Our Own Baby Story

September 19, 2008

Teresa and I had a birth plan but were ready to throw it out the window… you know what they say about the best laid plans. It’s 10 am on a warm September, Monday morning as we drive down Storrow Dr. towards Mt. Auburn hospital. No traffic, no rush, no panic but a calm ride to the birthing center.

The sun was climbing as we noticed the minute details of the day. The green trees that were just beginning to turn, the confident wind that blew against us…. this day will be lived and re-lived. We planned on having a natural child birth, meaning no pain killers, no labor inducing hormones, just a healthy respect for mother nature. Her contractions were increasingly close together so it was clear the baby Aviva was on her way…. soon! My mother and Father-in-law showed up around noon. They’re some pretty amazing folks themselves, a strong intelligent woman paired with a caring and sensitive man. Just about 2pm her best friend arrives, another independent, free willed woman. Just the kind of energy we would like our baby to be surrounded by as she enters the world.

The pain appeared to be intense, but Teresa did an amazing job relaxing, breathing and allowing her body to do the work. I have always had a great respect and admiration for strong women. What I experienced has blown me away. Teresa my fiance and new mother has shown me what strength really means. 5:30 pm and 7 hours after our arrival, Aviva Luna Dias arrives in her fullest glory.

I wept, I sobbed, I felt like I was on a first date with a new love at Grand Central Station, in a football stadium. The air was electric and full. It was dreamy, and surreal like time didn’t exist and all of Aviva’s experiences, moments, highlights have all been created at once. It was like she just learned to walk or read, or her 8th birthday party just happened, or the elusive moment when she just found her passion. All of time condensed into this moment. This is what life is all about.

Shorty after that Aviva meets the three women of greatest influence in my life. My loving mother and two sisters. If love, wisdom and health were a measure of wealth, we had nearly an embarrassment of riches. Aviva and Mom were healthy and lucid, high on the Love Drug and not any other. I looked clear into my baby’s eyes as she looked back. Again, I cried. The most beautiful, most amazing intelligent baby ever…. our baby!

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