It's a.....GIRL!!

We are pleased to announce the arrival of....

Mary Celeste

who was born at 5:19pm on Tuesday, November 4th.

We'll be calling her by her middle name, Celeste.

Celeste was 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 20.5 inches when she was born.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a birth, and in particular a home birth.  Easy labor started in the morning, and my 2 midwives and 2 apprentices came around 10:30am.  My water broke at noon, but even through the early afternoon the contractions were still easy.  One of my favorite parts of the day was taking a walk with Marcus, around our property, in the misty November afternoon weather, still not feeling much labor pains.

After hard(er) labor started in mid-afternoon, we discovered that our little baby had a surprise for us:  she was breech!  At that point we made the easy decision to continue with our plans for a home birth.  An hour later, after an intense, focused effort to deliver safely, Celeste was born.  It was a magical, beautiful, meaningful birth.

We are still in awe and so grateful for the way the whole day evolved and ended.  My midwife Tracy made it all possible, along with a 2nd midwife Katie and two very awesome apprentices Saige and Megan.  When the breech position was discovered, a 3rd midwife even made her way to our home, and just barely missed the birth.  I felt completely supported and confident that these ladies knew just what to do, and the outcome could not have been better!

I'm hunkering down in bed for a few days, but once I make it downstairs to download pictures (over the weekend?) I will be sure to post lots, and maybe even more of the birth story as well. 

Thanks for all the prayers!!!  :o)