Welcome, Baby Boy R!!!!!!

Last night, my pal FR had her baby. He came to the world in the usual way; a peaceful, gentle, home waterbirth. Nothing remarkable. Except that he's a VBAC baby, and FR had to fight, research, negotiate, plan, and stress to have that unremarkable birth. Since she told me she was in labor, I've been pacing the floor, lighting candles, saying prayers, and sending good vibes. I had three dreams about her birth last night. I've been staying casually (ha!) within earshot of the phone (it was in the bathroom with me when I showered this morning), and checking my email so compulsively I look like a hampster in a research lab. I just got the call. She sounds like I did after my homebirth VBAC. Stunned. Blissed-out. Thrilled. Tired (oh, man, tired). But *alive*. Alive in a way you just can't describe adequately. I am sitting here bouncing up and down, getting all teary-eyed, and rejoicing. Another birth, reclaimed. Welcome, welcome little baby boy. May you grow to be a joy to your parents, a delight to your older sister, a credit to your family, and a living example to every woman out there who wants to do what your Mama just did. I hope you understand, some day, what she had to do to give you the very best start in the whole world, and that you honor her for it.