We have lots of great memories from our time at Generations Midwifery, but one of my favourite moments of 2016 was catching our son, Hudson, as he was being born. Leading up to that moment, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to handle cutting his umbilical cord so I never expected to actually catch our baby.
While my wife was pushing, both Genia and Heather asked if I would like to catch our baby and my answer was always a nervous “no thanks.” After my wife had been pushing for a while, Genia said it wouldn’t be much longer until Hudson was born and asked one last time if I wanted to catch him or even just wanted to come look.
I sat beside Genia and at that point everything felt so normal and natural that I started to become comfortable with the idea of catching him. Genia reassured me that she would help and guide me so I agreed. As Hudson’s head came out, Genia explained how to position my hands and I saw his face for the first time as his head slipped into my palm. Genia guided his shoulders out, he surprised everyone by crying, and then he came out the rest of the way into my other hand. He was so warm! It was such a privilege to hold our son as he came into the world and an amazing experience that I’ll never forget.
Thank you to Genia and Heather for such a positive and calm home birth! ~Chris Paul