This is my grandmother.  She is 84 years young.  She is the mother of 5 children, grandmother of 13, and great-grand mother of almost 35!  I always share her story when talking about my own birth experience.  In 2003, my mother urged her into the bathroom where I was laboring.  She was nervous and afraid that she would witness some strange sort of bloodshed, but was surprised to see me in the bath tub holding onto my husband.  As the baby was born, I lifted him to my chest and within moments he was nursing.  The lights were kept dim, the room was quiet, the baby was at peace.  He never cried!  My grandmother was in awe.  She is now a true advocate of homebirth and believe me this is a triumph.  She was fully medicated during her own deliveries and remembers NOTHING!  She believed that there would be blood and screaming, and all other sorts of terror.  She was astonished at his ability to nurse so quickly after birth.  She loved the fact that no one took him from me.  She was proud that I could reach down to deliver my own baby.  There were 13 people in the room at that night.  Everyone learned a lot about the realities of childbirth.  It's much better than in the movies!!