Today on TalkMum we're thrilled to have a very special post. Here's TalkMum pregnancy blogger Kiran on the birth of her new daughter:
Before my daughter was born, I had wondered how it would feel to meet my second child. Would I once again feel the dizzying rush of emotion and awe? Would I feel, as I did with my first born, the absolute disbelief that I had a child? Would I feel the same intense love for her that I had never previously known existed?
My daughter, Jasmin Isis, was born two weeks ago - and yes - I did feel all of those things. Perhaps it sounds strange, but I had wondered whether I had enough love in me to love another child. I had wondered whether I could love her as completely as I love my 19-month-old son.
Looking back, those worries were daft. Love for your children isn’t finite. It multiplies and grows. It comes out of nowhere suddenly with their birth and shocks you with its intensity. It is all consuming.
Jasmin was born at 39 weeks by elective c-section. My son, Milin, was born by emergency c-section 19 months ago and I was advised at the start of this pregnancy to plan for another cesarean. I did, but I also planned for a natural birth using natal hypnotherapy.
In the end, even though I had a high risk pregnancy, I fortunately didn’t develop any medical complications that required me to have a cesarean. However, after the complications I had with my son and the experiences I had at his birth, I didn’t feel able to go ahead with a natural delivery.
And so, in a calm and tranquil hospital operating theatre in North London at the end of July, Jasmin Isis was born. It was a completely different experience to the birth of my son, which had been frantic.
I was desperate to get home quickly so our little family could start our new life together. We are just a couple of weeks in, and so far, being a family of four is wonderful. Milin, my son, loves his baby sister. He asks for her first thing in the morning and last thing at night. He is gentle with her, fascinated by her tiny features, and loves to be in her company.
My husband has, once again, that look about him of falling in love. I will never tire of watching him hold his children in his arms.
Jasmin has changed our lives and made them so much richer. I love being a mum, and she has reminded me of what an amazing role it is. To be able to calm my child just by talking to her or holding her, to be able to feed my child by putting her to my breast, and to be able to slowly get to know her and her likes and dislikes all fills me with awe at the bond between a mother and her child.
Jasmin is healthy and thriving, feeding well and even letting me get some good stretches of sleep. She feels like a precious gift, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world.
Kiran is a freelance writer, journalist and blogger who recently returned to her hometown of London after nearly a decade of living overseas. She is mum to a toddler and a newborn. Kiran blogs about all things mumsy over at Mummy Says.
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