New Life

Marcella June Guppy

A week ago today, had the honor of assisting my friend and her husband bring their little daughter into this world! It was amazing. I had been "on call" for over 3 weeks, as my friend was 3 weeks overdue. It was a bit stressful having to always plan ahead for the next 24 hours in anticipation of the "what if?" (Thanks Ru, Mom and Michelle, for being so flexible!) At 43 wks pregnant, it became apparent that she would need to be induced. When I got the call to come, I was so excited to pack up and help get that girl outta there!

I'm so proud of my friend and her husband for all the planning and preparation (including 10 weeks of classes) they did for a natural childbirth. It takes all of that and some serious resolve to pull through with a pitocin-induced natural labor. She and I both can attest to that as well as the fact that epidurals sound amazing!!! :)

Little Marcella took 26 hours to make her entrance, and by that time we were all a bit delusional. It took my breath away to watch new life being born. I was practically sobbing! I will say, though, that it served as some serious birth control for me... I'm really not in any hurry to repeat that process, and although I truly felt for my friend's pain, it certainly was nice to be the one watching instead of doing. All in all, the wonder of what a woman's body can do, no matter how it is done, is beyond amazing and it was an honor to be witness to such a life-changing, special event in my friends' lives. Thank you, friends!!