OMG Kat - that was an emmensley powerful and moving story.
I'm still not sure reading this 6 days after my own birth was the best idea - I have tears running down my face! Some of those are of utter relief that my own experience was pretty much what I had hoped it would be.
I had the priveledge of hearing Rhea Dempsey speak a couple of times during my pregnancy and have to admit I was fast on the road to becoming an 'aspirationally naive' woman myself - I think I must have read every natural birth text in the English language there was and thought I was armed with all the knowledge I needed for the 'perfect birth'. I don't know what diverted me from that path - a combination of my influences from my doula, yoga teacher, and close friend who teaches calmbirth I think helped me to 'keep it real'.
Thank you so much for sharing your story in such detail - I'm sure many of us will learn from your experience - especially the realisations you listed in the last post.
You are truely a courageous woman