The gorgeous Maggie McGinnis and Calliope "Poppy" (2.5).
Maggie is a massage therapist who focuses on prenatal and postpartum. Through her work she has been involved in the local birth world within her community for the better part of a decade. When she and her former husband chose to have a baby, she was already well connected with providers and support.
Maggie planned to deliver at home but the birth she had was not the one she'd hoped for. Labor started naturally and Maggie felt as if she was progressing well. After about 12 hours she was certain she was nearing the finish line only to have her midwife check her and discover she was 3cms dilated. Maggie found that from there she could not get out of her head and while she had hoped to get herself to a place where she could enjoy labor she felt every contraction and struggled with it. The decision was made to transfer to hospital still hoping for a vaginal birth but Poppy's heart beat fell to the 40's for over 10 minutes and the needed to deliver via cesarean. Once they got her out they discovered she was wrapped twice in her cord like a seatbelt, once from shoulder to hip and again around her waist. Poppy had been stuck and there was no way she would have been able to descend in that position. While the birth wasn't what she'd hoped and recovery was a challenge, Maggie is a good candidate for a VBAC and appreciates knowing that should she have other children.
Poppy and Maggie are enjoying a breastfeeding relationship that they worked hard to establish. After 3 lip and tongue tie revisions they were able to find a provider that corrected her ties and allowed them to get a latch that was both comfortable and efficient. Poppy loves nursing and Maggie hopes to allow her to self-wean when she's ready.
Co-parenting is going well and Maggie is focusing her energies on harnessing self-love, celebrating and appreciating herself in every way possible. She's just purchased her first house, has a career she loves and is able to independently support herself and her daughter. There are times she struggles with her stretch marks and smooshy belly but in those moments she recalls how much she loved being pregnant and how confident she was. Poppy finds comfort in her breasts that feed her and Maggie's soft belly that was once her home. Those thoughts, make it easier for her to turn towards self-love.