Leo Walker Kreutter
Born May 12, 2015
8 lbs. 2 oz. 21.5 inches long
Leo because lion is a symbol of courage, strength, and bravery. Courage comes from coeur, meaning heart. May he always find the courage to listen to his heart and the strength and bravery required to follow it.
During labor, his low heart rate required a transfer from home to the hospital, but it quickly resolved itself and all turned out well. Even coming into this world, he is Leo the Lionhearted.
The day of birth and the few following days were some of the hardest of my life, but also some of the most empowering. Now we are slowly figuring out this dance of life together, the three of us learning each others' cues - when to lead, when to fall in step. And the oxytocin, the love hormone, works its magic.
This beautiful poem really got me. I still can't make it through without crying:
SELFLESSNESS
A mother who gives herself
completely to her infant meets
herself in the dark and finds
fulfillment.
In the hours between midnight
and dawn, she crosses the
threshold of self-concern and
discovers a Self that has no limits.
A wise mother meets this
Presence with humility and steps
through time into selflessness.
Infants know when their mothers have
done this, and they become peaceful.
Who, then, is the doer? Is it the infant
who brings its mother through the veil
of self-concern into limitlessness? Is it
the mother, who chooses to hold
sacred her infant's needs and
surrender herself? Or is it the
One, which weaves them both
through a spiraling path
toward wholeness?
From an incredibly beautiful book, The Tao of Motherhood, by Vimala McClure
And another great poem by my husband about this tiny new life.