Birth as an Initiation: Surrender, Partnership, and the First 40 Days as New Parents

In this episode, my husband Spencer and I share the full story of our son’s birth... including how it didn’t go as planned and how that experience became an initiation into surrender, trust, and partnership.We talk honestly about labor expectations versus reality, the emotional and relational impact of birth, and what the first 40 days postpartum really looked like for us. From navigating exhaustion and uncertainty to learning how to support each other as new parents, this conversation is a real-time reflection on becoming a family!Spencer chimes in with his perspective on the birth itself and on a meaningful challenge we faced during our son’s first week of life...and how it shaped the way we communicate, co-regulate, and show up for each other now.This episode is for anyone preparing for birth, in early postpartum, or curious about how parenthood reshapes identity, relationships, and expectations. It’s not a polished highlight reel but rather an honest conversation about our personal journey of surrender, growth, and learning as we go (as we are still in it!).