Cleo's Birth Story; part 2-Free Bird

12-10-21 @ 11:49am, weighing 8lbs 1oz, you were born to the guitar solo of Free Bird 💕🦢

Happy Birthday Cleo Alexandria Ray Blatt!!

​Here's your Birth Story; I truly wanted you to come on your own, but I really didn't want to risk complications as we were passed your due date. I was mentally preparing myself for your birth to go either way and by 41 Weeks I had a scheduled Cecearen if you hadn't come. I was very uncomfortable at this point and it felt like you were going to fall out. And it turns out, you weren't even ready and hadn't dropped. I must have been making it all up. lol We got to the hospital early and we were set to have you at 8 am. Like most procedures, we were pushed back until 11. The positives though were that my doc allowed me to be disconnected from the IV while I waited. This is beyond nice. I did not want to lay naked in a gown and iv, sweating for 3 hours. So this Mama got back into her comfortable clothes and sat with your daddy and papaw. 11 came along, and they started prepping again. They wheeled me into the surgery room which was small and so bright. Everyone was super friendly and talked me through everything. Although, the prepping part was uncomfortable, awkward, and cold. I slowly started to feel really warm and numb. This time the anesthesiologist was so much more intuitive with the ways I was feeling. I specifically didn't want anything given to me this time around that would ​make​ me​ feel​ out of it. He promised me that wouldn't happen and encouraged me to focus on if I started to feel queasy to keep on top of everything. Anytime I would start shaking he would cover me with his hand or a blanket. And as soon as I said I felt queasy he made it go away pretty fast. I focused a lot on deep breaths this time around because it felt like I couldn't breathe during some moments, which is normal. But he was there and explained everything that was happening. The experience was so much better than the first time and almost in ​a ​healing way for me. He told us before the surgery that he could drop the blue drape that was in front of the clear one to see her being pulled out. You all, he dropped both. And it was literally the most beautiful moment of my life. I longed for the moment to birth Kingston and see him lifted upon my chest. But with him, I didn't get to experience that. I learned a lot while pregnant with Cleo and researching the decisions I made. And also switching to a different doctor and hospital, I got a more beneficial opinion. This baby grows inside of us and is connected to us. When they are born, they aren't meant to be pulled far away from us. With Kingston, I was more focused on having this new chapter happen and not really thinking about these different aspects of life growing inside of me and things that could be beneficial when he came out. An example, is a connection made to promote the best experience when breastfeeding. I knew when I was pregnant this second time around I wanted to make sure I was more prepared for the hard parts. Breastfeeding was one of them. I learned about the moment a mother sees her baby and what it does to our bodies, the breast crawl, and how there is a crucial time frame between the amount of time mom and baby are separated after birth. This time frame and any trauma can reduce the success of breastfeeding. Which I never thought about the first time around. The moment they pulled her out, I got to see her perfect little face and witness her cry. And during that moment, I felt peace. I don't know if that is the right word to describe it, but it was like time stopped for just an instant as I saw her. Which again, I needed for so many reasons. They even delayed cord clamping, which is something I wanted and never really talked about. She was on my chest, skin to skin, within minutes. Literal heaven to me. I was fully aware and felt really good at that point and it was so emotional for me. I was thankful. My girl and I connected and it was beautiful. Now, I'm very late ​sharing this. I was able to make a little video, but our sweet sassy girl is almost 7 months now. Which is insane. Cleo, you are beautiful, strong, and very persistent! We hope you never stop smiling and know we love you more than anything ​