Thursday, May 16, 2013

Birth

    Eleanor Ruth, was born when it was dark outside.  I'd never had a baby at night.  I tell my babies not to come at night, because I don't like the dark.  Rue did not listen, and I did not feel like arguing with her once she made it known she was ready.  Annie, I argued with, not intentionally, but it was dark and I was scared.  Annie was my first.  We argued for a total of 15 hours, and I exhausted myself and her.   So I didn't fight Rue, I thought about it for a while.  Then I began to feel that exhaustion, that only comes during birth, creeping up on me after only a few hours.   It's amazing how quickly the physical memories come flooding in.  Nothing in life feels like birth.  There is no equivalent of pain or joy. So I gave up waiting on the sun to rise, and she was born at 5 am.
    I used to wonder if there is any meaning to a child born at night verses the day.  Will they sleep better or worse, will they be difficult or easy?   Does an easy birth signify an easy child?   I've decided none of it matters.  God has formed this child the way he sees fit, the way he wants her to be, and to arrive on his schedule (oh the never ending struggle of surrender). I still like having my babies during the day.
Rue's birth was relatively quick, to which I credit being in better health.  With each birth I get better at nutrition and preparing my body for birth.  I walk further and further away from what doctors tell me is right and I feel stronger with each step.  Conventional nutrition and supplements have never helped me in the past and with this pregnancy I forsook them altogether.  I threw out the prenatal vitamins, the fortified orange juice, the rules on dairy and seafood.  I embraced my herbs and vegetable juices.  I dined on raw oysters, eggs and liver (yes all raw).  And in return I felt stronger, healthier and less plagued by the physical strains of pregnancy.
     My hope is that all this will give Rue a better start in life.  A healthier beginning then I was given.
So far she's doing great.  Rolling over and causing trouble for me already.  Here's hoping this one doesn't start crawling at 5 months.  It doesn't look good, but maybe, just maybe she will take pity on me.  Unlike her older sisters who thought crawling at 5 months was cute and walking at 9 months was a great idea. 
Rue's birth was Jon's first.  Yes, we have three kids now, but we didn't know each other when I had Annie and he went for a walk around the block when Elsie was born.  So Rue was his first birth.  Yes, I now have a handful of birth videos with Jon's running commentary going on in the background.  And yes, he loves to show them to people.  It got a little weird when he started showing them to people outside our family, and they are now on lock down.

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