"Meet your new brother..."

November 15, 2007 Jacquie Munro

I just melted when I saw this photo of a client with her two sons. It brings back memories of her youngest son's birth, at home, in the heat of a summer night, the fan blowing hot air around the room, the cool sound of the water in the tub, the midwife fanning herself, the speed with which this little one came... I believe the birth was everything that they could have hoped for. Complete joy.

But, what this photo also brings to mind are the many phone calls and emails I receive from clients who have just had their second baby...whose births were so beautiful, but are now reeling from how busy life has become, how challenging it is to manage two children, how guilty they feel at giving less than 100% to their firstborn child, how it tears at their hearts when their firstborn just wants grandma or daddy, "NOT mummy!"

“There’s snow! That means it’s winter, so the baby must be coming!”

November 29, 2005 Jacquie Munro

...to paraphrase an excited older sibling (age 4) this morning...

Her logic worked so well. Mummy and daddy have said for 9 months that the baby will come in the winter. It snows in the winter. Today it is snowing. Therefore, the baby must be coming today.

And the baby came. We drove through snowy streets to the hospital. What joy to find that my client, on arrival, had already surpassed her last labour’s final dilation! What a triumph for her to labour without intervention or medications (other than nitrous oxide gas - which doesn’t count, right?) and birth a glorious 9lb 1oz baby girl after only an hour of pushing.

This VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) was the talk of the hospital today. Congratulations!

“Wow! If you had forceps last time, the next one will just FALL OUT!” (or, crazy predictions and expectations about second births)

September 15, 2005 Jacquie Munro

I’ve attended so many second births recently, and I have 8 previous clients pregnant at the moment. So, I wanted to convey some of the joy and excitement of working with these second-time clients. I also wanted to talk about predictions and expectations surrounding second births.

So, today, for inspiration, I called a very special client whose little one is now about 18 months old. She picked up the phone and we both started grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve been thinking about you all this week!” she laughed. That’s the joy borne out of spending such an intense and sacred time together during her labour in 2004.