birth and parenting series
This is our 23rd guest post in the Birth & Parenting Series! The other 22 guest writers’ stories may be found here. Contact me (wholeparenting@gmail.com) anytime if you’d like to share your story of your child’s arrival, or a parenting perspective. This girlfriend shares her story of her harrowing birth experience of her sweet daughter. My heart races along as I read it and is filled with relief and joy at the ending. I hope you find the beauty in her story as well. I feel blessed to be able to share it! She blogs over at Mom of My Word–follow her and hear her journey. —- One year ago, the Lord gave us the gift of sweet Cadence. When I first began to write this story, I asked myself the crazy question, “Is it silly to ask God to bring suffering into our lives because it helps us see him more?” After experiencing the joys that rocked my world one year ago, I hope to be able to say, in the words of Dr. John Piper, “Bring it on.” Two weeks before Cadence was born, we sat in the sanctuary of Bethlehem Baptist Church to hear Jason Meyer, our new Pastor for Preaching & Vision, describe the surprising road that led him to what was initially an undesired role. As he challenged what God ordained to be his path to become our new pastor, God challenged him: “What if this is how you get more of me?” We remembered…
Read More
This is part 10 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Part 1 (Thoughts From a Mother of Four) is here, part 2 (Mother of Seven Shares Her Empowering Birth Stories) is here, part 3 (First-Time Mother of Twins) is here, part 4 (How First-Time Parents Braved a Placental Abruption) is here, part 5 (Childbirth Collective Doula Film Premiere) is here, part 6 (First-Time Mama Bravely Faces Transverse Baby & C-Section) is here, part 7 (Homeschooling Mama Shares Her Path to Schooling) is here, part 8 (First-Time Papa’s Perspective on Birth Center Birth) is here, and part 9 (Mama’s First-Time Birth and Faith in Women’s Bodies) is here. My sister, Molly W, chose to plan for an unmedicated birth in a metropolitan area where everything about birth was very medicated. She, her husband, and her doula worked hard to make her birth experience the best it could be–and as medicine-free as possible. Talk about determination! The ending is a cliff-hanger, but I promise to give you the rest of the story next week. How Little V Came into This World My pregnancy made its grand finale in the sweltering months of August in New York City. I had ceased taking the train to work at that point, indulging in the luxury of the local Mexican car service. At two weeks to go, I left work a little early on a Friday, feeling out of sorts. I had been having lots of benign contractions in the weeks leading up and I could not stand sitting at a desk another minute. Of course,…
Read More
This is part 9 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Part 1 (Thoughts From a Mother of Four) is here, part 2 (Mother of Seven Shares Her Empowering Birth Stories) is here, part 3 (First-Time Mother of Twins) is here, part 4 (How First-Time Parents Braved a Placental Abruption) is here, part 5 (Childbirth Collective Doula Film Premiere) is here, part 6 (First-Time Mama Bravely Faces Transverse Baby & C-Section) is here, part 7 (Homeschooling Mama Shares Her Path to Schooling) is here, and part 8 (First-Time Papa’s Perspective on Birth Center Birth) is here. This first-time mama went through more medical interventions than she had planned, but she stuck with her desire to use as little medical aid as possible and endured terrific and tough pushing to meet her baby girl! Talk about strong. Even with her daughter needing a little extra help to get her breath going, our author has faith in birth process and her daughter’s determination. I wonder where the little sweetie gets that from? A beautiful story to be shared by a sensitive and attuned mother. Before I give my story, I would like to say that a woman’s body is amazing and strong. Everyone is unique and has an amazing birth story. Whether a woman has a c-section, water birth, home birth or some other process, she produces a miracle and accomplishes something extraordinary. I had two goals, besides the most important one of having a healthy baby, for delivery. I wanted a natural, unmedicated birth and a vaginal delivery. Unfortunately, when…
Read More
This is part 8 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Part 1 (Thoughts From a Mother of Four) is here, part 2 (Mother of Seven Shares Her Empowering Birth Stories) is here, part 3 (First-Time Mother of Twins) is here, part 4 (How First-Time Parents Braved a Placental Abruption) is here, part 5 (Childbirth Collective Doula Film Premiere) is here, part 6 (First-Time Mama Bravely Faces Transverse Baby & C-Section) is here, and part 7 (Homeschooling Mama Shares Her Path to Schooling) is here. For the first time, we have the privilege of hearing about birth from the father’s perspective. This dad helped his wife welcome their little girl into the world at a local birth center. His story shows how crucial partnership and support are through this beautiful and difficult process of birth. Amazing parents! Amazing support from the birth center. And a beautiful little girl at the end of it all. This article was first printed on the website, Family Dinner. Our baby, Vera, was born on December 28th, 2010 at the Morning Star Birth Center in St Louis Park, Minnesota. It was by far the most profound and amazing experience of my life; I now understand purpose, responsibility, and meaning in ways I never knew possible! Since becoming a father I’ve had a number of thoughts I’d like to express on the subject of birth centers, Morning Star Birth Center, the midwives who work there, and the whole concept of an out-of-hospital birth. To be honest I didn’t know what to expect when my wife suggested…
Read More
This is part 7 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Part 1 (Thoughts From a Mother of Four) is here, part 2 (Mother of Seven Shares Her Empowering Birth Stories) is here, part 3 (First-Time Mother of Twins) is here, part 4 (How First-Time Parents Braved a Placental Abruption) is here, part 5 (Childbirth Collective Doula Film Premiere) is here, and part 6 (First-Time Mama Bravely Faces Transverse Baby & C-Section) is here. This mother of five chose homeschooling after a brief stint for her eldest daughter in traditional schooling. She shares how she got there, why she chose that as best for her family, and what they do during the day. It’s inspirational! What a family. She also runs the website Diapeepees about her young son with diabetes. See link here. She says she’s a novice, but she’s pushing pro in my world! Homeschooling: A Novice’s Perspective. Homeschooling. An idea that is simultaneously intriguing and intimidating to a young mother. As my daughter approached school age, I remember telling everyone we were heading in the homeschool direction. But at the last minute, I fell for a Catholic school girl uniform and sent her off to kindergarten. It was easier that way, quite a relief in fact. Homeschooling was a grand idea, but I had no idea how to actually implement it. Then we moved. The new Catholic school was expensive. I wasn’t sure I wanted my daughter in school anymore anyway. She was only on the verge of second grade then, but I was already worried…
Read More