My mom always said she loved giving birth, and she’d do it over and over again. Each time she said that, I thought she was crazy.
Giving birth is scary. Giving birth is painful. Giving birth is messy.
Eighteen hours of labor, one epidural, two and a half hours of pushing, an episiotomy—that’s what I went through. My husband, nurses, and doctors (yes, doctors because I labored through three shift changes) were wonderful.
RELATED: To the Mom With the Traumatic Birth Experience
One thing was missing, though, my mom. I remember thinking about her the whole time I was pushing and wishing she was with me. I also remember cursing at her in my mind for saying giving birth was an amazing experience and she’d do it over and over again.
I was terrified. I was in pain. I was tired.
And then he was born. My perfect little boy was placed on my chest with the umbilical cord still attached. That moment was surreal. That moment was raw. That moment was perfect. With tears in my eyes, I realized what my mom meant when she said she loved giving birth.
RELATED: So God Made a Newborn
Was it messy? Yes.
Was it scary? Yes.
Was it painful? Yes.
Would I do it over and over again? Absolutely.
The moment you meet your baby is the best moment you’ll ever experience. It’s unexplainable. It’s beautiful. It’s miraculous.
The love you have for this perfect little human at that exact moment in time and every moment from that point on is truly indescribable.
No matter what your birth story is—natural, C-section, adoption, medicated, unmedicated—we can all relate to these feelings.
RELATED: Dear C-Section Mom, You Are a Warrior
Giving birth is honestly an incredible experience that only a mama can understand. I can only hope one day every woman who longs for a child is blessed with a moment like this.
Previously published on the author’s blog