Just a quick note to mention, for those of you who like birth stories, that I’ve added the stories of the birth of C. (32 hours!) and A. (about 3 hours).

Especially when I was pregnant, and even now that I’m not planning to birth any more babes, I love reading birth stories. They can be so moving; and every one is different.  Wondrous, icky, full of emotion.

I was tagged by Stacie to describe what a real mom does.

Real moms do lots of gross stuff. For one thing, having a baby is pretty gross in the first place. There’s that 9 month training period where you’re waiting for a baby to come out from a rather personal space… While you’re waiting for birth to happen, you get to enjoy many fringe benefits like swollen ankles, constipation, crying and eating binges, emotional upheaval, workplace discrimination… finally the day comes when your baby is going to be born and you may get to have the opportunity to poop in front of a team of doctors and nurses; puke all over the place; soak a midwife with amniotic fluid; and subject yourself to all kinds of pains and discomforts, medical procedures and more.

By the time you’re through this ordeal, you get to experience the shocking realization that you are personally responsible for the health, safety and happiness of a tiny and completely vulnerable human being. Read the rest of this entry »