Monday, August 3, 2009

Faith


This is a picture at one of our homebirths!!! Presenting little baby June
Detrah is in the pink, she is the wonderful midwife that i work with:)

Birth is a normal, natural function that is designed so well physiologically that it rarely needs outside assistance. Many midwives know this intellectually, but it can take time to develop a heart's worth of trust.

An explanation of the nature of faith: When you sit on a chair, you believe it will hold you up and you do not even give a thought that it might collapse under your body. You trust the design of the chair, and you've had experience and know it is trustworthy. Imagine trying to sit on it and having strangers walk in and attach you to a monitor—just in case this chair should collapse. Imagine being denied food and water in case the chair fails and you need surgery. What if you've heard chair horror stories all your life, and you doubt your ability to cope with the discomforts of sitting on a chair? Faith in the design of the chair creates an attitude of trust that allows you to release with abandon the tension of your body to the chair.

Sometimes pregnant women are short on faith about their abilities to give birth. Often, whether we realize it or not, it is faith that they want and need from us. Faith is a quality and an attitude that can make or break some labors. Anyone who has been in a situation that tested their mettle and caused them to doubt themselves but had at least one advocate saying, "Go for it! I know you can do it" has experienced the power of faith. In my practice, I'm amazed at the difference of wisdom that flows out of me when working with those who trust me versus those who are very fearful of birth with a midwife.

— Excerpted from "A Matter of Faith," by Caroline Eustice, Midwifery Today Issue 17

Friday, July 24, 2009

More pics:)



Thursday, July 23, 2009

Lil Update!

I hate when I don't blog for ages for many reasons, one being, not one person out there still reads my blog so Ill just write for kicks:) two; there is much to blog about!! How do I fit in the following; heading off to Canada to visit my most favorite people in the world, coming home and hiking the great Half Dome, a beautiful day at Yosemite's Glacier Point followed by a killer dinner with my Love at the Bug in Yosemite!
Its been a wonderfully great and busy summer so far, today I'm off to water aerobics with my 70-80 year old girlfriends then hopefully get some charting done for my very first Midwifery client! yay!!I feel ready but I'm still feeling like I'm not quite ready to fully step in the midwifery world:/ but i know i have worked hard for it and I'm super excited!! my wonderful midwife that i work with will be overseeing everything and is always there for me when if i ever have any questions at all!




Thursday, February 19, 2009

Brain Blob

Brain space... well round two at taking my Board Exam to be a midwife, and I feel humbled to say the least. i sat in sterile feeling room inside the Medical Board of California while my crazy proctor read word for word the test prep shpeel. I broke the seal on the test and there i was taking the stinking NARM!!! I got through it and finished with a stiff neck and what felt like a brain explosion... I then made my way to a coffee shop and sat in hopes that i passed and made my phone calls to the family and told them I really didnt know if i passed or not... i suck at test taking!!! for reals i do!! I know I know all the information on that test... i know enough to pass it no problem but i just cant get over the nerves of testing... AHHHHHHHHHHHoh well... we will see..
Now with this test being over with i have so much more brain space, i got caught up on all my blog reading, i watched American Idol with my Cousins, who are down from seattle for a visit, we played spoons till midnight they are so so great!!!!
and now i will be heading home and am planning on crashing on the couch while watching the Office tonight....ahh:)

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Love This Song!

A dear friend gave me this song... i love it!


Started rubbing sticks together
I thought a spark would take forever
I never dreamt this fire would appear

When Moses saw the Bush in flames
And heard the branches speak his name
I wonder if he felt this kind of fear

'Cause I'm burnin'
Yeah, I'm burnin'
And I know I'm gonna blister in these flames
So I'll stay here
'Till this smoke clears
And I'll find you in the ashes that remain

Used to be that I could say
My faith was one arm's length away
From any flame that ever felt too warm

Asked for matches, but I recieved
A gallon full of gasoline
Now my cozy campfire days are gone

'Cause I'm burnin'
Yeah I'm burnin'
And I know I'm gonna blister in these flames
So I'll stay here
'Till this smoke clears
And I'll find you in the ashes that remain

'Knock with caution at the door'
They said, 'Beware of what you're praying for'

So I'll stand here with my whole desire
In the middle of this forest fire
'Till I've nothing left to show
And new life begins to grow...

