blow it up, add the liner, fill it and then afterwards; drain it, toss the liner, wipe it all down, flush the pump with clean water, find a new home for the hose, deflate the tub, roll it all up and reload it for the next birth! Whew! We felt a little lost with no tub to deal with. But it was very cool to have that time to just love on the laboring mom, massage her tense muscles, whisper words of inspiration, prepare tea and other such tasks ahead of time even though baby was so very close.
A little encouragement later and pushing had begun. It's such a perfect rhythm: push pause, push, pause. Everything stretches and gives way inside mom and she has time to regain her focus during the pauses-meanwhile baby is shifting, millimeter changes, tipping it's head, tucking it's chin, pushing it's little head bones all compressed. And then the head is born.
I tell her to feel her baby's head and she cries with relief and says hello to that hairy little person-boy or girl-still unknown and doesn't matter. Here you are little person, only your head in the world, not even named yet and you're being told how loved you are...
Mom pauses, catches a breath and pushes again, baby's ribs tuck in tight the diaphragm compresses and I'm feeling it all as baby slides into my hands. There's nothing more sacred to me. To be called to be this person. Everything pauses-in me, in her, in the room. I just held him there for a moment facing her, still between her thighs, while she caught her breath. I gave her that pause. She pushed herself up to more of a sitting position and then reached down and pulled him up to her chest. She hugged him tight, still not realizing it was a "him." Not worried about breathing or heart rates (although we were monitoring these things) it is always so fascinating to me how this process works and how instinctivly a mother doesn't worry about these things right away. Sex of the baby is even further away from her thoughts. She just held him, tight, like a treasure she had searched so long for, and finally found. How loved he must have felt as he breathed his first breaths and regulated to the outside world, completely engulfed in mama's arms. 6 women and one man in the room and no one said a word, no one screamed, no one announced anything, we all together without saying a word held this beautiful space for her to just have this treasure all to herself she worked so hard for. Her other two sons came in and she finally held him up to see-It's a boy! Three sons!!!
He of course passed his newborn exam with flying colors and weighed in at 9 pounds and 2 ounces. Welcome sweet baby boy. May you ALWAYS feel the love you were born into on this day.
It was still dark as I traveled those roads back home. Clouds were gathering overhead. I make mental notes: get gas tomorrow, order more postpartum tea, sterilize instruments at home, get pumped milk to the freezer (for my still nursing daughter), charge tablet...I go on and on and then I finally fall into bed exhausted. I wake a few hours later to my kids, taking care of eachother, daddy's at work today. They are playing, whispering and giggling and watching Star Wars. My baby girl is still sleeping, snuggled into me with her fleece jammies on. She's smiling in her sleep. So beautiful and perfect and happy to have mama home. I smile at how amazing and perfect my life is, exactly how it is. So much gratitude. Everyone is home and it's Thanksgiving week. My life, is amazing.
Soon my phone blings...I got a text-something about bloody show and cramps...another baby is coming soon...I text my students to sleep hard and fast-the storm is bringing forth new life, just in time for a day of Thanks...come babies...we are ready...
You make the most daunting work in the world seem so magical and... real! Thanks for sprinkling your midwife dust and keeping it real!
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