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Sylvie: “A beautiful face”
It was a scheduled cesarean section because my baby was in breech. I arrived at the maternity ward impatient (more than an hour early). I was echoed, and that’s it, the baby had turned around. So I could cancel the cesarean and give birth vaginally. But, once again too impatient, I decided to keep the operation on the pretext that I had not taken the childbirth preparation classes. So I spent a sleepless night asking myself a thousand and one questions about my baby. How is he gonna be? What will he look like?
The next day, here I am in the OR. My husband was not allowed to attend the birth. After the installation of the epidural necessary to perform the cesarean section, I felt a little uneasy. I was a little weak. I couldn’t see anything but I could hear everything. The obstetrician said “We can see the baby’s head, that’s it, you want to see?” Hesitantly, I couldn’t say yes or no. I expected to see a bloody baby. She asks me the question a second time to which I answered a yes not convinced. So she lowered the separation sheet and I could only see the head. She was brunette with wide open blue eyes. It was all clean. When I saw her I said “she has a great boil”, hence her nickname “Ma boubouille” even today. I will never forget his gaze. Then I was able to take her against me and I started to cry.
Laure: “A beautiful baby, very calm and relaxed”
I gave birth vaginally. It took 5 hours between the first contraction at home and the expulsion. At the maternity ward I waited half an hour to see if I could do without the epidural, then I begged the anesthetist to come. Then I was in heaven, happiness. We kept joking with my husband. I have the impression that it went very quickly. I heard a woman quite far down the hall moaning. Other than that it was very quiet (it was past midnight) and I had the feeling of being in cotton wool. When it was necessary to push, the midwife said to me: “Okay, so you remember your preparation classes…”. I replied: “no, my pushing class is tomorrow”. Frankly, between us, there is no need for lessons for that. I pushed three times, the midwife helped me straighten up a bit and put a mirror between my legs. I saw the head coming. A very strange feeling and the vague fear that the passage would be too narrow.
Adrien has arrived. It was I who pulled it out of my stomach. I took it upon myself. I have no recollection of that famous first glance at all which, it seems, overwhelms mothers with its intensity. He was very calm, his eyes wide open. I was struck by his very “serene” side. It’s silly to say but that’s exactly it. He was calm, very relaxed. My husband said: “Oh dear, you saw his pognes!” He had very large hands. I was struck to find it so clean. I expected a baby that was all gray, with bloody or slimy streaks. Well no, it seemed really clean to me. I kept it against me a bit. I stroked his fingers. He seemed very small to me, defenseless (obviously).
The midwife took him to weigh him and give him the tests. Then, with my husband, we spent two hours in ecstasies. I put him to the breast, he sucked right away. All the staff present congratulated me to tell me that I had done it like a pro, it’s always nice. I replied that in fact I had lied, it was my fifth child.
Cathy: “Her daddy, in miniature”
I thought it was awesome, my baby. Why ? Simply because he looked like his father! I absolutely wanted him to be as beautiful as him. My delivery went very well. In two hours he was there. That’s all his character: determined, fast, dynamic.
I took my little boy close to me. He had his little fist clenched, his shoulders square. In short, he was as I had dreamed! Without exaggerating, it was the strongest in the world. He was very calm. From birth, I felt a lot of energy, peach in him. He was really my type of man. It is confirmed today. He is a college student and it is quite on this kind of boy that I could have cracked!
Audrey: “A nice surprise”
The first time I saw Keïla, I was very moved, overwhelmed with happiness! And his birth was so fast, that to see and feel this little face against me, it was wonderful. It was also a big surprise since I was expecting to have a boy. We didn’t want to know the sex, and when the midwife put it on my stomach and Math told me it was a girl, I was very surprised, surprised but happy.
I watched her a lot and she hurt my heart because she was having trouble catching her breath, she was coughing. I found her very beautiful and it was funny to see all her little brown hair. I compared him to his sister and immediately said: “I have two daughters now, but completely different.” In short, I was in heaven when I saw him.
Anne: “I had the impression of knowing her already”
Me, I really had time to tell myself that I was going to have a baby. She was late! She was born 4 days after the term. I had contractions during those same 4 days. I stayed the whole last day in the hospital. I was able to rest, relax and I had time to be reassured by the medical team and by the dad. Between the moment when you have to push and the moment my little girl came out, I found it very long. I was eager and very apprehensive at the same time. Curious and worried.
When she came out, the team showed her to us, then put her against me. It was a great moment of relief. She had big eyes and looked everywhere. Everything is fine, she is very beautiful. No one was speaking in the room, we were enjoying this moment at three. Dad and I looked at her, discovered her. She was very wise. What was funny was that she had a lot of strength in her legs and from my stomach, she came to nestle up to my neck. I just felt like I already knew her.