you are gifted.

as i laid in my own bed with my husband and our hour old baby boy, we thought of what to name him. the worry and excitement and fear had been replaced with feelings of joy, thankfulness, love and purpose. i now had the honor of loving and raising two boys. something you can never fully be ready or prepared for.
but i think some things might happen not because you are ready, but maybe because it simply becomes your turn.
sometimes you have to jump, and grow your wings on the way down.
as we are admiring our new addition to the family,one of the midwives peeks her head in...
"what would you like to do with the placenta?" she asks.
the question caught me off guard. i honestly didn't know what she was talking about.
my husband kindly reminded her of where the trash was located.
she could tell we were confused and briefly informed us that this unique organ that is the mediator between the life flow of you and your baby contains many vital nutrients and is the perfect medicine for healing and rejuvenating after birth.
who knew.
and while all this was intriguing, i declined the placenta cocktail and told her i would think about the powder or pill option, she understood, and put the placenta in our freezer.

the next couple days i did some research. looked online. talked to my midwife. of course i had questions about this organic ritual. and then i was in the middle of breast-feeding and it dawned on me. i realized how much i trust my body. it made perfect sense that this organ could facilitate in healing and postpartum recovery. i called my midwife and told her i would like to have my placenta encapsulated.
after that i no longer thought of the placenta as an organ to be thrown away. but more of a gift. a miracle.

her miracle came unannounced...
and in an odd package
it looked different than she had imagined
unpolished
untimely
unexpected
unpretentious
yet it fit perfectly
divinely constructed
solely for her.
(by kristen jongen)