Post-Birth Thoughts

For those of you who don’t know, our little Henry was born ever-so-slightly before our midwife arrived on the scene. It was really incredibly special and empowering catching my own son with no one but his father as a witness. It wasn’t scary at all as some seem to think. We knew instinctively exactly what to do. I knew throughout labor that the baby was doing great and that everything was going well. If I had questioned this, I would have called my midwife sooner than we did. I felt more confidant and comfortable laboring alone without any extra observers and by the time we decided it was time for my midwife to come over, Henry was within minutes of being born- much to my surprise!
I’m very glad I didn’t share my due date and very glad my midwife trusted me to know my dates better than she could ever know. She depended on me to give her that info rather than dictating it for me. I’m also glad that Henry came in his own good time and not on anyone else’s schedule! He definitely knew even better than I did when he should come and came when he was ready to be born! His birth was drastically different from any of my others and while in some ways it was harder, in other ways this was my easiest birth yet! And it was definitely a very healing and satisfying birth coming after Ephraim. I’m very grateful for a wonderfully healthy baby and a relatively smooth labor and birth!