we are our own worst critic

So often, we as parents see only the ways that we fall short. Its is so true what they say, that we are our own worst critics. So a sweet little video, that I couldn't resist sharing, to show you that maybe what you see, and what our kids see is very different:


A New Perspective For Moms from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

Keep on keeping on, Mamas.

A Beautiful Birth - Not What You Would Expect

My daughter loves to watch birth videos on YouTube, which is great for me since I love watching births.  Mainly we watch the unassisted birth videos so she gets a very hands off feel for birth, and learns to trust the process early so it stays with her her whole life.

Every once in a while, she will get sick of watching women birth, and will turn to animals.  We have watched giraffes, horses, whales, cats, dogs, rabbits, elephants, and so much more. We found this video a couple years ago, and it still is able to give me goosebumps.

This is a video of an elephant giving birth.  Elephants like to be alone when they birth, like most animals, and most birth at night.  The female elephants surround the laboring elephant so she is completely secluded, so the fact that his elephant births with humans around just shows the level of trust.

With elephants, while they are in labor, the umbilical cord breaks about 30 minutes before birth.  For them, it isn't the same as humans, but it is so mystical to me.  A baby elephant goes 30 minutes without oxygen from anywhere, and is still able to survive.  Mother Nature rocks.

This is a video of an elephant birth, so if you don't wish to see that, don't hit play.  Also, this could be a trigger warning for anyone that has had a baby that needed resuscitation, so beware of that.

Basically, just watch and enjoy :)