Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Because Six Words Doesn't Always Cut It

Saturday was quite the busy day for our family. In the morning while I fed Jonas breakfast our friend Berek called to say that his wife was in labor and to head on over. Siobhan (she of the aforementioned labor) had a home birth and I, along with my pal Nikol, was lucky enough to be allowed to watch. Alas, we arrived just after the big show went down. But we still got to watch the birth on video! It was amazing, we cried like babies. The entire experience further solidified my decision to have home births with the rest of my children. I simply cannot describe how wonderful it was, shortly after giving birth Siobhan was in bed, at home, with her new baby and husband and other 3 daughters eating breakfast her mom had cooked for her. And while Siobhan has the knack for making everything look seamless, I know my own home birth may not go as smoothly but it's bound to be better than that stupid hospital.

Later that day Greg, Jonas and I went walking around the Tijuana Estuary with our friends Hannah and Amanda. Jonas was a little trooper and only cried towards the end despite cold, windy conditions. After the estuary we went out to eat some mexican food at a vegan mexican place in North Park. Poor Greg and Jonas got food poisoning.

Then we drove over to the parent's house to eat Christmas leftovers and play games with the family. Greg won, as always. What a wonderful day.

4 comments:

Siobhán said...

ooh, you're lucky i got more than six words! :D

i'll be your biggest supporter! besides all of the romantic stuff about homebirth, the outcomes are phenomenally better than if you birth in a hospital (obviously, high-risk and similar situations excepting). for as much as america spends on obstetrics, our ranking in all things maternal and infant is flat out disgusting and embarrassing. we need to have a "siobhan watches weird stuff" movie night... i have a great little flick about it.

i had a hellacious first birth and a not-necessarily-better second one. my two homebirths have been just phenomenal in comparison. having a devoted, supportive medical provider there with you the whole time can make SUCH a difference. instead of random nurses wandering in and out and changing shifts and instead of on-call docs, i was lucky enough to have two great women, with whom i'd established strong relationships, there to provide my care. they knew my desires and needs and we all trusted each other enough for them to let me lead the way in my care with their professional expertise to help me when needed.

but the other stuff really sold us on it, too. my mom said with elisabeth, "as much a proponent as i was for a hospital delivery, nothing seemed more natural than to be sharing a family lunch at home with siobhan and a new baby." it really is a great experience. furthermore, i think it has helped heal concerns and guilt i had over mallory and sioban's births.

anyway, i'm rambling. i'm glad you were there. :)

Siobhán said...

tack an, "a mere two hours later," onto my mom's quote.

Siobhán said...

hey, what's the name of the vegan mexican place? i dated a vegan guy who used to take me to a vegan mexican place somewhere, but i have never been able to remember what it was called. berek would dig it.

Clong said...

It was called Rancho's, it was out in North Park. They had non-vegan things as well.