Margaret’s birth through pictures

And words too, of course, because I can’t leave well enough alone and let the pictures speak for themselves.  :)

Some of the labor/birth pictures were taken by Matt, but most were shot by my fabulous friend Katie, who was assisting my midwife (and also grabbing up my camera to snap things along the way). I am eternally grateful for that!

I left out the… well… more graphic images, but this is a post about birth, so you have been warned if I missed editing something that’s a little too much information.

First up we have a couple of pictures from the day before she was born. When I woke up Saturday morning NOT in labor… again… I was kind of a hot mess.  So I took a selfie.

And then I stayed in bed for awhile.

And eventually I had an emotional shift and I felt a ton better and at peace (the massage I got may have had something to do with that too!). So I took another selfie.

Then this kid woke up in the middle of the night for his last “youngest child” snuggles.

I’m going to try and refrain from retelling the story I already told when I blogged the birth a few weeks ago; I’m just planning to caption the photos when needed.

Labor started “officially” when I was laying on the couch (because Thomas was in my bed), but around 9:30 I headed to my room.  It was still warm out from a nasty warm front, so the a/c was on and sometimes the ceiling fan. I remember we had to turn off the a/c before Margaret was born to get the house back to a normal human temperature. :)
I love my Christmas tree sheets. :)

 Joanna was there for all of it, and her presence was calming to me.

 There’s Katie!

Had to go to the bathroom, couldn’t make it back without stopping. Pretty floor tile though, eh? :)

Matt spent a lot of time putting pressure on my lower back. He was pretty sore the next day.

Holding Joanna’s hands:

When things got kind of hairy, Joanna went to get a favorite stuffed animal and then snuggled into my closet to watch. I’m so proud of her.

This was right before Margaret was born. It hurt. 

 And then right after – much better!

While I went to take a shower, Matt remade the bed, and Joanna had her first babysitting job. :)

Back in my clean bed, nursing again. It’s Margaret’s favorite thing. (Have I mentioned how incredibly awesome it was to be in my bed in my room in my house right after giving birth? Because it was really fabulous.)

Joanna and Sallie, resting after their hard work. I sure had some awesome birth support this go around!