Today I found out that a friend of mine has just given birth to a beautiful baby boy and I also have another friend who is still pregnant and expecting a baby girl. It got me thinking of course about having my kids and being pregnant myself.
When you are pregnant you know the only way you are getting your baby out into this world is by giving birth or via a caesarean section. Neither are very much fun to endure but you know it will all be worth it when your baby finally comes into the world and you are a mother. When you are pregnant it seems as though every mum has a birth story, and not many of them make giving birth sound like very much fun, and you wonder “why on earth are they telling me this? Are they trying to freak me out?” but after two emergency caesareans the second after thirty or so hours of labour I think I now know why people feel they need to tell you what they endured to have their precious baby come into the world.
That’s right, although I swore I would never be one of ‘those’ mothers, I am. I do try to tell my story in a way that is less frightening and more encouraging but although it may feel I am doing it that way I’m sure my stories manage to scare the prospective mother just as much as other peoples stories played on my mind when I was pregnant, especially with my first. But I now know that the reason we mothers feel the need to share is because some of us can’t believe we actually endured that and came out the other end ok. Sure I had surgery and had to recover but never could I have imagined going through so much pain and recovering so quickly and of course the immense joy and love I had for my gorgeous new born.
At the time it didn’t seem to process for me what I was actually experiencing or going through, I simply focused on getting through the next contraction and resting when I could then after such a long time I was informed I needed a second caesarean and was happy to trust they would do the best for me and my baby. It wasn’t until afterwards lying in the hospital bed looking through the plastic crib at my beautiful little girl that the realisation of what I had endured hit me and I felt enormous pride that despite not giving birth naturally I had been able to withstand so much and come out the other end a proud mother of a healthy baby girl. I could only imagine how much prouder you would feel after giving birth naturally, but wouldn’t swap the experience for the world as the health of my baby was more important to me than my need to have a natural birth.
Next time a mother tells you her birth story, even if you feel she is giving you way too much information, remember that she is simply proud of herself and trying to relay to you that despite what your baby’s birth may be like, in the end all that is important is that you and the baby are happy and healthy.
My beautiful babies Logan & Tahlia
when they were born.
when they were born.
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