Welcome With Love

Rating:
Summary: Home Birth Momma
Review: As a home birth mom myself I adore this book! I needed a "how was I born book" for my daughter. So many books talked about the hospital birth and I did not want to imbed that into her precious mind. Co sleeping, brestfeeding, labor and love are all beautifully portrayed! I nerer noticed the rusticness until I read it in these other reviews. BUY IT, KEEP IT FOREVER!

Rating:
Summary: Home Birth Momma
Review: As a home birth mom myself I adore this book! I needed a "how was I born book" for my daughter. So many books talked about the hospital birth and I did not want to imbed that into her precious mind. Co sleeping, brestfeeding, labor and love are all beautifully portrayed! I nerer noticed the rusticness until I read it in these other reviews. BUY IT, KEEP IT FOREVER!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, tender account of a homebirth for children
Review: I bought this book on the recommendation of a midwife in the homebirth practice I used with my 2nd child. I was amazed by the beautiful story & lovely pictures. My 3 year old loved it too - especially the pictures of the little children meeting the new baby. I was so happy to have this book to introduce this topic to my daughter so she wouldn't be afraid by what was happening. It really prepared her well.

Rating:
Summary: Fills a definite need
Review: I had a homebirth and loved it. I think everyone, adults and children, need to know more about the absolute joy and safety of birthing at home. My 2 children who attended their baby brother's birth now accept homebirth as normal, not just for people who "don't like hospitals".

On the other hand, I was disappointed that the family portrayed wasn't just a regular, ordinary family. They were removed from the life that most of us live- they heated only with wood, and lighted their home with candles. Few of us do that. Most of us have central heat and lights, a water heater and a gas stove. We drive to our midwife's prenatal appointments in our cars purchased a Any Dealer USA. We aren't "back to nature" people. I fear that this book portrays a homebirthing family as out of the ordinary. As long as we view it that way, Boulder's 12% homebirthing rate will be *exceedingly* rare, and 99% of US births will continue to be in hospitals. That is a shame.

Rating:
Summary: moving and realistic child's-eye view of a homebirth
Review: I love this book. It portrays birth as a natural and beautiful event. The pictures show the mother and the birth honestly. The text is simple enough for a small child to understand while accurately describing what is happening. This book is a "must have" for anyone with children who is planning to give birth at home.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully illustrates natural birth in a family
Review: It seems like every book about the arrival of a new sibling tells a child he should be jealous -- do we set them up for this? This book, instead, illustrates wonder and love as it tells the story of the birth of a family's fourth child through the eyes of the third, while acknowledging subtly and honestly that young Jack is aware of the change in his place in the family, through a single sentence near the end ("[The baby]'s between Mum and Dad, which is where I'd like to be.") In this home birth, though a midwife attends, family is central: Julie Vivas depicts the girls holding a hot water bottle against Mum's back and bringing her towels; an aunt arrives bearing flowers and soup; Dad holds Mum tight during contractions. Breasts and nursing and naked Mum are illustrated naturally and beautifully. Yes, the setting is rustic (as some reviewers note) but the book takes place in Australia, which probably accounts for cultural differences. Homebirthing, breastfeeding, and family-bedding folks will find content that supports these practices. My 15-month-old loves to turn to the page with a large illustration of a wrinkly, naked boy baby with the cord still attached. I plan to use this book liberally with my son when we begin preparing for his first sibling in a couple of years.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully illustrates natural birth in a family
Review: It seems like every book about the arrival of a new sibling tells a child he should be jealous -- do we set them up for this? This book, instead, illustrates wonder and love as it tells the story of the birth of a family's fourth child through the eyes of the third, while acknowledging subtly and honestly that young Jack is aware of the change in his place in the family, through a single sentence near the end ("[The baby]'s between Mum and Dad, which is where I'd like to be.") In this home birth, though a midwife attends, family is central: Julie Vivas depicts the girls holding a hot water bottle against Mum's back and bringing her towels; an aunt arrives bearing flowers and soup; Dad holds Mum tight during contractions. Breasts and nursing and naked Mum are illustrated naturally and beautifully. Yes, the setting is rustic (as some reviewers note) but the book takes place in Australia, which probably accounts for cultural differences. Homebirthing, breastfeeding, and family-bedding folks will find content that supports these practices. My 15-month-old loves to turn to the page with a large illustration of a wrinkly, naked boy baby with the cord still attached. I plan to use this book liberally with my son when we begin preparing for his first sibling in a couple of years.

Rating:
Summary: welcome with love
Review: Our experience with homebirth was almost identical to the one described in the book. We too have a wood burning stove and our children were born on cold days. The book has been essential on preparing our older children for the birth of our third child and now our fourth child. It is the best book to explain a natural homebirth and should be a must read for all parents to be. There is a way to be welcomed into this world with love, no doctors or nurses running back and forth causing stress, just the calm and peace of a family home. I have recommended this book to many of my customers who buy Storchenwiege baby slings from me. We all can't get enough of reading it.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book on Birth For Children
Review: This is a great book about a family giving birth to their fourth child at home. While I agree with the previous reviewer about the "rustic" setting being removed from what most of us are used to, I still found the book very useful. My two year old daughter loves the book and it really helped her understand what is going to happen at our upcoming birth.

The book is told from the perspective of the youngest child, a little boy, who is seeing birth for the first time. [His two older sisters got to see him born]. The language and action are very appropriate for a young child [I can imagine my daughter doing and saying the same things]. The illustrations are unusual and wonderful - different from any I've seen before, but very eye catching and interesting.

This book has been very helpful to me in preparing our daughter for the birth of her sibling. It has helped us talk about "normal" noises when mommies have babies, as well as about the mechanics of what happens. I'm very pleased that we bought this one!

Rating:
Summary: What birth can mean for a family
Review: Welcome With Love talks about childbirth with love, feelings, and great respect. It is about the kind of birth that all women are entitled to have -- and all families are entitled to be part of.

This wonderful children's book depicts a gentle, natural home birth on a windy, fireplace-lit night. The whole family participates in welcoming the new baby into the world. The story of a mother's fourth baby being born, is told in her young son's voice. He speaks of his mother's great noises during labor but he's not afraid, because she had told him beforehand that she "might make a lot of noise", he mustn't worry because "that's what it's like when babies are being born," and that she'll feel better if she yells and screams. The book shows the mother in full naked splendor pushing her baby out, the family watches with great love, tears in their eyes and excitement in their faces. The pictures were illustrated with absolute respect and regard for the birthing woman's privacy and dignity.

The book describes childbirth with touching honesty and realism. This is a perfect book to prepare children for the homebirth of a sibling. I found this beautiful story at our local library and enjoyed reading it so much I purchased a copy for my family. I love this book and highly recommend reading it to children of all ages.