"The drama of birth is over. The cord is cut, the first cry heard: A new life begun....The mother - seeing, hearing, perhaps touching her baby - scarcely notices the world around her, let alone how much her body aches. She just participated in a miracle."

Carrol Dunham


I found this quote in a book I was reading last night while enjoying a quiet bath. It brought tears to my eyes (although that's not hard, especially these days!) and it is now in the ranks of my favorite quotes ever. When Jacob was born, all I remember is seeing him - not other people around me, and when I was holding him in my arms, he was all I was seeing. Clara I didn't hold right away but I was no longer aware that I was on the OR table after seeing her face and when I held her for the first time in the nursery, again, she was the only thing I noticed. Likewise with Isaiah and Caleb. Holding, seeing my children, and hearing their first cries, I noticed only their sweet faces and delicate features and marveled at these perfect little creatures that Husband and I brought into this world. All I felt was love and awe of them, I didn't notice the staff, the exhaustion, the line of fire across my lower abdomen , or anything else other than the fact that I had indeed just participated in a miracle.