Mother-Daughter Circle Making Lifelong Connections With Your Teenager

Connected Since Birth The Night That You Were Born The night that you were born, as the clock struck seven You came into this world, a gift from heaven. And all the nurses laughed, for your face was smiling To be here on the earth and be so beguiling. They say you had dimples where the angels kissed you As tokens of their love and to show they'd miss you. And you were blessed with life, a new soul parting The night that you were born, purest love just starting. Prayers on My Pillow As parents, and friends, of children, we may take part in birthing our children, but they are here to birth something far more profound in us: the eyes to see as a child again. It's not easy to see with a child's eyes, so we are given the opportunity through our children. We are sent the bread of angels to experience the heart of God. In the Womb of God, by Celeste Snowber Schroeder "When I saw my daughter for the first time, I was completely unprepared for what I would feel. It was such joy." mother of thirteen-year-old "We went to get her at the orphanage. I was extremely stressed out. I had waited so long for this moment, but I was also afraid. I didn't know what I was going to feel, and that made me nervous. But when I saw her, I just melted. I still melt." mother of adopted ten-year-old from Colombia "Whenever I get really angry at Monica, I try to think back on the last time I breast-fed her. I had to go back to work, and she took to the bottle. It didn't make sense to continue. But I remember looking down and loving her so much and thinking this part is going to stop now, and I started crying. I got her little face all wet with my tears. So when I get mad, I think about how I felt then." mother of eleven-year-old "I remember the birth of every one of my girls, and each time, for me, it was like what I imagine looking at the face of God would be." mother of five girls, ages 8 to 25 "I chose home birthing because I wanted to welcome her into the world in the most loving and gentle way I could think of." mother of fifteen-year-old "One of my favorite times is when my mom talks about how it was when she gave birth to me. I just love to hear her talk about that." Sara, age 12 "My mom's pregnant-with-me stories are hysterical." Alexis, age 17 "Sometimes I ask my mother to tell me everything about when I was born." Michelle, age 15 "I love it when I'm sick and she stays up and comforts me by telling me stories about when I was little." Chanie, age 13 "My mother says she played the piano the whole time I was in her tummy. I think that is why I like music better than anything." Rebecca, age 9 When my daughters and I share stories, our favorites are about how they were born. If I forget something, like the name of the movie my husband and I were watching when I started having contractions when pregnant with Julia (Victor/Victoria), or how Emily was fed for the first three days with an eyedropper, they remind me. Julia's story chronicles an anxiety-free, "glowing" first pregnancy culminating with the delivery of a plump eight-and-a-half-pound baby girl. Emily's story is quite the opposite. It is about a risky pregnancy, some of which was spent in bed, culminating almost two months early with a C-section and delivery of a scrawny, four-pound baby girl. I tell them other stories about the often humorous ways I met the challenges of first- time motherhood. (Like the time I took Julia in a portable bassinet to a local restaurant, was seated at a booth, stored her safely away under the table, where she went to sleep, and then completely forgot aboutStraus, Celia is the author of 'Mother-Daughter Circle Making Lifelong Connections With Your Teenager' with ISBN 9780345448866 and ISBN 0345448863.