The following very short story was written for our birthing class. The assignment was "to express the moment of your baby's birth in a medium of your choice."
"The First Meal"
by Travis Leger
THE BEEPING, the orders, the shuffling - they all fade.
White latex gloves hand me a tiny person, no longer than my forearm, naked and feeling the air with its hands and legs like a swimmer underwater.
I bring the little girl to my chest and shade her eyes with my free hand. Her eyes, which have yet to open before this second, appear.
"Hey," I say.
"Hey," she says.
"How are you, little girl?"
As if still underwater, she wipes her eyes with the backs of her clenched fists.
"What just happened?" She turns her head away and then back. "I recognize your voice."
I can feel her heart beating against my arm, on my chest.
"I recognize your heartbeat," I say. "I used to listen to it."
She wipes her eyes again and then smacks her lips.
"I'm really craving. . . something. . . what is it?" she says.
"I think I know," I say. "Nurse, can you get us some fried chicken please?"
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
30 Weeks!
I have to say it is quite surreal to look at the above slideshow of transforming body. It's amazing. There's a child growing in there. My child. I can't wait to meet her. This miracle of life really IS a miracle!
My body has definitely been feeling the changes. Just in the past month or so. I have had quite a bit of pelvic pain lately, due to normal stretching, so that has been uncomfortable. When I don't sit up straight enough, a small part of my belly falls asleep. Just loses feeling, and it's really weird. And my ribs are gone, but sometimes they hurt anyway. Yoga is my savior. Walking helps, too. I cannot imagine how my body would be feeling if I hadn't been exercising.
Our little girl, who has a name but it's being kept secret, has been growing and changing, too. At somewhere around 3 pounds, I can feel her moving on both sides of my belly at once. The movement is awesome, and I wish I had xray vision to see what she's doing in there. Some women say, "Oh I felt her little foot/finger/head/butt/whatever" but to me a body part is a body part and I can't tell the difference.
What I have detected is hiccups. A few times a day, our little girl will get the hiccups. At first I thought it was just smaller, rhythmic movements. Then I thought, wow she's good to be moving in such perfect rhythm! Come to find out, they are hiccups! And they are so cute. Tiny little bumps inside my belly, and we wonder if she gets as frustrated with the hiccups as we adults do. To be honest, it's the first time I've really connected with her as a person-to-be. (Wow! She JUST started hiccuping!!!! Told you we had a connection.) Until the hiccups it's been hard to connect with what things are like for her in there - it's not like I remember my time in the womb and can relate. But, with the hiccups, it's something we both do. I hiccup. She hiccups. Thus the connection.
I love it. Despite the pain, it's amazing having her in my belly. And it's going to be even more amazing to meet her!
Hiccup!
My body has definitely been feeling the changes. Just in the past month or so. I have had quite a bit of pelvic pain lately, due to normal stretching, so that has been uncomfortable. When I don't sit up straight enough, a small part of my belly falls asleep. Just loses feeling, and it's really weird. And my ribs are gone, but sometimes they hurt anyway. Yoga is my savior. Walking helps, too. I cannot imagine how my body would be feeling if I hadn't been exercising.
Our little girl, who has a name but it's being kept secret, has been growing and changing, too. At somewhere around 3 pounds, I can feel her moving on both sides of my belly at once. The movement is awesome, and I wish I had xray vision to see what she's doing in there. Some women say, "Oh I felt her little foot/finger/head/butt/whatever" but to me a body part is a body part and I can't tell the difference.
What I have detected is hiccups. A few times a day, our little girl will get the hiccups. At first I thought it was just smaller, rhythmic movements. Then I thought, wow she's good to be moving in such perfect rhythm! Come to find out, they are hiccups! And they are so cute. Tiny little bumps inside my belly, and we wonder if she gets as frustrated with the hiccups as we adults do. To be honest, it's the first time I've really connected with her as a person-to-be. (Wow! She JUST started hiccuping!!!! Told you we had a connection.) Until the hiccups it's been hard to connect with what things are like for her in there - it's not like I remember my time in the womb and can relate. But, with the hiccups, it's something we both do. I hiccup. She hiccups. Thus the connection.
I love it. Despite the pain, it's amazing having her in my belly. And it's going to be even more amazing to meet her!
Hiccup!
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