{"id":178,"date":"2013-10-14T08:46:22","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T08:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/melissa.hiddenmoonfarm.com\/?p=178"},"modified":"2013-10-08T18:36:31","modified_gmt":"2013-10-08T18:36:31","slug":"twenty-five-amazing-birth-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/melissa.hiddenmoonfarm.com\/?p=178","title":{"rendered":"Twenty Five Amazing Birth Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"birthstories\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since Heron\u2019s birthday, I\u2019ve thought a lot about my labor and birth experience, which you can read about here<\/a>. Like many births, it didn\u2019t go as hoped, planned, or desired. Despite this, his birth was beautiful, awe- inspiring, mind-blowing, and powerful\u2014just like I had hoped, planned, and desired. Those things are inherent in new life coming into this world.<\/p>\n

Before becoming pregnant, I didn\u2019t know very much about labor and birth; I\u2019d be going into it blindfolded. In generations past, this likely wouldn\u2019t have been the case: I\u2019d have helped friends and relatives at births before becoming pregnant myself. I\u2019d know what I was getting into, at least a little bit.<\/p>\n

In an effort to lift the blindfold before<\/i> I went into labor, I started researching. At the start, I was confused by unexplained references made online to things like \u201cPitocin\u201d and \u201cpreeclampsia.\u201d I became the mad Googler, only to come up with references to even more terms that I was supposed to already know about. \u00a0So I googled these too, and the crazed cycle continued.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t do that to yourself. Even if you can figure out everything online, you\u2019ll feel like you\u2019re always missing something. Get yourself a good book that will lay out all the technical stuff for you. Read it, and then turn on the computer for the good stuff online. The birth stories.\u00a0 (Which you now understand, because you know all about continuous electronic fetal monitoring and pre-toxemia without resorting to mad Googling.)<\/p>\n

Books might help you technically prepare, but other women\u2019s accounts of their children\u2019s births will help prepare you emotionally. These birth stories didn\u2019t reveal to me how my<\/i> labor was going to go, but they helped show me the power and possibilities of birth.<\/p>\n

In an effort to share what is possible, I\u2019ve collected 25 different birth stories from 25 different blogs down below. Since you can\u2019t read them all in one sitting without birth story overload, I recommend that you bookmark this page and come back to it as your pregnancy progresses. I hope that you gain as much as I did from these courageous women who have shared their stories. There are a lot of stories out there, but here I\u2019ve included only ones that touched me emotionally in some way, and that I learned from.<\/p>\n

