A Mom, a Blog, and the Life In-Between

Monday, September 11, 2006

Birth Day

(Part one)

I somehow made my way down to the birthing stool at the foot of the bed and squatted on it, with Ben behind me to support my body. I was anxious, in pain, and very badly wanting to push.

As Betty and Lisa accomodated themselves, I saw Lisa pull out a flashlight. My room was dimly lit, as it was my preference, and they weren't about to change that. Still, they needed light to look up, um, me, so they could see what was going on in there. Lisa turned the flashlight on and examined me. To me, the baby felt like he was right there, so I asked her, "Do you see anything?" Her response - "Just your chooch," was the funniest moment of the night and proved to be a much-needed tension breaker. It's Ben's favorite moment of the whole experience.

So I began to push and breathe and push and breathe, and this kid of mine was just taking forever to make his way through. I kept saying things like, "Come on, Max, we're ready for you. We want to meet you so badly. It's o.k., baby, you can do this and we're going to be here for you." When suddenly - holy fuck in all that is fucking painful in this world, I'm feeling the most pain I've felt in my entire life, and it feels like my insides are being ripped out of me. And with that, my son's head has come through, and Betty's holding a mirror there, and I see a tiny head covered in black hair. And that was all I needed - with that amazing bit of inspiration, I take a deep breath, push, and there slid out the rest of him.

And just like that, he was in my arms and I was holding him, crying, laughing and covering him with kisses.

It was 1:40 a.m. on September 11, 2005. I was a mother, holding this tiny, wonderful boy in my hands. And I could think of no better day than this one to usher new life into this world.

Labels: babies, baby, birth, giving birth, labor, pregnancy

Posted by Tere @ 9/11/2006 | Permalink |

5 Comments

Freckle Face Girl posted at 9/11/2006 8:53 AM
That is the best 9-11 tribute I have read! :) Happy First Birthday!

AmandaDufau posted at 9/11/2006 10:29 AM
Awesome post, T.
Happy birthday, Max!!

Manola Blablablanik posted at 9/11/2006 4:02 PM
Wow, I was on the edge of my seat reading this and the last post!!!!

Happy birthday to that beautiful boy and congratulations to the brave mommy and supportive daddy!!!

Pop Culture Diva posted at 9/11/2006 4:26 PM
I am woman hear me roar. You should be proud of yourself. Look at that gorgeous baby. Happy Birthday Max.

persephone posted at 9/26/2007 12:03 PM
WOW! What a head of hair!!!!