A special shout-out to my friend, fellow homeschooling mom, and professional photographer, Hope Mabry, who took some lovely newborn photographs of A! www.hopemabryphotography.com
Our homebirthing experience definitely took homeschooling to a whole new level. Beyond how amazing the experience was in and of itself and how empowering and calm it was to have a baby at home without the routine policies and interventions found in hospital births, it was also a wonderful learning experience for M.
She enjoyed my prenatal midwife appointments where the midwife actively involved her in listening to the baby's heartbeat and allowed her to play with her "tools." We read wonderful books on homebirthing, my favorite being "Welcome With Love," by Jenni Overend which helped M to process and prepare for the sights and sounds of a natural birth. While she didn't witness the birth, she was very calm playing with Daddy in her room while my labor intensified and when she heard me make stronger noises simply said, "oh that just means mama's getting ready to wiggle the baby out!" After A's arrival, M cut the cord and we all snuggled into bed and welcomed family members who took great care of all of us. Overall, it was an incredible experience for the whole family!
Here is the link to my full homebirth story.
