A Special Mother's Day

On this Mother's Day, it seems appropriate to talk about my dear friend Maia, who became a mama just a couple of weeks ago.


Maia is so dear to me, such a precious person in my life.  You might remember her as my London Friend haha since she and her husband just came back last summer after living in England for two years.  They were here about two minutes, and then she became pregnant.  I was (and am) so happy for them, especially because I know that they were waiting until they got back to the States, and they are both so wonderful with kids. What a lucky baby they will have, I thought to myself when she told me they were expecting.


One night, a couple of months ago, they were at our house for dinner when Maia got rather serious, and rather emotional.  Neither of these things is unexpected from her; you know what they say about 'opposites attract'?  haha!  There's our friendship, right there.  


She said that they wanted to ask us something, specifically me something, but that it also involved Erik.  I glanced at Erik, and thought, well this is strange.  They are Jewish, and we are Atheist, so that rules out GodParents.  So what the heck?  


Then they asked me to be there when their baby was born. Um.  YEAH!  Of course!!  As Kelly said when I mentioned it on Facebook, what an honor, and I have to agree. It felt like such a privilege to be asked, even considered for such a thing. They were both really committed to an unmedicated birth, and as is their nature to totally and thoughtfully plan and prepare for every little thing, bless their hearts, they had made a list of potential Birth Day Helpers, narrowed the field through a series of late night discussions, and landed on me (me!) as the person most likely to be helpful, and, perhaps even more importantly, to not be an ass. 


I got The Call (or, because it's 2011, The Text) on a Tuesday afternoon.  We went back and forth and who knows what, and by 10 pm that night, I was headed over to Stanford. I pulled over on the side of the 880 freeway so I could snap a quick picture of the moon on my way over to the hospital. This picture, in absolutely no way, does the moon justice. It was a huge, low hanging, harvest moon. Really magical, just like the one on the night Tommy was born!

Her birth story is hers to tell, but it's worth noting that I am pretty sure I was helpful on at least 3 occasions that night; Maia went from 5cm to baby born between 10pm and 230am, without even one aspirin; I was so moved by the two of them together, how much they loved and needed each other, so much sweetness; and, finally, they had the cutest baby I've ever seen.

 Oh!  Those little folds....I could positively swoon : )