I faced my greatest feaR

Two years ago today—September 25, 2022—I faced my greatest fear and took a leap of faith with a planned home birth, no medical intervention.

It turned out to be the most daring and transformative day.
I became a new version of myself.

(𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵.)

After:
1. Diving into books, documentaries, and conversations with homebirth moms
2. Selecting a rock-star midwife team (@Tanya Wills Sarah Anne Lovell, LM, CNM, WHNP-BC, CLC )
3. Getting my analytical husband on board after answering his 1000 questions to his satisfaction...

I decided to embrace the challenge.

Was I scared? Absolutely. I almost backed out the day before.😳

But I made a deal with myself:
if I could do this, I could do anything.
if I couldn't, I would still be a hero for trying.

- 27 hours after contractions started, I found myself in a water tub, giving my final push.
With a lioness roar and gripping my husband’s arm to the point of drawing blood, I gave it my all.

Then I heard my midwife, Sarah, say softly:
'Lei, your baby is here,'
as she placed that warm little bundle on my chest.
I cried and whispered, 'I did it.'

Looking back, homebirth taught me 3 life-changing lessons:
1. I can do anything. Whenever I doubt myself, I return to that moment for strength.
2. My most vulnerable moments are my strongest. Surrendering to the power within is key. As my midwife said, 'Let the monkey do its work.'
3. I carried that courage and resilience into my work, becoming more intentional and fearless.

Homebirth empowered me in ways I never imagined.

Motherhood is the most rewarding journey, and you have everything you need within you.

Your Mom friend, Lei