granny post number 4: waiting, waiting

if you’ve been following our story on twitter, you’ll know that my daughter’s baby still hasn’t arrived. we’re all in some sort of suspended state right now. she started labour 55 (fifty-five!!!!) hours ago. now, all of a sudden, no labour! grrrr! (but i’m grateful that we all got some sleep)

so i figured i’ll post some random stories/observations:

… really being aware of what community means. my friends from the vancouver bloggers meetup have sent all kinds of well-wishes. my daughter is surrounded by support people, including flora, a lovely student from the doula school at the university of british columbia. it takes a village to birth a child.

… the desire of all of us to contribute to my daughter’s, her partner’s and the baby’s well-being. heart-warming.

… at one point between contractions, my daughter said that while in the contractions, she felt connected to all the other women “over millions of years – or thousands, depending on your philosophy” who were giving birth. “and animals, too,” i said. so we talked about elephant midwives. (“depending on your philosophy” – she likes giving little nods to creationists).

… making my daughter comfortable made me think of an earlier about choice and zen. such a relief brought on by small comfort measures like the right amount of ice in the water, or taking her socks off when her feet got too hot. when we chase after small pleasures during “normal” times, is there some part of our brain that remembers how big of a difference these small pleasures can bring during times of stress, and we’re hoping for the same sort of relief? material for another post.

… yeah, so – no labour right now. what’s that all about? it’s all about the baby taking its own time. we don’t have control over it. “nature takes its course” – a cliche, and so true!

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