Nicole Bickel (31) currently 5.5 months pregnant, Holden (3.5), and Thatcher (1). Nicole also had a miscarriage in at 9 weeks in 2012.
Hayfork, CA / Valrico, FL | Photographed in Tampa, FL.
Nicole is previous project participant. You can view her September 2016 photo from Sacramento, CA here.
Nicole shares -
"I'm one who loves my postpartum bod. I have curves and boobs which I never had before. Though I'm pregnant now and how this stands true after this birth.
After my first birth which was a homebirth transfer ending in a cesarean after 36 hrs of natural labor I suffered from postpartum depression pretty bad. I was transferred during transition, was 9.5 cm when they wheeled me in. I had a posterior baby and no one knew until I was cut open. My body was doing what it was supposed to, posterior births just take more time and patience. The midwife and doctors failed me. I felt like I failed me. It wasn't until getting to have my next son at home that I felt it lifted. Literally the moment I pushed him out I felt like a different person. It was like an awakening.
Everyone has a birth story. And they're all equally important. I might've thought my first birth was one of the worst out there followed by my PPROM (Preterm, Premature Rupture of Membranes) with the second but since then I've heard much worse. I have had multiple friends lose their babies right before or at their due dates, friends deal with premature births and other unnecessary cesareans. I've heard wonderful birth stories and I used to be jealous but you know what, that's a blessing for them to be able to experience and that should absolutely be celebrated in its own right. We all have our own story, they all deserve to be acknowledged, shared, respected. We are handed only what we can manage. So I celebrate all our births, all our strengths, all our stories, because mother's and birthing are awesome.
I was lucky enough to participate in the project three months after my second was born. When I heard that you were coming to my midwifes location in Tampa I felt drawn, like it was meant to be. I thought, why not? Let's celebrate this new 5.5 month pregnant bod as well."