New Babe on the Block... by Paxus
At three minutes to midnight on Validation Day Willow Star Falcon was born to mom Hawina and two relieved dads Sky and Paxus and near by goddess-mother Joy.

It was not an easy birth. Hawina spent the day and walking in the woods but by late afternoon labor started progressing very quickly. The midwife Nancy arrived at 9pm and within an hour decided we needed to transport to the hospital. There was meconium in Hawina's flow, her tailbone was in the way, keeping Willow stuck in the pelvis, and during strong pushing Willow's heart beat would drop dangerously low. For the family that had only wanted a home birth, this was hard news.

Our fears were allayed when we arrived. The doctor on call: Victoria, a woman who had worked with Nancy in the past. In a bit of midwifery magic, Nancy transfered our trust of her to the doctor.

Victoria said early on "i am not going to be a hero", a statement that turned out to be a lie. She would try with forceps three times; then Hawina would have to have a Cesarean section. Victoria cut Hawina during one of the contractions but the pain was so great already she barely noticed. On the second attempt the tailbone loudly popped out of the way. On the third attempt Willow's head and then body emerged. Pediatricians near by sucked the meconium out of his lungs and after couple of minutes we were all relieved to hear him crying.

Frodo took pictures of all of the stages of the birth. He knew the hospital staff were professional; they paused only for a half a second when they saw him in a flowing dress (straight from the Validation Day party) before returning to their work.