Gratitude

Today was one of those days that makes me thankful to be alive.  The skies were clear and beautifully blue, the air crisp and clean.  Then, as a little slice of delicious life pie, I attended a darling home birth this afternoon.





This bottle of champagne was my thank you gift from the proud papa.




I love home births.  I am always amazed and awed at women who get all primal in their own living space and birth their babies.  This particular mama was walking around stark naked, leaning over furniture, her partner, her mother, myself, swaying her hips to some deep seeded rhythm-memory that reminds us of how to wiggle a baby out.  It's spectacular to observe.

I love to have my hands on a birthing woman.  I feel so tender toward her.  I stroke her head, smooth back her dampened hair, wipe the sweat beads off her upper lip and forehead, massage her, support her weight, and always, always speak words of love and encouragement.  Time stands still in those moments.  It's all about HER, focusing on her needs and easing her travail.

I love that moment when the baby has arrived and she is placed in her mother's arms, all slippery, gooey, and fresh.  I adore watching parents fall ridiculously in love in less than a split second.  I love watching big daddies bawl their eyes out when they see their new one.  It truly is the most raw and real moment in our lives.  I get to witness it often.  I am blessed!


When I'm home after a birth, when the adrenaline is gone and I'm spent, I treat myself to a glass of wine.  Tonight's flavor is a lovely Pinot Noir I picked up at the grocer - Red Bicyclette.


 I sit on my couch, roast my tootsies by the wood stove and thank God that I am a midwife.