Without any further ado, here they are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 2 Plus 3 Makes 5<\/a>\u00a0One baby is difficult enough for me\u2014this woman has triplets, and two older children at home besides. No, I don\u2019t know how she has time to blog. Check out her story for a sweet picture of one triplet sucking on another triplet\u2019s fingers.<\/li>\n
  2. Anne Riley<\/a>\u00a0So, imagine going to the hospital, but they won\u2019t admit you. Not because you\u2019re not in active labor, but because they can\u2019t find your cervix. Anne Riley practically gives birth before being admitted, and she makes it all sound\u2026 well, hilarious. You know it wasn\u2019t this funny when it was actually happening.<\/li>\n
  3. A Belly for Me, a Baby for You<\/a> \u00a0Tiffany Burke, surrogate mother, gives birth to twins at 34 weeks. That sounds amazing in itself, but it\u2019s the details, humor, and pictures that makes this post what it is. Case In point, a picture of herself with a tupperware: What\u2019s in it? Amniotic fluid. So Tiffany can prove that her water really broke, she didn\u2019t just pee herself. \u00a0(\u201cI pee my pants ALL the time, I know the difference!\u201d)<\/li>\n
  4. A Bump and a Lump<\/a> \u00a0The best sound ever is a baby\u2019s first cry, especially for this mom, who is fighting cancer at the same time as she is pregnant.<\/li>\n
  5. Enjoying the Small Things<\/a> Once you read this birth story, you\u2019ll never forget it. This is the powerful story of Nella Cordelia, and one mother\u2019s honest and beautiful reaction when she realized her newborn had Down Syndrome.<\/li>\n
  6. The Excellent Adventure<\/a>\u00a0This is a feel-good birth story, about which the author writes \u201cThis was how it should be, for every woman, every where.\u201d This is where I first came across the idea that\u00a0\u201clabor is so the woman\u2019s spirit can journey across the sky to bring her baby\u2019s soul to earth,\u201d<\/strong> and after having experienced labor, I have to say that it feels true.<\/li>\n
  7. The Fix-Its<\/a> \u00a0This story could hardly be more different than mine\u2014I never had occasion to say \u201cThe baby is about to fall out.\u201d It\u2019s important (and great!) to know that 20 minutes of pushing is a possibility too.<\/li>\n
  8. The Healthy Ginger<\/a> \u00a0When Natasha Bell and her husband Mark decided to have a home birth, they kept it a secret from friends and family. If you\u2019re pregnant, you know why this is such a delicious start to the story: even complete strangers think they are entitled to give you pregnancy advice, and this couple just says\u2026 nope, thanks, I\u2019m not going to deal with all that. Haha! Take that! Seriously, though, this is a beautiful story, and a great one for non-pregnancy experts as Natasha takes the time to explain any medical terms she uses.<\/li>\n
  9. Hillsteading <\/a>This is one of my favorite birth stories, and it is so real. I love how she believed in her body\u2014this is something all women can do, going into labor. If you\u2019re an expecting mama, I recommend reading this story, as she writes a lot about how she got through the experience.<\/li>\n
  10. Hungry Hungry Hippie<\/a> A NICU story with a happy ending.<\/li>\n
  11. It\u2019s Just Laine<\/a> There\u2019s such a feeling of excitement when you go into labor, like you\u2019re a little kid (who can barely tell past, present, \u00a0and future apart) that has woken up to find that Santa has finally come. Forget Santa, it\u2019s the stork that\u2019s magic! The anticipation in Laine\u2019s story is joyous!<\/li>\n
  12. The Little Things We Do<\/a>\u00a0 Lauren\u2019s story is bad-ass, and she comes right out and says so. After her natural birth, Lauren writes, \u201cI picked Fern up out of the tub and looked her over and the first thing I said was: \u2018Wow!\u00a0 I did that!\u00a0 That’s bad ass!\u2019\u201d Three hours of pushing and a brow presentation? Yeah, that\u2019s bad-ass. One more thing: if you want your husband to say something like \u201cYou have never been sexier than you are right now – and I mean that.\u00a0 You just gave birth to our baby,\u201d at your birth, give him a hint and have him read this story too.<\/li>\n
  13. Lovely Morning<\/a> \u00a0 I really want to tell you what makes this birth special, but I can\u2019t, \u2018cause that would ruin it. I know, you\u2019re thinking \u201cBirth story. Woman goes into labor. Baby is born. Where\u2019s the plot twist, again?\u201d But if you don\u2019t think \u201cWhoa, amazing!\u201d after you read this, then I doubt your reading comprehension abilities are up to snuff.<\/li>\n
  14. Marigold Road<\/a> Reading positive stories like this is immensely helpful and calming before going into labor, as they are a source of strength to draw on. Maybe your labor will be like this; maybe not. You can\u2019t know, but it\u2019s helpful to envision, no matter what the outcome.<\/li>\n
  15. Mighty Girl<\/a> \u00a0Every time I go to write about a birth story on this list, I want to say, \u201cI love this story. It\u2019s one of my favorites!\u201d So, yes, that\u2019s true (again!), but the bonus for this story is that it\u2019s also told with a lot of humor. So, if you\u2019ve just had a C-section and laughing hurts, you might want to hold off for a couple of weeks.<\/li>\n
  16. More Like Mary ~ More Like Me<\/a> \u00a0Kaitlin\u2019s story about her son Paul\u2019s birth is a good reminder that things can be OK even when labor progresses very differently than planned. Kaitlin wanted a natural birth but ended up with Pitocin and an epidural. What I love is that she wasn\u2019t pressured into these things in the moment, but chosen by her\u2014and right for her. She says, \u201cI am DONE. I am NOT a martyr. I have NOTHING to prove!\u201d and does what she needs to do. This isn\u2019t an \u201cunnecessary intervention\u201d runaway train story\u2014it\u2019s a story of one strong mama.<\/li>\n
  17. Noah\u2019s Dad <\/a>\u00a0Uniquely from Dad\u2019s perspective, this is a story of the birth of a child with Down Syndrome.<\/li>\n
  18. Noelle Aloud<\/a> \u00a0Birth can have complications. I haven\u2019t included too many stories that showcase that, because I do believe that most birth is normal, and we should empower women to know that, but nevertheless, it\u2019s impossible not to have some worry when you are pregnant. How can we handle that? Noelle shows us just how strong we can be in labor.<\/li>\n
  19. Notes from a Ragamuffin<\/a> \u00a0Jordan\u2019s story about the birth of her daughter Penny is written from a very real place. I love how she is honest about labor denial, fear of not progressing, and what she is thinking as she gives birth. It\u2019s not all puppies and rainbows, but at the end, she turns to her husband and says, \u201cI could totally do this 4 or 5 more times.\u201d<\/li>\n
  20. NYC Running Mama <\/a>This is a nice story of having family present during the birth.<\/li>\n
  21. The Rebel Heart<\/a> While reading this, I kept thinking, \u201cIs this really happening?\u201d You know in your strangest pregnancy dreams\/nightmares you narrowly miss giving birth in a car and make it to the hospital only with the help of a police escort. In a foreign country. Since that\u2019s not going to actually happen to you, go ahead and live vicariously through Charlotte.<\/li>\n
  22. I Still Hate Pickles<\/a>\u00a0 Kirsten writes, \u201cEven if you don’t plan to have a C-section, it might be nice to know some of this stuff, because birth generally goes different ways than what we expect or even hope.\u201d Since I didn\u2019t want a C-section, I didn\u2019t read as many C-section stories, but I\u2019m glad I did read some! I very much identify with Kirsten when she wraps up her blog post saying, \u201cBirth stories can be great or awful, or somewhere in between. The baby is always worth it in the end, but that doesn’t mean you can toss out a horrible experience, and many women even experience post-traumatic stress. Know that birth matters, to you and your baby, beyond just having a healthy baby.<\/strong>\u201d On a side note, I really wish that I had delivered at a hospital that allowed immediate skin-to-skin contact in the operating room, the way this one did. Definitely look into that, even if you think a C-section will never happen to you!<\/li>\n
  23. The Spohrs are Multiplying<\/a> \u00a0Another positive C-section story, this one from Dad\u2019s perspective.<\/li>\n
  24. They All Call Me Mom<\/a>\u00a0The home birth story of a big baby from a big family. These pictures don’t lie about what birth is like.<\/li>\n
  25. Wood Turtle<\/a> \u00a0 Here\u2019s an excerpt of this beautiful birth story: \u00a0\u201cIt is amazing to me to see what I am physically capable of, how well I know my body, and that I was blessed to have an informed and empowered birth experience.\u201d Reading this story will put you on the path to having the same.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What about you? Do you have a story that this list really should include? Let me know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Since Heron\u2019s birthday, I\u2019ve thought a lot about my labor and birth experience, which you can read about here. Like …<\/p>\n

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