Happy Winter and Holidays to you! I hope you are safe, healthy, and warm.

Some friends urged me to share the poem that I wrote and posted on social media earlier in December on the eve of my kiddo’s 4th birthday. I changed a few details to protect our family’s privacy, but I decided to share it on this platform.

I am an open book when it comes to my birth story in a 1:1 way, so please reach out to me if you’d like to chat offline (plus, I’d love to hear yours, too!). And, if you or someone you know is expecting in the Madison area, I highly recommend my doula Denise Booth (I gush about her here).

Please enjoy my own take on the 19th century poem, “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” (or more commonly known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas“) that’s been attributed to a few authors over the years.

Also, bonus points for anyone who can find the lines I borrowed from my children’s picture book, “Waverly Braves the Breeze: The Story of a Galápagos Albatross.”

‘Twas the Night Before You

‘Twas the night before you, when your dad and I came home,

Not realizing ‘twas our last Costco run alone;

The newly washed bottles were drying with care,

In hopes that a baby soon would be there.

Unusually tired, I went early to bed,

leaving some Saturday emails unread.

A few hours later, my water had broken.

A week early? I thought. You’ve got to be jokin’…

I soon recalled what the doula once said:

Stay calm. Don’t stress. Distract yourself instead.

So away I walked to the t.v. room with intention,

Clearing my throat to get your dad’s attention.

I said, with the cats all snug by his feet,

“When your show is over, can you help me change the sheet?”

Then what to our wondering minds did appear,

But the thought that labor soon may be here.

We quietly pondered the journey ahead.

Filled with a mix of excitement and dread.

Without strong contractions, I told him to nap,

While I checked off my list and pet cats on my lap.

A few hours later, it was time — I just knew —

To pack up our bags in our new Subaru.

Faster than a hurricane, intense waves came,

And we knew that our lives would never be the same.

Soon after we opened the hospital doors,

I tossed my cookies and bled on its floors.

With your dad and my doula and doctors all there,

Encouraging breathing and pushing with care,

I surrendered to the path that lie ahead,

Trusting that all would be well in the end.

And then, in the sunshine, I heard a sweet sound,

A cry so familiar yet new from the ground.

You were covered in fluid and cried on my chest,

And I overflowed with joy I’d never expressed.

Your eyes—how they twinkled! Your dimples, how merry!

Your cheeks were like roses, your shoulders were hairy?!

A golden hour nestled with me and your dad near,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to fear;

You spoke not a word, but went straight to my chest,

And filled up your belly; Oh how we are blessed.

Dear one, we love you more than words can say.

Each year we wish you the happiest birthday!

Thanks for reading Under the Drumlin Sun! This post is public so feel free to share it.