Naomi is two!

It is hard to believe that Naomi is very close to being two. We plan to go out later to celebrate and I'll post two-year-old pictures at that time. This is her birth picture. :) She is probably thirty minutes out of the womb in this shot..  and in denial about everything. She rarely cried at all those first two weeks. We spent the first week almost entirely in bed for our 'babymoon' with nursing and recovering from birth. All moms deserve a babymoon! I missed that with most of our others due to moving, prematurity, or bilirubin checks. Naomi's birth was about as perfect as they come...

* She basically slept her way into this world, born into a large tub of warm water.

* Her pregnancy was the longest I'd experienced, which I credit to the midwife's nutritional information and fish oil. 

* Her birth was unrushed and peaceful. Friends came over (with their children) and it was seen as a normal and natural event.

* I birthed during the day, which was my dream for this pregnancy. I could see the flowering dogwood out the bedroom window... it's flowering now and it's such a nice reminder of that time.

* We ate, drank, and walked in the country while letting labor get going.

* At around 5-6cm I was in the kitchen helping to make grilled cheese for the children. Not because I had to, but because it felt good to be in my kitchen doing normal things. 

* My birth was empowering, not because it was natural, but mainly because it was -normal-. My home, my surroundings, my friends, my family, a normal day with a miraculous happening. 

The verse I kept in mind during my labor and birth:

"Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert." - Isaiah 43:19