The downside to hiring a Midwife

Ok so really there is NO real downside to hiring a midwife. But for me what it has done has sparked and rekindled my love for other women in the pregnancy,  birthing, and early child rearing stages. Seeing the care and love my midwife puts into our appointments each time and reading through her childbirth education curriculum has jump started my passion for the birthing community.  I'm not sure it ever left but it took a beating over the last year or so and especially when we lost our sweet baby. 
This same thing happened when I had my first natural birth. The relationship with my doula turned into a beautiful friendship and mentorship that I still treasure.  She moved out of state within a year or so of knowing her.  I cherish our relationship and everything she taught and inspired in me even though the communication is few and far between through social media.
I guess what I see as a downside is now that the passion is there and flaming hot, I have this beach ball of a belly that is my task at hand. So the passion is steaming but the timing is wrong... a waiting game. :-) I am so thankful that God sent us to this particular midwife, I see our friendship growing past the birth of our baby boy (in just a few weeks) and I am so excited to see where God takes it.
Besides all my very best and closest friends have seen my lady parts... this has to be a great sign!

Always teaching. :) She kept the girls informed and excited. 

The way she knew where baby was amazed me! 

<3

Doubting the natural approach

Sometimes when my family gets sick I blame myself. I can't help it, it's my job to keep them healthy and when they sick it feels like an epic fail.  But it also give me the opportunity to learn. So whatever symptoms come up I try to find the root cause and treat that along with making them comfortable. This week has been a weird mix of different kinds of sickness. 
For me it started when my husband had a cough/cold/possible bronchitis and went on several trips into wintery states which seemed to make it worse. He returned from his last trip and sounded the worst he has in a while and having missed his girls so.much we took it easy and snuggled up for a movie night. After the kiddos went to bed I found some remedies and applied them all to my ailing partner. By morning he had mostly kicked the nasty of his crud. Being the snuggly house we are I knew it was bound to spread and it did. Last Sunday we went against better judgment and got a pizza which in turn made the girls and I all sick to our stomachs the next day. it must have been something awful bc whatever it was my sweet little independent 4 year old threw up in the middle of the night and just took her self to the bathroom, cleaned herself up, took her blanket to the washer and went back to bed and never even came to wake us up for anything.  She woke the next morning with an icky cough that was just sounding worse and worse.  My brain went to work on what she had going on. I landed on bronchitis bc of the sound of the cough and a slight low grade fever that presented the next day. Once she got the fever, I got serious about treating it. I am a firm believer in that the body is created to treat itself and resolve just about anything it comes into contact with on its own with little help. My usual go-to's for immune boosting are Elderberry and bone broth... of course I am out of both at the moment having used a lot of it all the previous week when my hubs was under the weather. Knowing those take a while to make I did some digging and found some remedies specific to bronchitis.  Pineapple being a big one I sent dad out to the store for pineapple, a lemon, ginger, garlic, and honey. We mixed it all (minus the garlic ) into a drink and made some Popsicles out of it too. That combined with lots of water, diffusing essential oils and covering her in a chest rub she slept pretty peacefully for the most part. I checked her fever at 4pm-101.7, at 7pm- 102.6, and then at 2 am it was starting to go down and was at 101.2. And when we woke up at 8 this morning it was gone. :-) she hardly coughed through the night and only woke a few times to blow her sweet little nose. I'm so very thankful to have trusted my gut. A lot of times I get to the point where I think I need to give up. That's usually when I have to have a mental conversation with myself that goes along these lines,"ok we haven't gotten to the point where medical attention is necessary, I know it stinks to see that sweet girl not feeling well but it's better for her body to fight it off. It will make her stronger and she'll be less susceptible to it next time." Then I tell myself ok two more hours... and I wait. Then by the grace of God, they improve and wake up feeling back to normal. Being a mom we always doubt ourselves... no matter what approach we take there is always self doubt and guilt that comes along with making decisions that affect someone else. Let's face it,  either way it's a crapshoot. It can go either way. If I seek medical attention,  they would likely tell me to wait it out and watch for the symptoms I was already watching for. If I treat at home there's always a possibility it could not work and be something completely different. We're all fallible, but I have to say there is a certain amount of confidence that comes with researching a sickness, understanding it's root cause, and effectively treating it with success. I am more confident in my ability to care for my family's health in a way that not only benefits them but also teaches them that they are in charge of their health starting with the food they eat and the way they care for themselves. 

