We had a candle burning ceremony prepared for us by Marti from Luna Bloom to have a slower and peaceful transition for the separation of the umbilical cord. We did this after about an hour or two when the cord had truly stopped pulsating. It smelled a little bit like barbeque but nowhere near as much as I had anticipated and only took about 5 minutes to burn through. It was a lovely experience that the whole family could partake in.
After we had finished this, my midwife rinsed my placenta and prepared it into small pieces to keep in the freezer, so I could have a placenta smoothie everyday to help heal me postpartum, aid in my milk coming in as well as keeping my hormones level.
My love hormones were kicking in at this point and I felt like superwoman! I cleaned up in my own shower with my own things which was bliss, while Ben got his first skin-to-skin cuddles. When I got back, I could see Juniper needed to know her mummy was OK, so I invited her to sit on my lap and nursed her. Soon after, Azure needed feeding too, so we jumped straight into our first tandem feeding experience, it just doubled my superwoman feelings.
I was in awe of what my body just did and was still doing to provide for my children. Women’s bodies are amazing. Having found the ability to trust in the process and power of my body, I learned that what we are left feeling from our birth experience is life altering, not only for the mother but for the child as well. I could not have asked for a more perfect birthing experience for us that I feel extremely blessed for experiencing, down to who was present and when they arrived to the rain and the time of day. It was 5 hours of actively truly letting go and trusting in the Divine as we welcomed our peaceful little boy to complete our family of four.
Thanks and blessings to mama Nicola Parkinson for sharing her birth story with us, which she originally published on Luna Bloom. Once again, thanks to talented photographer Cassie Emmett of Capturing Life Birth Photography for her beautiful photos!
