I’ve been finding myself in a reflective mood lately, especially at night when the house is finally quiet. I was wondering if anyone else has looked back on their birth experiences and just felt amazed by how different they were?
With my son Logan, who’s now 9, I was so much younger and honestly, pretty overwhelmed by the whole process. I basically did everything by the book, went with the epidural as soon as it was offered, and just trusted the doctors to get us through it. It was a wonderful outcome, of course—my amazing boy—but looking back, I felt a little like things were happening to me, not with me, if that makes any sense.
Fast forward eight years to having my daughter Chloe, and it was a completely different universe. I did so much more research and spent a lot of time in prayer about what I wanted. I felt this deep spiritual pull to be more present and active in the experience. I ended up having a mostly unmedicated birth, and while it was the most intense and challenging thing I have ever done, it was also profoundly empowering. I felt so connected to my body, to my baby, and to my faith in that moment.
Both paths brought me my beautiful, healthy children, and for that, I am eternally grateful. It’s just a reminder that there are so many ways to bring a child into the world, and both of my experiences feel like they were exactly what I needed at that time. Have any of you had vastly different birth experiences? I’d love to hear if you made different choices with your second or third babies and what led you there.