On Becoming a Mom, from his perspective

My oldest son was born a few weeks after Mother’s Day, 14 years ago. My husband was inspired to buy a journal after he saw our baby on ultrasound when I was 21 weeks along. The next entry was made in June when our son was 10 days old. My husband never wrote in the journal again, but I read this every year. Here is what he wrote, as if speaking to our first son, about my becoming a mom.

"Okay, you have arrived. I am sitting in my easy chair watching you in your swing. You are 10 days old. The past week has been a real adjustment and a beautiful experience. Let me get you caught up.

At 2:30 a.m. on June 1 your mother heard you knocking. Her water broke. We were not sure if this was the real McCoy or not. We had taken all the classes and read all the books but were in shock that that you were on your way, 11 days before your due date. We didn’t know at this point if you were a boy or a girl. Your mother’s contractions were 10 minutes apart. Very quickly they changed to 5 minutes apart. At 4:30 a.m. I was packing and preparing bags and cleaning house. Preparing for your arrival. Then your mother’s contractions stayed at 5 minutes for a long time. I went back to sleep. Then I went shopping for groceries. Your mother took baths, wrote down her contraction times, breathed deeply with those long yoga exhales, and walked around the neighborhood.

At 2:30 p.m. she called the midwife and said now it was time to go to the hospital. The contractions were 2+ minutes and 3 minutes. You would have never known this by looking at your mother. She was very calm and focused. When we walked into the hospital, no one who worked there thought your mother was ready to have a baby. She looked beautiful and calm. But in fact your mother was much further along than they had thought.

In the birthing room they put a heart monitor on your mother’s belly and we heard your heart calmly beating away. You were fine, your mother was fine and me, well other than some soreness from carrying the bags and AV equipment, I was fine. Your mother was preparing for birth and I set up the video. You can tell from watching it your birthday was calm and peaceful.

In telling you about your birthday I can’t help but tell you how wonderful your mom was. She was determined to birth you naturally with no medication. And she did. She wanted to be fully alert to welcome you into our world. Your mother did everything she could possibly do to be sure you arrived healthy and safe. She loves you more than you will ever know. As I look back at the video and see the love and concern and determination in your mother, I can’t help but think how lucky you are to have such a beautiful and caring mother. She is a very strong and gutsy woman and from your first day in the world you have had a guardian angel. Your mother."

To every woman who reads this, have a wonderful Mother’s Day, and hope it is filled with much love and happiness.