Two years ago this week, I bumped into a neighbor who's married to an ob-gyn. Making small talk about my impending delivery, I said I hoped the coming full moon would do the trick. "Or maybe we'll get a thunderstorm," she replied.I'd never heard that before, but she swore that she, her husband, and his colleagues over the years had noticed a significant uptick in births during and just after storms. Thunderstorms are a summer phenomenon, I thought; the snow is just barely receding. There's no way we'll get one now.
Sure enough, a few days later thunder clapped through the sky, lightning flashed, slashing rain fell, my dog curled into a tiny ball, trembling and panting. And my baby ... stayed firmly put. He didn't emerge until more than a week later.
Tonight we ushered in spring with a rousing storm. This time, no restless baby kicking at my insides, keeping me guessing on when he'd come and who he'd be. Now a toddler demanding "more boom!" Now a tiny boy following his big sister's lead, hovering over a terrified dog, patting and soothing. "Okay, Fah-ee. Okay." Now a blond head nodding to sleep on my shoulder as the lightning bursts through the window blinds. Now my own Opie.
13 comments:
"More boom!" I love it. It sounds like an ad for weather. "Now, with more boom!"
Awww, what a sweet post! I had never heard the Thunderstorm brings on babies thing either.
Never let him give up putting his blonde little head on your shoulder! :)
This is such a touching post...I'm smiling, having read it.
Oh sweet, sweet Opie. I loved this!
PS They told me that too- I had a full moon around my due date. They are full of shit.
I've heard that statistically there aren't really any more births on a full moon. Only that the staff or people having the babies tend to remember if there was a full moon.
With my first there was a full moon, I was at my due date, it was extremely hot (end of July) and I went garage saling hoping to go into labor. I even went to a sale at what ended up being at a doula's house. She said she'd see me that eveneing. Nope!
I had both my babies just before a major storm. With Bub, we returned home to find both our garbage bins blown away, and with Pie we returned home to find everything green after a very long, dry heat wave. It felt surreal both times, since the storms occurred while I was well-insulated in the hospital - I didn't see or hear them, and only saw their effects.
Those storms in the mid-west scare the shit out of me. You are brave...so are your children!
lovely post...storms rock. something about raw power to really notify you of your place in the world and appreciate the sanctuary of home.
on an entirely different and fluffier note, i have tagged you for ye old music meme, if you wanna play. :) come on over.
This is so sweet.
The storm thing is anecdotally true.
Hurricanes swamp the L&D ward here. Every doctor and nurse swears it is the pressure change.
After Katrina, the wards were full through the halls, and the births were dreadful on the whole. The poor moms were so anxious and PTSD. The NICU became overcrowded. On the whole, it all worked out thanks to dedicated medical professionals, some of whom sat for days by moms all alone.
Oh man. Stop making me CRY. I MISS YOU GUYS.
I know I'm a bit late on this, but I heard thunder for the first time this spring today. The look on CJ's face was priceless.
I absolutely love thunderstorms, but they're almost always followed by a forest fire here so, you know, I feel guilty about enjoying them.
Happy birthday to Opie!
My water broke on a full moon--but no thunderstorms.
My water broke just before a June thunderstorm, which is kind of rare here. The pressure had *really* dropped; my dad's an anesthesiologist, and he swears it's the pressure, too.
Don't know about the full moon thing, though. :P
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