April 26th, 2019
21:44:06
Today is the third day with our son Prana.
He was born on April 24th at 1:11 pm. The morning of the 24th Greta started to feel some strong waves around 3:00 am. Around 4:15 she woke me up and said something like ‘I think the baby is coming’.
I looked out through the window to see the moon a dark shade of red. In my mind I thought this is a special holy kind of day. Greta asked me to start the fire to warm the house. There was a sense of ceremony for the entire day. Everything that I did was a prayer for the day to go well.
We called our midwife to tell her what was going on. She was sleeping when we called. When we told her that the waves were coming every 4-6 min she said ‘oh good, I’ll have a coffee and then head over’.
The waves became more intense and more frequent. For breakfast that morning we had a fruit salad with pear and banana. Greta got in the tub and had breakfast there. Again the entire day was a very sacred ceremony. There was some energy in the air. The energy was helping us. Helping us to have a baby this day.
I cleared my phone’s storage so I could take pictures. What surprised me was how easy it was to do things. For example I’d been wanting to clear my phone of it’s photos for about a year. Some photos just wouldn’t upload to my laptop. Well this day was different. I plugged my phone in, clicked import and done.
For the lunch I made chickpeas, baked potatoes and beets, and a coconut chia pudding with raisins and goji berries.
It’s hard to tell at what time all these things took place. Time seemed irrelevant and fast. What seemed like an hour was actually four. Our midwife and Greta have a really good connection which really helped to ease Greta when her rushes came. The midwife really brought a calming knowledgeable energy along with some spring water and essential oils. She massaged Greta and told her that everything that she was experiencing was normal. She made me feel calm too. It was really great to have a strong sister in the house with us.
Before baby was born, while Greta was having her rushes, she’d lean on me while I was on all fours in front of her so that when they came she could release a bit to save some energy. She made some sounds that I’d never heard her make before. I thought a few times that maybe we should tell our neighbor that we’re having a baby so she’d know everything was okay. But it all worked out.
The midwife and I switched positions, she got on all fours so that Greta could lean on her and I got ready to catch the babe. We all could feel when the rushes were coming. Greta’s body would start to vibrate a little at first and then stronger and stronger. I started to see baby’s head coming out on the rushes. The midwife said that while the head is coming there could be some burning and that it is natural but it’s temporary. It’s amazing how the body transforms itself to make way for new life. I could see the entire head coming out of Greta’s body. First the head came out looking towards me and then babe sorta slipped out completely and I caught babe and put him on the cushion we had to give birth on.
As soon as babe was on the cushion he made a noise and I knew then that he was breathing and he was okay. There was some blood coming out so I blocked babe’s mouth so no liquid would go in. Babe was moving, breathing and he looked really healthy. Everything seemed so natural. Cozy even. Here we were at home holding space to bring baby on in to the world.
After babe came we just looked at babe and laughed, cried. It’s a really powerful moment when you see your baby there in front of you for the first time. We hadn’t got an ultrasound so we didn’t know if babe was boy or girl and I’d happen to notice right away that babe was a boy. Again time seemed like not even a concept. My mind was completely present and in the moment. After babe and us got introduced we moved to cut the cord. I made a few square knots about two or three fingers distance from babes body. We cut the cord with scissors that Greta got for cutting her textiles. We first soaked the scissors in vodka then I cut that cord. It was an emotional moment for Greta. For almost a year her and babe were connected and now they would separate.
After that I sat with the babe and made him nice and cozy. Greta birthed the placenta. We made some prints of the placenta using some paper from my notebook and made some really cool art. Our midwife made one too. Everything seemed really good. We had a tea, took some photos and talked about about how smooth everything went. Then the midwife left to take the placenta to be dried and put into pills so Greta can eat it later.
We didn’t sleep till 3:00am that day. We stayed up just looking at each other and sharing all the first times we could.
So many people congratulated us and sent us their best wishes. Our midwife managed to take some really special photos right after birth and some I sent to family and friends.
The second day I made pancakes and we had a really good breakfast. We took it really easy all morning. For lunch we had some stew that was a mix of chickpeas and some potatoes and beets from the day before. After lunch I went to the store to get some more veggies and a car pump to pump our tire that had a little leak. I came home and then we just hung out again. Babe slept in-between us. Greta woke up every couple of hours to feed. Today for breakfast I made gooey oats with banana. For lunch I made beans and topped it with cheese, cream and tortillas. Manu called us to congratulate us.
Life is really busy with Prana. Constantly we are reading the signs that he shows. Right now we are connecting with one another, building our relationship for he will be here for the rest of our lives. He has a lot to teach us. We are growing as a family but also as individuals. Learning about ourselves and one another. How to work with one another. That’s it for now. I’m going to try to rest too. Love you