7lbs 11oz of pure joy

I don' t remember the last time I cried before Sicily Kate was born on 1/7/11 at 7:59am.  It was such an amazing experience to be a part of that I couldn't help it.  More on that in a bit....With Olivia's birth, I have to admit, I wasn't well educated about the birthing process, Sarah's rights as a mommy, and everything else that accompanies pregnancy.  Sarah and I (especially Sarah) educated ourselves on the birthing process this time after she talked to more friends that had kids and what they went through.  Much to my surprise, there was a lot I didn't know about, and a lot I wish I would have known for Sarah's pregnancy with Olivia.

During the whole pregnancy with Sicily, Sarah did about as much reading and studying as possible about having a baby.  She was able to learn a lot of techniques and rights etc etc about pregnancy and birth to make it the best experience possible.  Sarah chose to have a natural birth - meaning no drugs to induce and no drugs for pain. There were several reasons why she chose not to have these drugs during birth, including:
1. She wanted to let her body do the work "naturally" and she felt that her body would know when it was time to have the baby
2. She wanted to be fully cognitive before and after the birth to be able to take care of the baby and herself as best as possible.
3. She didn't want the baby to be a non-consenting party receiving the drugs, when there is no reason the baby should have the drugs.
Anyways, there were other reasons, but those were the big ones.  And we're both really glad that we chose to do it that way.  As I said, it was a phenomenal experience for the both of us.  Now saying that, I know from the blood curdling screams that it was not easy or painless.

I think because I was more invested mentally and was able to see Sarah go through the pregnancy just the way she wanted to go through it, and I was a small part of the birth (more this time than last), I was affected emotionally also.  Or maybe it was simply the emotions that flood you when experiencing the miracle of life with the one you're in love with, or all that combined, I'm not sure, but the point is, I was crying.  Which isn't the "manly" thing to do (I'm not sure blogging is either), but it shows how extremely joyful I was for the birth of our second little girl.  Enough to cry!  I know I'm joking a little about it, but it really was an awesomely amazing thing to go through!

Why the heck am I telling you all this.  I'm not too sure, but I really just wanted to write about it I guess, and isnt that what a blog is for anyway?  I did want to say again that I highly recommend learning more about the whole birthing process for all the young couples out there that are thinking about having kids.  You never know, you might learn a thing or 2 and it might even make you cry...err...enjoy the experience more!

2 side notes:
1. (This is mostly for the men) Crying for me is like a couple tears, ok, I wasn't balling or uncontrolled or anything, and I'm not even sure if Sarah saw me do it, but they were pure tears of joy.  Don't be afraid to shed a few tears at anytime, it feels good, just don't blog about it if you don't want others to find out.
2. I never know when to use Effect or Affect or what the exact difference is.  It bothers me enough to think about it every time I write them and get a little annoyed, but not enough to figure out the difference...hope that doesn't bother you English Majors.