Magic in the Delivery Room - By Kayla Keen
My baby is six months old. He’s my third child and my last. On his half birthday, I found myself scrolling my camera roll, looking back on the six months of a family of five. I scrolled all the way to the pictures of the night he was born. Those pictures took me right back to the moment he entered the world. They took me back to the sweet nurse who helped me change positions while I labored. To my doctor who brushed my hair from my face and whispered in my ear that I could do it, before taking her place at my feet. To my husband who held my hand and allowed me to crush his with every contraction wracking my body. To my best friend who stood by his side at my head, telling me how strong I was. To the moment I finally got the go ahead from my doctor and I gave one mighty push and that beautiful eight pound baby was placed on my chest.
That moment is magic. The moment that baby is given to you and you’re met with the strongest sense of love you have ever experienced. The sigh of relief your body takes after the delivery. The chaos you know is happening around you- the hustle and bustle of the nurses, your husband hovering as he lays eyes on this life you created- but it feels as though it’s just you and your baby in the room. Their cry is the most amazing sound you ever heard, and your instincts take over, immediately shushing them and talking to them. It’s the first moment of the rest of your lives.
I cried when we left that hospital room. I’m finding nearly every day and with every milestone- big and small- how bittersweet the last baby is. I’ll never have that feeling again. I’ll never get to experience my own magic of delivery ever again. That’s a sadness I wasn’t prepared for, but now I know what those rooms hold. So when I walk into a delivery room to meet a new baby, I also know that I’m meeting a new mother- whether it’s her first baby or her third, with each child we are made new. One who experienced a moment as close to Heaven as we can get on Earth. I’ll ask to hold the baby, but I’ll hold that mama too. The birth of a new life is the scariest, most beautiful and magical thing in the world. There’s nothing as hard and as precious as those newborn days. So, when you visit a new mama, a new baby, a new family.. remember the magic that lies there in that room. Cherish them, love them, and don’t you dare burst the bubble of joy they’re floating on. 💛
