My friend Marlo here in New Orleans decided she wanted to have her baby at home -- partly out of her natural hippiness, partly because of her distrust of hospitals here in NO. As part of her decision to have a home birth, she invited several friends to be at the house when she gave birth. Reba and I were two of them. The following are pictures generously given to me by Nicholas Krebill, more affectionately known by the NO pack as Nico, who took far more pictures than these throughout the day's events. Thank you, Nico!
Marlo, two and a half weeks overdue, on the day she gave birth.
In the backyard
Relaxing in the kitchen
I was called by my friend Kim in the early afternoon of Sunday, 28 October. I could hardly believe I was finally getting THE CALL since we'd all been waiting on it for a month. Kim came to get me, and we arrived to Nico's wonderfully constructed ramp to get me in the house. I hung out in the kitchen until Kate (the dullah/midwife) told me M was asking for me. Reba and I went to her room and sat with her and her partner William through a couple contractions -- Reba actually leaped over my legs onto the bed to plaster herself against M.
This was my first birth, so I was completely unprepared for how I would physically react. As the contractions became more intense, the energy built and built inside me, even when I was in another room. Just before M gave birth, I was in the kitchen trying to ground the energy. Reba, ever the comforter, was making the rounds, putting her head in various laps between contractions, pacing during the contractions.
Suddenly, we all knew it was time. M had settled in the bathroom, so everyone crowded in the hallway outside, most everyone being able to see. Reba tried shoving her way into the bathroom and couldn't understand why I told her "no" and Kim pulled her back. All she knew was Aunt M was hurting and she had to get to her.
Because of the number of people in the hallway, neither Nico nor I could see into the bathroom -- but we could tell what was happening just by watching Kat.
The birth begins
Almost here
Welcome to the world!
That's when the surprise happened. All through her pregnancy, M was sure she was having a girl. Surprise!
Just after the birth
After moving to the bed, Grandma Mary (M's mom) looks on
Then later holds her new grandson
He wasn't as tiny as he looks here. He was 8 lbs, 4 oz a few days after the birth, so I'm guessing he was at least 8-1/2 at birth.
A few happy friend pics
Wendy and Rachel
Me, Laurie, Noah, Glen, and Kim
Kate, Kim, and Jayden
And Papa gives me my first up-close look
And last but not least from the birth day, my favorite pic of all
Poor guy went nameless for nearly a month while Mom, Dad, and Papa considered names. They finally settled on Cylis Ulysses Jude Walters.
Finally, here he is, at a month old, sleeping in Aunty Dawn's chair while Mama helps Aunty Dawn into bed.
3 comments:
Childbirth is such an amazing eperience! What a rush to see a baby enter the world! So beautiful!
I am glad to see Jude is making a comeback, great account and pictures but I have to say my first reaction was: LOOK at those STRETCH MARKS! and the second was distraction by the red head in the hallway who had the sort of facinated look I would have (not probably the cheering later more like "whew, glad she got him out!")
Jen -- It WAS a rush. A totally unexpected, wild, tons of energy rush.
Elizabeth -- We ALL said, "Holy c---, girl, look at your STRETCH MARKS!" She was shocked by her belly when she first saw the pics -- "No wonder you guys were so worried about me going overdue!" Kat was all into it, and her face was a perfect broadcast for what was happening.
Post a Comment