I let go of my self-righteousness and had a Cesarean delivery — and I’m thankful for it
When I got pregnant last January I was stoked about the joyful, carefree unassisted birth I had always dreamed of. My husband and mom, though, were concerned about the safety of freebirths and so I compromised with them and hired a Certified Nurse-Midwife who only did home births. She was a mother of two who lives on a farm and works primarily with the Amish women in our area. When I caught her voicemail, I noticed she signed off with “Namaste.” I thought: “Wow, this is going to be so great! She’s just like me! I don’t have to worry that she’ll force me to have medicines or procedures done that I don’t want.”
Ten minutes and you’re finished: a video of a Cesarean delivery
As some of you might remember, regular Offbeat Mama contributor Hunny wrote about the cesarean delivery of her second daughter, Zephyr in March 2012. Hunny opted to deliver via cesarean section for health reasons, and her husband Joe filmed the entire birth. I’ve actually had the privilege of being in an operating room while a baby was being born via cesarean section, but it’s definitely not something everyone gets to do any day of the week.
This is what a baby being born via Cesarean looks like
DON’T BE SCARED: there’s minimal blood and no internal body parts on display in this shot of a baby being born via Cesarean — just a cute little head poking out. Amazing.
How will having a second child change our first?
We are adding a second child to the family in about seven weeks, and so I am thinking more and more about how to help our older child, who will be two years and ten months, adjust. We are trying to talk about the baby in Mommy’s tummy with him and I have read him books about pregnancy and being a big brother. I also prepared a photo album of the first year of his life that he likes to read with us, and I did it in part so that we can show him pictures of him doing the stuff the baby is doing once the baby is here.
I’m glad I told my best friend I was devastated when she got pregnant
In February, my BFF announced that she was pregnant. After almost a year of trying and two early miscarriages, this news was incredible. Her excitement was obvious and beautiful — so I was shocked by the way I felt. Beneath my happiness I was… devastated.
Kaiya Sol’s home birth that brought in rainbows
Thanksgiving Monday: it was a cool fall day, the streets wet with rain and scattered with the crunchy, crimson leaves that mark this time of year. The sun would peak out from behind the clouds, chasing away their dark heaviness, and briefly reveal the liquid blue hidden behind. My partner Vibhu and I spent the day hunkered down inside, him working on Tutors Nirvana and me, folding clothes, tidying the house, and compiling a digital version of my pregnancy journal. By the middle of the afternoon, I had had enough of being inside and craved a long walk through our neighborhood and along the waterfront.
I didn’t think home birth was for me until I had one and it rocked
I was always intrigued by the idea of home birth, but I always thought it was for people who were spiritual or connected to the universe — or something that just wasn’t me. I’m agnostic, sarcastic, and my husband and I laugh at super inappropriate things. My fear of hospitals was a big push into me doing the research and realized it really was the most logical course for us. It really ended up being the best choice I ever could have made.
A gorgeous home birth of adoptive twins shot entirely in film
I am in loooove with these photos Jacklyn of Jacklyn Michele’s Photojournal sent me from a home birth for twins that she shot last month — they’re incredible. Even more incredible is that the birth mother gave birth in the home of the parents who adopted the babies — that’s some kind of gorgeous village right there!