Champagne and a lie down

I don't know what the American way of birth is like, but apparently on private British wards you a bottle of champagne and a lie down afterwards. Sounds peachy, yes?

Smell the roses, but do keep going.

On the NHS, the midwife gives you about thirty minutes before she tells you to sit up and start breastfeeding. If you are a reasonable human, you insist that you need to rest, and surely it can wait till later. 

The midwife tiredly responds that all that jazz is over - it's time to get up and get on with it. NHS midwives excel at ripping bandages off quickly.

So happy day to all the great mamas I know, who don't rest and never get to wait. And happy day to our beloved ones, as tired and relentless as we are, who make it possible for us to carry out our task with joy.

May the lot of us spend the distant future drinking champagne and napping. For now, let's get up and get on with it.