Sunday, February 3, 2008

Welcoming ORION!


Our son Orion William Martin was born on January 29th. He was 11 lbs. 100z. I labored alone most of the time, and with Joe until the kids woke up. Orion was born just as Joe brought the kids into the bedroom. The labor and birth was Joyful, easy and very pleasurable. It was my first painless birthing experience. Yes, it was intense and extremely powerful, but it was also the most incredible, romantic, sensual time in my life. I was never afraid. I embraced and worked with the great energy which brought me to a new level and understanding of how amazing and positive birth can truly be.
Ivy cut the cord about an hour after the birth.

Orion was also Born In The Caul (amniotic sack) which surprised us all! Here is some great information about the history of this rare occurrence. Thanks to my friend, Stacey from http://www.myfriendoprah.blogspot.com/ for posting it to my Yahoo group.

In medieval times the appearance of a caul on a newborn baby was seen as a sign of good luck. It was considered an omen that the child was destined for greatness. Gathering the caul onto paper was considered an important tradition of childbirth: the midwife would rub a sheet of paper across the baby's head and face, pressing the material of the caul onto the paper. The caul would then be presented to the mother, to be kept as an heirloom.

Over the course of European history, a popular legend developed suggesting that possession of a baby's caul would give its bearer good luck and protect thatperson from death by drowning.
Cauls were therefore highly prized by sailors. Medieval women often sold these cauls to sailors for large sums of money; a caulwas regarded as a valuable talisman. Other legends also developed. One popular legend wentthat a caulbearer would be able to see the future orhave dreams that come to pass.

The most common portent of good luck in recent centuries is that the baby born with a caul will never drown, the second most common myth is from Scotlandand that believes the child will be fey, or psychic. Another British meaning is that the child will travel its entire life and never tire. Also an important myth hails from ancient Egypt, and that story claims the newborn baby is destined for the cult of Isis, again a mystically inclined fate. Other legends also developed. One popular legend wentthat a caulbearer would be able to see the future or have dreams that come to pass.

13 comments:

Jen said...

Congratulations! How cool that your wee one was born in the caul.

I recently found your weblog through an unschooling web ring. We are a homeschooling, homebirthing family with an Orion who's almost 3, so of course I think it's a great name!

Erica said...

Congratulations! He is absolutely beautiful. It looks like the girls are already making him feel loved and welcome. Your family is beautiful!

Erica

Jessica said...

Congratulations Dayna! Another boy to even out the score. ;) Devin must be thrilled. What a thoughtful little baby to let Ivy have her birthday before being born. :)
Love his name and I'll wait patiently for more pictures!
~jess

Sarah said...

Oh, congratulations! Welcome to your beautiful baby. I'm so glad your birth experience was so amazing! There's nothing quite like a painless, empowering birth experience.

(I posted a few times on the LoA/RU yahoo list last summer, but then some really big changes swept through and I couldn't keep up, but I've been reading your blog with tons of interest!)

Joni Zander said...

Welcome Orion! You are so lucky to be brought into such a wonderful family.

Dayna, thank you for sharing your wonderful birthing experience with the world - the world can certainly use more of these!

gemma said...

hi there, dayna! I recently found your blog and want to say congrats and welcome your new little babe into the world!
We are a portland, oregon unschooling family with 3 boys (all born at home too, and now ages 5,7 and 9) and my youngest was also born 'in the caul'...
i look forward to reading more about your sweet family's adventures....
i especially liked seeing your post where your daughter was voraciously crocheting! my son finger crochets like a maniac and we have some quite long chains hanging up around here too!
cheers!
gemma

Danielle said...

Hey! I just checked here the other day, thinking that baby must've made his debut by now. Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

Welcome to Orion! Personally I haven't experienced the painless birth thing, as Julian decided to be pretty challenging on that front. (Luckily he's been easier to get along with since, so it has worked out okay.) It's especially good that Orion was cooperative, because that is one big baby! We look forward to seeing you in May. And I really, really want a turn holding him -- I miss babies!
Kathryn

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the birth of Orion! I can't wait to read the whole birth story!

Love,
heather

aka hathor: thecowgoddess.com

Anonymous said...

Congrats. I think there is something special about your son. I had a dream about him not too long before he was born. I hope he has a lifetime of many blessings.

michelle said...

Congratulations Dayna!!!

I'm due to have my 3rd child in 7 weeks.

mindy said...

Congatulations on that beautiful baby boy! What a fabulous birth story. I just found my way to your blog and am so excited. I met you very briefly at the pool at L&L this past year and sure hope I get the opportunity to talk to you more. I also attended the grandparents talk and met your mom. Very cool. I didn't know until reading through your blog she was your mom!
Mindy

Sylvia said...

hey -- welcome Orion! My firstborn came on january 29th, 23 yrs ago!

He's beautiful.