Guest Post Series - My Birth Story

My Birth Story

by,

Barbara Clemont - Ferrand of the blog Footprints in the Sand 

 The Survival of an American Wife and Mother in France

When my first son was born I took the time to write down all of those details that I didn’t want to forget – time we arrived at the hospital, time of birth, length, weight – all those things that seem important at the time.  I never took the time, however, to write down the emotion of the day. 

In a way it all still seems like a blur, even two year later.  My son decided to make his arrival a month before his due date.   I had no idea I was in labor and thankfully my husband urged us to rush to the hospital or I might have given birth at home.

The moment the midwife informed me that the baby would be arriving that day, fear kicked in.  Not the fear of having a baby, but the fear about having a healthy baby. All around us the nurses were preparing for the worst – incubators and the like.  They were very honest that the baby was premature and he might be born with complications.  This was certainly not what an emotional woman in labor needed to hear.

After the epidural calmed my physical pain, everyone in the room disappeared to let my husband and I get some rest.  In those moments of calm my husband sat next to me holding my hand.  This was definitely not how either of us had expected this experience to happen.

In those moments I realized that it would be the last time that it would ever be just the two of us.  As I closed my eyes I could hear the machine slowly humming the baby’s heart rate.  The sound was so rhythmic and warm, bringing us reassurance that we would be able to get through it.

After a few hours the doctors and nurses were back in the room guiding me through the birthing process.  Through it all, my husband’s hand never left mine.  And in a matter of minutes our son, Nathan, was born. 

Before I could lay eyes on our son, I turned to my husband who had tears in his eyes.  The love for his son was instantaneous and I suddenly began to cry.  I had so much love for the moment; so much love for my husband, for my son.

After a few moments they placed my son on my chest, and I was flooded.  In one instant I had become a mother; we had become a family.

Looking back now, I wouldn’t change a thing; the magical moment of being just two people and suddenly becoming three.  The notion of family suddenly changed and we had all of the family we could have ever needed in that room.

To hear more from Barbara check out her blog Footprints in the Sand, Facebook Page, and follow her on Pinterest  and Twitter

If you are interested in sharing a birth or wedding story with us, please contact kerry (at) Bellflowerbooks (dot) com