10. Sunrise. So many mothers labor through a dark night and give birth when the sun comes up or soon after. The metaphors are obvious.
9. Packing up my car after the birth is over. May sound strange but the energy in a home where birth has just taken place is intense. Walking outside to put my gear in the car afterwards fills me with relief and gratitude.
8. Sleeping after a long birth. I’m not a deep sleeper unless I’ve been sleep deprived for a while so it’s refreshing to have 4 hours of deep, dreamless sleep. And for some reason, 4 hours is all I can do. After that I wake up and replay the recent birth in my head and go about my day in a dreamy state.
7. Hammocks. At a recent birth mom laid in the hammock for a while and then she walked around the yard and I laid in the hammock for a while. It was sunny and cool (rare for July) and a nice respite.
6. Sharing a meal with the family. If labor occurs during a meal time, and the birth is not imminent, we sit down together to a meal where there’s an air of excitement and anticipation. I get to observe true family dynamics and always feel blessed to be included. Recently, a mom having baby #5 was in early labor during dinner. Dad cooked and the 4 older children (and a cousin) and mom and I sat around the table, joined hands, sang a prayer, and had fabulous ravioli! The children joked and ate oblivious to mom’s contractions between bites. Then they jumped up to get into their bathing suits and go for a quick swim before the neighborhood pool closed. Their tiny sister was born in a different pool after they were all asleep.
5. Placenta jokes!
4. Pets at birth. Dogs are my favorite (a huge lab almost jumped in the mom’s birth pool once–Dad caught him just in time!), but cats are especially tuned in to the event.
3. Music at birth. It’s interesting to hear what different families choose to play. One exception was a birth where a recording of howling wolves was played ALL night long. It was cool for about 30 minutes but after ALL NIGHT howling I was ready to scream.
2. Dads who cry.
1. When the baby comes out!