Photo by Avital Zemer
During my pregnancy, I felt as if I was anticipating and preparing for two very different things: labour and a baby. I was surprised by a few things in my labour, but I really feel I entered the experience with openness and curiosity. As a record of my experience (and somewhat out of appreciation for all the labour stories I read to prepare myself) I've finally finished putting together my labour story! Both Ze'ev and our doula, Gina, took pictures throughout the day (mostly in between contractions when they could spare a moment from hands-on support) and, although there are some images that I will probably never share with anyone who wasn't in the room, I really like the pictures and it's fun to have them complementing the narrative.
Of course, some people will have no desire to see even the pictures I feel comfortable sharing, so I've made two versions of the story: the G-rated version doesn't show any more skin than you'd see if I were wearing a bikini and doesn't mention any lady bits (like the v-word); the R-rated version (which is probably more like PG in today's world) has nipple shots and a slightly more colourful description of the events. Just email me with your version preference if you're interested in reading my labour story, culminating of course in the birth of Leo!
The top picture is of my finished "labour flags" which I asked friends and family in Edmonton to make me inspired by these ones. They used fabric paint and fabric appliqué to make the flags as above and then I sewed them together with homemade bias tape. Ze'ev and I hung them whwn I was in labour and I love them. They're actually still up although we plan to take them down - I'd like to keep them over Leo's change table for a while though to keep that good energy flowing.
