Yuriko-Mae’s HypnoBirthing Water Home Birth Film : Our Rainbow Baby

Side note: That’s a mouthful for a post title, huh?! So many facets and intricacies wrapped up into ONE birth!

It’s only three days out from our little Coconutty turning two years old (I wrote this on Sunday already), and you bet Im neck deep in the good old baby files. Its where you’ll usually find me slumped over in a sentimental heap whenever the birthday of any of our children looms. Granted, this time, the files don’t exactly go waaaay back – I mean girlfriend is only about to clock two…but if you know anything about me by now, its that I take a serious amount of photographs. And trust me, there are some magic shots in there! And I totally will share. BUt thats not what Im here for today.

Nope. Today Im sharing Yuriko- Mae’s birth story. Yessss, I know I’ve “told” her birth story before, through my own heart, all the depths of my thoughts and experiences that day, stitched together in my words, with photographs apexing the very sentiment of it all. And I’m ever grateful to the many of you who’ve reached out to let me know how much youve appreciated such a deeply honest birth story (see here). But today I want to share with you that same beautiful love story, but in film, as told by none other than my most beloved birth photographer, Marysol Blomerus. Her talents as a story teller, and documentor or births and life need no introduction…just, oh my hat…you need to see her work if you’ve been living under a rock all these years.

Now, I know I promised this almost two years ago to a few mamas out there, who were either preparing their own births at the time, or who, just like me, are just keen lovers of birth films…But you know, Yuriko’s newborn period was soon followed by my manic return to work, which was then closely followed by a suprise pregnancy with our fourth child (but first boy), Remy-James LeBeau. And it’s only been about two months since I’ve returned to work after him. So its been a pretty crazy time in a very condensed period. So I am sorry about the delay, but needless to say it’s been a touch bit busy with the life juggle. So this post (along with so many other good intentions of mine) got away… Until today, that is.

So if you didn’t know, Yuriko-Mae, or Coco as we often call her is our Rainbow baby. She was the beautiful blessing after our loss that completely rocked my world.

She was also our third child, and if you hadnt heard yet, third babies are the wild cards when it comes to birth. Like you just have no idea what they are going to serve up. First babies are known to be long births (not always, but they have become known for doing that more often than not). Second babies are usually much shorter labours – Mine was exactly half the time. And well, thirds could be longer, or shorter. Easier or harder. You just never knew…and I was trying my best to let go and not try to figure it out. Just to flow with it.

(Which was much harder this time – I always say, its easier with the first child, because you have no expectations, youre a blank slate. But everything thereafter will/can always easily be measured to this benchmark experience of your first child. It’s hard sometimes to let go because it is such a pivotal life moment.)

And as a third baby, Coco had already started to hint at just how different she’d be by breaking birthing patterns of coming at 39 weeks, and instead decided at 37 weeks she’d come out and suprise me.

In fact, I had literally just gone on maternity leave, spent the day before gathering birth supplies like a possessed woman – because we had zero supplies for our home birth, and I figured I’d rest once we get that sorted. OI! Famous last words, ey!

Also this was my very first home birth. I had two beautiful and amazing natural births with a private midwife for each of my births before this…but always wanted to have a homebirth. My very first midwife in fact tried to convince me that I should do that with my first birth. But I had only met her a few days before I gave birth (see here), so there wasn’t much time to think it through anyways.

Urgghh, I could go on with giving you alll the context about this birth, like the fact that it was my first water birth too. And even more interestingly, how some of our preparations done were also in light of the deeply divine unborn child spiritual session led by Robyn Sheldon, that we had with Coco about a week before she was born. Keep an eye out for that roaring fire we had in the birthing space…that was a request from little Coconutty herself 😉 (Did that freak you out a bit? Like Im a little bit kooky? Thats ok, Im far more “kooky” than you think 😉 But I’ll share that story another time…)

Now keep in mind, the film doesn’t show you all the other comedic drama that was happening behind the scenes with the cable guy, and our doorbell that day. Nor does it deal with my midwife dilemma. So if you have not yet read her birth story, you might want to do that first over here. Or you can get the full scoop on it all starting here. (its a two part series) 😉

There is just so much I love about this film…I never grow tired watching it (but that goes for any of kids’ birth memories). Watching it today reminds me so much of all the details…and the contrasts that now exist in our lives since then…How much has changed, how much growth…and also how much it all means to me now…almost two years on.

I mean…the music Marysol chose…she knows just how! (Geezzz, the fourth song, as we’re all taking Coco in…letting her settle within us…those lyrics and the way it is sung: could not be more fitting for the way we felt about her;About our rainbow child; About this new sister; About this little girl, our daughter…like it was written for her.)

Then there’s little midwife Morgy…she’d been “working” with the midwives throughout my pregnancy as if they were colleagues. And on the day she really took up the mantle as my little midwife like she was born to do it. Even though little, my big girl gave her presence to me with all the confidence in the world… Absolutely loved how the midwives guided her and made her feel like part of the team. (She still feels strongly about it – in a good way)

And then Parky…my littlest, bravest, petite, shy and yet fiery soul…quietly joining us after her nap…and then, as shy as she normally is, I love how she speaks up right in the middle of it all, so that she too could be a part of the birth team…(awww man, her little voice gets me every time!)…and then these wonderful women around me catch her and immediately make her feel very much a part of it…

And just how very small they are in this video…its crazy, because it feels like only last month, yet looking at them on there, its hard to deny time.

Seriously, so much I love about it..even little Whiskey and her excitement to meet the newest member of the family. My mom making magic in the home like she always does in her quiet beautiful way…

And I’ll never forget chowing down on Coco’s birth day cake after birth…YES, a cake!!! Have you ever heard of a BIRTH DAY cake on the child’s actual birth day? It was Marysol’s idea and she baked it, and we loved it. We’re so gaga about birthday cakes, as you must have noticed, so this was right up our alley!

And, there’s Marysol’s giggle…She’s so good at being this invisible documentor/story teller at a birth, but if you listen closely towards the end you’ll hear her. She is such a huge part of the positive light of the births we’ve had, and the journeys we travelled through it all, that I’m SO glad that at least a part of her was captured in this film.

And, of course, there’s our little Coconutty, who spun some sort of magic around us all that day…You did something special to this family, my girl…even though right now that “special” can sometimes also feel a bit like a beat down :)) #joking #butAlsoNotJoking …But if it was ever possible to capture just a smidgen of that magic on video, then this film did it…

Guys…there are too many emotions tossing in my body right now…mixed slightly with real life exhaustion…so before this post turns into dark tunnel roller coaster free fall ride through my mind, which could get interesting…I give you, Yuriko-Mae’s Birth Film, 2017…

ps. If you have three kids, how was your third birth? What did your wildcard pull out for you? 🙂 Or have you had a water birth? Or what about a home birth? Or maybe you even have some questions about either or HypnoBirthing – feel free to ask any time, I love hearing from you.

XXX