Reblog- "You Might be a Crunchy Mom if"

I found this silly list of "crunchy" mom things from this site. :)

You Might be a Crunchy Mom if…
*You make everything from bug spray to cleaning supplies.
You have 1 or more children sleeping in your bed/bedroom.
*You use a cup or Mama Cloth during your menstrual cycle.
*You consumed your placenta.
You have thrown or been invited to a chicken pox party.
*You swear breast milk and coconut oil can cure anything.
*You plan to homeschool or unschool.
*Your going out shirts must be nursing friendly.
*You dream of visiting “The Farm”.
*You can pronounce quinoa, tempeh and seitan.
You use Family Cloth instead of toilet paper.
You drink kefir and kombucha.
*You buy white distilled vinegar by the gallon.
*You kids aren't the only family members that wear Baltic amber.
*You have shared breastfeeding pics on Facebook.
*You have breastfed a child that could ask for milk in a full sentence.
*You cringe when you see a “crotch dangler” baby carrier.
You are fermenting food on your counter top right now.
*You keep your kids in extended rear facing car seats until they meet weight restrictions.
*You have dreamed about starting or living in a commune.
*You have complimented a complete stranger for nursing in public.
*You have given birth at home, intentionally.
You have tried elimination communication with your baby. 
*You charted your BBT and cervical mucus while trying to conceive.
You own and use a composter.
You make your own laundry detergent and use wool dryer balls.
*You know at least 3 ways to boost breastmilk supply.
*Your friends call you when looking for natural remedies.
*You own 2 or more baby wearing devices and know the difference between a wrap, a sling, and a mei tai.
*You have a medicine cabinet without medicine in it.
*You are an intactivist and you don’t have a son.
You have gone no poo.
*Your children are on a delayed, selective, or nonexistent vaccination schedule.
You drink green smoothies or juice your vegetables.
*You use cloth diapers and wipes. Bonus points if you made them yourself.
*You have watched “The Business of Being Born.”
*You think a chicken coop would be an awesome backyard addition.
You make your own granola.

 - See more at: http://www.crunchymoms.com/you-might-be-a-crunchy-mom-if/#sthash.VjCfz5u7.dpuf


I totally thought this was hilarious! :) 

The Counter Culture Mom

I once read an article on Facebook that talked about being a "counter culture mom," which is something I'd never heard of. As I read through what they say it means to be considered counter culture, I realized- Umm, wow... Am I really that different from how the norm of society thinks? And the answer according to this was, Yep. That's kind of what got me thinking... People have always called me a hippie and when I got married they called us hippies. I embrace it. :) I'm stubborn and like to think out of the box if for no other reason than to go against the grain. However, I am learning that going against the grain in some a lot of areas isn't just being stubborn, its SMART. 

Becoming a Momma has taught me more than anything else in life. The last 7 years have all been trial/error, research, and finding my place as far as how I parent and raise my girls. With our first we did things by the book really so to  speak. Her birth was a typical hospital birth- induction, pitocin, epidural, and then an hour and half of pushing and tearing and bruising and, well lots of pain. It was then followed up with vaccinations and all the mess they put newborns through when their parents don't know any better. She was at every well baby visit and had every vaccine (for which I cried more than she did *talk about a wake up call to something being wrong*). We ate whatever and just didn't really think about anything in depth. We were young and ignorant to anything outside of what everyone told us was "the way". Through nursing her I found an alternative way of thinking and really dove into it. Women actually enjoyed pregnancy and birthing and that the pains of breast feeding would one day turn into enjoyment. People had reasons for eating "clean" and being wary of what went in and on and around their bodies (food, vaccines, medicines, lotions or other personal care items). Over the years I have been and still am continually blown away by the things I read and research and how little anyone else cares about it. There seems to be a small community of people who are awake to what's going on around them and that will step up and change things for themselves and their families. 

 I do not claim to be perfect or even note worthy, but I have plans to share what I learn and what I have learned here, and whether anyone reads it or not.. well, that's another story haha. I hope this blog finds its way to someone who is looking to change a few things in their life and I hope it helps to point them in  a positive direction.