Nichole Nordeman - Burnin'

Monday, September 22, 2008

outside my COMFORT BOX


Well I am stepping outside my comfort box and have been asked to participate in a play hosted by the CRN (childbirth recourse network). If you have ever heard of the Vagina Monologues, this is the Birth version... the motivation behind this the play is to shine some light on the childbirth crisis in America, its a movement to make maternity care Mother-Friendly in America. I have had the privilege to be at births over seas in other cultures, in the hospitals, in the home, in birthing centers. There were some of the most beautiful moments i have witnessed in childbirth and the most shocking. The most shocking was seen in the hospitals where the "western way" was desired. lets just say it was nothing short traumatising, robbing women of their dignity and choice. If we can change the way that America views birth and pregnancy then we can change the world.

Birth is a play based on over one hundred interviews Karen Brody conducted with mothers across America who gave birth between 2000-2004. It tells the true stories of 8 women painting a portrait of how low-risk, educated women are giving birth in America today.

Please come and show your support!! I am playing janet.. one of the 8 women!

SEPT 28 2008, 1:00pm and again at 6pm
The Tower Theater, Fresno Ca

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Degreenafying the ugly test with NYC!


I really need to be more consistent with my blogging because when i sit down to write you THERE IS WAY TOO MUCH TO SAY, so what i end up doing is blogging all over you; sorry!
I took a test this week, a really really hard test.
For two years my life has been leading up to taking that test on AUG. 20. 2008, and its over now! The night before the "test" Jess and I flipped through our beautifully handcrafted note cards, testing each other on our knowledge. we felt empowered by how much we had learned, but SCARED out of our minds to face our doom at 8:00 am the next day. well, we took it and let me tell you no walk in the park, not even a hike, this test felt like rock climbing up the face of half dome without any gear.Disappointment in myself set in after the test. It will be by the grace of God if we passed! but with a few encouraging notes from some great girls and great family, i feel encouraged that weather i passed or failed, i TOOK the blasted test, and i know i did my best... and for that i feel so GREAT!
Following the test Jess and i packed up and left straight for NEW YORK CITY baby! where, and can i just say words cannot describe how much fun we had! We thought as a celebratory midwife thing we would put our names in the lottery out side of The Wicked on Broadway to win free front row tickets. HA! 400 people showed up! they only choose 13 names! ha, but, and this never happens to me, WE GOT CHOSEN! AHH! so as if that was not enough, Jess knew a girl in the show, and called her up and was like "what up girl we're here front row..." so her beautifully talented friend told the whole cast that we were there and they all sang right at us! including Galinda, the monkeys waved at us! (seriously, Girls you would have died!) and if that was not enough we met up with her friend after the show outside the theater and TOOK US BACK STAGE!!!!!!! okay okay i cant contain it right now, even as im writing this i start to giggle and laugh at how incredible it all was!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Humphrey the Hernia

Well apparently I have been a little stressed out lately because after returning home from a GREAT weekend in Mammoth for the 4th of July and moving my brother the following day in SLO I received Humphrey the Hernia... yep, I got a hernia... last week it was super sore and after the lovely Dr. Accedo confirmed that yes I did have what looked to be a hernia I realized that I need to slow down and rest up a bit.
This last week has been super super busy, my mom and I are going to a wedding this weekend so I had an excuse to buy a super cute dress from Macy's and today I will look for shoes. fun fun...
Today I sit at mommy matters all day in hopes that someone will walk in and ask me to be their Doula or give them a childbirth class... but its unlikely that it will happen.,, which is actually probably a good thing... seeing how I need to direct all my efforts and brain power towards studying for the NARM (CPM TEST!!) (AND IM FREAKING OUT ABOUT IT)
Below are pictures from our hikes in Mammoth


A little coffee shop called The Looney Bean... so good!!