Dec 20 2012
By Julie Satow at 3:02 pm
Forgive me a few minutes to vent about doulas, those crunchier-than-thou pregnancy helpers that are as necessary now to the Park Slope set as a baby sling or Babycook steamer.
But I’m pulling the Boppy pillow from under those mommy helpers. In my house, they are don’tulas.
I have hired two doulas in my life–one for each pregnancy. But for all their talk of the beauty of birth and the exhilaration of labor (not to mention their $1500 fees), neither was present for the birth of my children.
Let me explain: Read the rest of this entry →
Sep 12 2012
By Tamara Reese at 2:20 pm
Here’s a beautiful slideshow made by contributing editor Tamara Reese of her second child’s birth. Read below for the full story.
I woke to my toddler calling for me over the monitor at 9 a.m. the morning of August 27th. I quickly glanced at the calendar and whispered a silent “thank you” for making it to 39 weeks.
As I waddled to the bathroom, I noticed the back pain was a little more intense than the day before and I had clearly lost my mucus plug. We had a park play date scheduled and as I brushed my teeth, I had a vivid flash of giving birth in a pile of mulch next to the curly slide. I decided to call my doula. We were on the phone for 20 minutes, and by the end of the conversation she said, “No park. You need to call your husband to come home, get someone to take your son, and head to the hospital.” I told her I didn’t want to assemble the troops for a false alarm and she said, “Since we’ve been talking you’ve had a contraction every two minutes. It’s better to be at the hospital at this point.”
It was 10 a.m. Read the rest of this entry →
Aug 14 2012
By Tara Filowitz Arrey at 10:27 am
Welcome to the world, Charlotte Leona! We’re wishing Kveller contributer Tara Filowitz Arrey a huge mazel tov on the birth of her first child on August 1st. Read below for her birth story, which happened quite unexpectedly at 34 weeks:
In my last post (when I was 33 weeks pregnant) I said, “There’s something so ken ayina hora about having everything all set to go before we find out if [the baby is] alive and healthy. My Mom likes to tell me that my father’s mother (Grandma Carol) wouldn’t even acknowledge my mother’s pregnancy, even in the ninth month, just in case.” Well, there was definitely something to all of that! Despite having a blissful, super-routine, super-normal pregnancy, everything changed dramatically in week 34… Read the rest of this entry →
Jul 16 2012
By Tzipporah La Fianza at 2:45 pm
With all those posts about epidurals last week, I just had to respond with my own.
I was an epidural girl at one point in my life–so I very much relate to those who prefer them. In fact, at my first birth, I had no real plan for my birth except to get that epidural ASAP. And I did. And it was wonderful! I was being induced and after trying to make it through the unbearable contractions for hours while they pumped me full of pitocin that epidural was a God-send! Read the rest of this entry →
Jul 13 2012
By Amy Deutsch at 12:39 pm
When I saw Jordana Horn’s piece about epidurals come up in my Google Reader yesterday, I had to read it. After all, I’d just given birth to my second child six weeks ago and have some strong feelings about epidurals. Against them, that is. Let me start by saying I really, truly believe that birth is an individual experience, and I want each woman to make the decision that is right for her. So I totally support Jordana’s decision to have an epidural. And another one. And another one. And probably another one at the end of her current pregnancy. But that wasn’t what I wanted. Read the rest of this entry →
Jun 26 2012
By Carla Naumburg at 1:44 pm
My baby is 2 years old today.
Yet I have been a parent of two for almost three years. From the moment we transferred that second embryo into my artificially-enhanced womb, I become a mother of two, constantly concerned with the health and safety of both of my daughters. My experience of parenting went from the relatively simple (but rarely easy) focus on one tiny little being to an unpredictable reality of constantly shifting attention, competing demands, difficult choices, and unmet needs (often my own). It went from mostly manageable to complete mayhem. Read the rest of this entry →
Jun 21 2012
By Tamara Reese at 2:10 pm
The NY Times–a little late to the game–has identified the birth photography trend. Apparently, this is breaking news, yet I’ve seen pictures posted on Facebook of almost every little family I know expanding. No blood. No vaginas. No nudity. In actuality, I think the only news worthy part is that “birth photography” has become yet another thing for vendors to capitalize on as expectant parents are already stone-faced looking through the endless aisles of a certain baby super store. Read the rest of this entry →
Feb 20 2012
By Cara Paiuk at 2:56 pm
With Mayim’s book about attachment parenting coming out soon, I have been reflecting on my own mother’s experience. She has kindly agreed to let me write about her ordeal and I want to thank her for allowing me to share her story. (Please note that my interpretation of the events and the conclusions I have drawn are entirely my own). Read the rest of this entry →
Nov 9 2010
By Molly Tolsky at 3:09 pm
We at Kveller are very excited today to announce our very first contest giveaway! Here’s the scoop:
Like a snowflake, no two birth experiences are alike. Unlike a snowflake, birth experiences–with all their emotions and surprises, tears and laughter, pains and joys–make for some mighty interesting stories. That’s why we’re asking you, kind readers, to send us your own birth story. Feel free to get as creative as you want and tell the story in whichever way you like. Our only guidelines are that your entry should be no longer than 1000 words, and the story should indeed be your true birth story–save those sci-fi alien unicorn births for next time, folks!
And since a contest wouldn’t be a contest without a prize, the writer of our favorite birth story will receive:
1. A copy of the awesomely fun Macaroons’ CD, Let’s Go Coconuts. For further proof of why you want this prize, see here.
2. Your story published on Kveller! That’s right, fame and fortune.
Please send your birth stories to info@kveller.com by a week from today, November 16th. Looking forward to reading your stories!
