On this night 10 years ago I was supposed to go out for coffee with my girlfriends... that or a La Leche League meeting... not sure which - doesn't matter really, I was supposed to go out with my girlfriends. I was 3 weeks overdue and it was very warm. My lovely DH went out to pick up some ice cream for me, bringing me my favorite peanut butter and chocolate ice cream from Rosie's Jazzy ice cream bar. Somewhere in that time span I finally went into labor. I calmly rocked in my rocking chair, ate my ice cream, paced up and down the hall of our 900 sq foot rancher and spent some time with my baby girl. I tucked her into bed, I called my midwife, I called my mother, I paced some more. I felt very calm and we were still debating whether we would deliver at home or just labor at home as long as possible. When the pain increased I stepped into my most useless shower and tried to relax. The water went cold and my pacing woke up my daughter twice and hearing her cry and refuse to let anyone but me comfort her was too difficult so I made my decision and headed off to the hospital. I think it was 3:00 a.m. when we got there. I very calmly checked in, headed to my room and continued my lovely, natural labor. By 7:30 am I had used every drop of hot water in that hospital, had paced, ate ice and labored in a million positions thanks to my most wonderful midwife Jean and I was almost done. It was a great birth - drug free and surrounded by my husband and one of B.C's first legal midwives I gave birth to my lovely, then blondish red-haired son. I couldn't have done it without Jean's loving support. She was so amazing. Having a midwife wasn't an option for my first birth because they legally were not allowed to deliver in hospitals. In January of the year Gorilla was born, Midwifery became accepted and they were legally allowed to deliver. I was one of the first women through those doors and it was the most amazing experience.
10 years later I sit here feeling nostalgic and a bit misty eyed as I think of that night... There was no way of knowing how much this little boy would change our lives for the better. He, and his sister, complete me.
(I could really go for some of that ice cream!!!)
One family's explorations towards living a natural life through our choices, our faith and our daily events
Words of Wisdom
"I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."
- Helen Keller
- Calvin B. DeWitt, president of the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies
"My head bent over a bowl of steaming soup, my prayer seems to be incense floating up to heaven. I think God likes soup.
- Mary Beth Lind
"Food bears the signature of God's grace. It is the fruit of the web of life that clothes our globe in such beauty... a steady diet of gratitude keeps us awake in God's economy of grace. It invites us to make choices that allow all to have a place at the banquet and the web of life to flourish."
- Cathy Campbell, author of Stations of the Banquet: Faith Foundations for Food Justice
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Blogs I read
Good Things
- Building a Nutrition packed day
- Elephant Island
- European Breads Bakery
- Joie
- La Frenz
- Laughing Stock Wines (a favorite of mine!)
- Les Amis Du Fromage
- Liberty Wine
- MCC (I wonder if the MCC woud like being listed in with all of these wines??!!)
- Method: People Against Dirty
- My winter life and home and where I see all of my "winter friends"
- Raincity grill - my favorite fancy restaurant
- Spud
- The cookbook that changed my life
2 comments:
That's beautiful! Happy Birthday, G!
PS: What's Jean's last name because my midwife with #3 (one of them) was Jean (actually I just looked it up an it was Jeanne, so probably not the same one.) Having a midwife was awesome, although #3's birth was a bit more complicated.
Nope, no way it was the same one as Jean passed away quite a few years ago now from Cancer. :(
She was so great though! Did you use Ridge Meadows Midwifery? When they started the practice it was Jean and Sylvia and now there are a whole bunch of newer midwives that I don't know. The care I got was fabulous and the after care was also amazing. They came to my house for my post-natal check ups. and when Griffen became suddenly very ill at 2 weeks of age, we called Jean and she came right over and did a check up at the house. It was amazing... We thought he was not well but it turned out he had developed a congenital heart defect and needed to go to the hospital. Jean, who had worked as a nurse for a bizillion years and had even worked at Ridge Meadows hospital, came with us to ensure we got the best care from the doctor's and to get to the bottom of the issue and it made a world of difference. She knew what questions to ask and how to get info while we sat there shell shocked.
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