A month ago, my daughter was born here at home. It took a whopping 39 hours of labor but everything went smoothly and turned out just fine in the end. I caught her and cut the cord myself, which was strangely satisfying... like that definitive snip of the scissors was the turning of a page. Those previous nine pages had been interesting enough but her mom and I were definitely ready for the new chapter ahead.
In stark contrast to my own birth, our daughter's was in a comfortable setting without any drugging, stabbing, or cutting whatsoever. She was welcomed by a gentle midwife, an encouraging doula, and calm, confident parents. I was envious of her from the very beginning because she’s getting the childhood I always wish I had. Every day when I look down at her, I can't help but laugh a little at her unfathomably good fortune.
We named her Kira, which has a variety of different meanings across different cultures including “ray of light,” “like Ra,” "ruler/leader of the people," and “dark-haired.” It was the name of Ayn Rand’s heroine in the novel, We The Living and it was also used for central characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the Japanese anime series, Death Note. Her mom and I like all of these characters and appreciate the various meanings so it made it to the top of our list and stayed there until the birth. Our criteria for potential names was fairly simple. It had to be relatively unique and uncommon without being difficult or strange. Shortness and simplicity earned more points. Essentially, it should be the sort of name that one can easily understand, spell, and repeat after hearing only once and it should be just uncommon enough that she’s likely to be the only girl in town with the name. Of course, she may very well decide to choose a new name for herself someday, as I did, so this could very well just be a temporary placeholder.
At a mere month of age, life’s still pretty simple. She eats, sleeps, and gives us the most hilarious facial expressions when it’s time to change her diaper. When she’s fussy and mom needs a break, I can usually put her to sleep by dancing her around the room to a playlist of metal tracks blasting from the stereo. She also seems to love the sound of the vacuum cleaner as well as our Vita Mix blender - loud motors, in general, it seems.
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Of course, it’s been challenging too, in a way. The tricky part for me has been getting enough work done . Even just writing this little piece required a very deliberate rationing of time, as does pretty much everything else I want to do. Construction is getting underway here at Fort Galt and I’m also working on Cryptacademy as well as the planning for CoinFest 2018 so I definitely have my plate full. I'm also proofreading our doula's book and overhauling her website as payment for her services throughout the birthing process. I’m seriously considering hiring a part-time assistant to help out around the house to free up some more time because the month ahead is guaranteed to be very busy and another pair of hands would certainly come in handy.
All things considered, things are going very well and the three of us here couldn’t be happier. I’ll be sure to post updates as the story unfolds over the months ahead. Thanks to all of you that have messaged me with congratulations and encouragement. It’s much appreciated and won’t be forgotten.
Glad to see this. Welcome to the good (and hard) life of a family man.
Our last child was born at home, too. Also a good experience for us. It was less stressful than the hospital birth for our other children.
Wishing your family well!
Yeah, all my seven siblings and I were born in hospitals. I definitely like the home birth a lot better. We visited the local hospital just see see what it was like and it was so damn depressing in there. For myself, I avoid hospitals and doctors anyway and I'm glad there weren't any complications to force us to go to one. Smooth sailing. :)
My congratulations on the birth of a child @piedpiper !This is a very important event in life!May God keep him!Wish you luck! ;)
Feeling really happy seeing this...... thanks for sharing those cute baby pictures
Lovely post, mate. And congratulations. Having a child really is a remarkable experience and I can tell that you really get that. I have five kids myself. My oldest is almost six and my youngest was just born in November. We chose to do home births, which is still really taboo here in the US (not sure where you are). Our first birth took nearly 55 hours. I think it is safe to say that our wives are warriors, eh?
Also, I love the name. We had really similar criteria for our kid's names. We came up with: Lyla, Marlowe, Coretta, Adele, and Caspian.
I'm using Steemit as an outlet on a variety of topics, but parenting/life with young kids is one of my main, in case you were looking for anyone else to follow. ;)
Enjoy this time. Cheers.
Right on! Yeah, it's extremely taboo here in Chile. It's illegal to do intentionally but easy to get around with a little BS like "it just came so suddenly." They want everyone to give birth in a hospital, where they jump on any excuse to do a C-section. They even have a cop there to enforce the mandatory vaccination law. Obviously, I wasn't about to walk my family into a butcher shop like that. Glad to meet you :)
Whoa! Yeah, that's a whole new level. Glad you all were able to make your own decisions about the birth. As a lawyer, I can sort of understand the pressure for C-sections: natural births have a lot of variables and variables can expose people to liability (at least in a country as litigious as America). Still, it really is a tragedy that that has become the driving force. My aunt is a midwife and I was born at home, so it seemed like the normal thing to me. I'm glad my wife felt the same way, because she ultimately had veto power.
Just saw what you are working on over at @cryptacademy! That looks awesome. I am looking forward to following the progress. Glad to meet you as well.
Just be sure to educate yourself regarding vaccines; the medical workers here use bully tactics, and prey upon ignorance, to pressure you to vaccinate your child.
Yeah, definitely staying away from hospitals. So far, so good.
They're harassing us about it now so we're moving to a different house and trying to shake them. So annoying.
Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl and thanks for sharing with us. Adjusting to the lack of sleep and time takes some getting used to but the gifts of simple joy you get in return will make it all worth it I'm sure!
congratulations on your new born!! I guess its a new challenging times ahead! but as long as you are a team with your wife all will be good ;))
A big congratulations! They change your life, but definitely for the better. Now get some sleep.
Thanks! Yeah, I think we're okay in the sleep department. Just wake up a bunch of times in the night but fortunately, we don't have to get up and go to work so we can stay in bed until noon if we have to :)
Nice name!!!
Thanks :)
Congrats! Lovely name.
Very beautiful Kira! Congratulations!!
So gorgeous! Welcome to parenthood!
Wow.. nice babe i like it thanks for sharing this edition..
Congratulations, sir and have a blessed life ahead with your baby. May God showers upon you and your family. Followed you for more posts to know about your baby.
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Sorry I meant baby.
Good pots...
Lovely child and a happy home
Your baby is very beautiful ... congratulations for you. I like your post ...
Seems like you are now among the happiest person club of the world. Happy parenthood :)
Very cute baby. My sister just had a baby.
congratulations sir, ill be following and upvoting you for more. Best wishes
wow! So cute.
a name has a meaning in life, you have given a beautiful and good name
@piedpiper I envy you I will give up everything to be a mom
Hi @piedpiper, I found your page from wadepaterson's 20 question series.
Was the labour and delivery process deliberately planned at home? Seriously, I don’t think I could handle with that kind of job, well done @piedpiper. She seems to like lot of strange sounds, maybe because she was excited hearing all of those sounds for the first time. I myself love the death note too. I hope she will have a sharp mind like Kira when she grow up.
Yes, the home birth was deliberate. Thanks for dropping by :)
You are welcome.
Congrats dude. My two sons were born with an epidural ceaser because they were too big!! Skull was 11cm diameter and mom couldn't dialate more than 10cm. Would have prefered homebirth, but they are 27 and 25 now and I'm still a very proud dad - your journey has just started, but it will be the best and most fulfilling adventure of your life. Very tough at times, but that goes with the journey. Parenting is a rare privilege! Enjoy it!!
Dude! I know I'm super late and missed the upvote window but I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!! 💖
Absolutely stunning baby and a great story. Cheers from Puerto Varas.
congrats on a new daughter.
Wow! nice post.. Thanks for giving the news.. I like your post very much.. Keep it up.. Stay blessed be happy.. Thank you..
@banjo
@cleverbot
So thank you marry me.