4 months ago 🥹🥹🥹🥹 she started coming and changed our whole world 💞 It took me a while to gather the courage to get this film developed because I couldn’t face looking at the delivery- only sharing the PG pics here but my sis caught it all 🚀 and am so grateful she did because I now see how beautiful it was. How strong I am, that I brought our child into the world, our beautiful Biba. I am grateful my sis and mom came running to the hospital when i called for them that they were there, that Joris got a rest after holding me for 18 hours at home. It was Friday 29th of April and I still thought I’d have a week before she’d come because most first babies are late. So I was waddling around Amsterdam and still working. In retrospect I should’ve taken off, taken a rest because I went into labour and motherhood beyond exhausted. I learnt the hard way. I thought the pains I was feeling were practice contractions, Braxton Hix so I just kept going. But somewhere along the day I was grasping for air I messaged Kees to say I thought it might happen that evening. I remember going to bed in one of the guest rooms to kind of celebrate and relax. I felt good, beautiful, strong and ready for what was to come. I asked Joris to take pics 😂 those are the first few in this slide. We went to bed but I stayed wide awake. Was kind of excited and started counting contractions. A few hours later I knew it was it so I shook Joris awake and he called our Doula, the midwife. She came rushing, he filled the bath. The rest is a haze- I don’t remember much from the first 18 hours at home, I think because I was in so much pain. My legs were shaking non stop, I hadnt slept, I wanted to power through but eventually begged to go to the hospital. I was scared, she wasn’t coming and it wasn’t the beautiful empowering process I thought it would be. I look at the pictures at the hospital and see pure joy. I am grateful we ended up in good hands. I’m grateful for everything and look at the world with new eyes since these 36 hours of labour. 🙏🏽 forever