In addition to a lovely Easter weekend with family, friends and warm weather - a highlight was spending an afternoon celebrating Everette’s one-year birthday. As it had been exactly one year since I had seen the little guy (when I attended his home-birth as his mother’s doula), it was truly magical to have been brought together again.
Precisely 365 days prior, as I was ready to board the train to spend Easter with family in Long Island, I got the call that Wendee was in labor. I quickly made my way to the Brooklyn apartment and found the rhythm of labor with her, her partner and her visiting mother. A huge birthing tub had been purchased and set-up in advance, which became well-used during contractions. Within about four hours, the midwife arrived at the one-bedroom abode and Everette was safely born in record time.
This time, I had two weeks advance notice for the birthday party, and could therefore plan my trip to Long Island accordingly! We enjoyed the impressive hungry-caterpillar cake you see here, adult rum-punch, along with other delicious treats and the same famous home-made lasagna we devoured after his birth one year earlier.
This weekend allowed me to reflect a little bit on why I love working with women during this important transition…not because it is necessary, not because without me (or another doula or an acupuncturist or an herbalist or whomever) the process of birth wouldn’t happen healthfully on its own. But because this process is a ritual, and to be a part of honoring the sacred process that birth is, helps all of us connect to our own innate power within our community. Together, we can create a foundation of strength and support for future generations.
Every birth I attend is an honor. And when fesibly possible, every celebration thereafter is merely icing on the cake.
“Erin was amazing in helping me stay focused and gently guiding my husband and I as we worked through the labor” -Stacey
3 Comments
Well said. Amen to the power and realness that is birth.
I just love to hear a story like this one. Everette looks like he’s pretty happy with his first year and ready to meet his future with both hands.
So glad that you got to see him on his birthday. You should feel proud.
Dad
I’ve seen this story on your website before and it continues to make me smile. Your beauty shines through as you talk of the sacred process that is birth and a ritual that needs to be revered and maintained.