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“It’s not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings.” -Ann Landers

 

 

“You are a child of the universe, no less the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. 

And weather or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”

-from Desiderata, copywright Max Ehrmann 1927

  Inspirational quote of truth borrowed from the exciting new SF Birth Center’s Instagram page. Check out their website here: http://www.sfbirthcenter.com

Featuring, “Taking Charge of Your Fertility,” by Toni Weschler:

  

I had my daughter just over a year ago. At my first prenatal visit I felt something was amiss when I told my doctor that I knew my conception date yet she ignored me and asked for the date of my last period. She used a standard pregnancy wheel to determine my due date instead of my conception date. Did she not trust me? How could I trust her to care for me during my pregnancy and to deliver my baby? Up to this point I had really felt that she had my best interest at heart. And maybe she did prior to this visit. So I looked for care elsewhere and that’s when I found a doula and midwives who helped me have the natural pregnancy and birth I wanted. 

In this book I’m finally learning about Fertility Awareness. I’m astounded that in my near 30 years on this planet no one has taught me this method of safe, natural birth control. After recently trying the IUD and sharing that I did not feel it was worth the risks or the side effects, someone I barely know but am extremely grateful to in a mom’s group led me to reading this book. I’m thankful for this information and I want to share it with others who have not heard of it, or maybe have heard of it but haven’t gotten around to doing the research yet. The information in this book can empower women to make choices for their bodies and their reproductive health. 

The standard pregnancy wheel uses an estimation that women have a 28 day cycle and are fertile on day 14 of this cycle–which is certainly not true for all woman! It’s an estimate. But this estimate is used to determine if a woman is fertile or not, subjecting her to many possibly avoidable and invasive tests, to determine when a woman’s baby is due and all too often if and when she should be induced by drugs and/or surgery to have her baby “on time.”

By the standard pregnancy wheel’s calculation, my baby was due on January 8, 2015; however, I had conceived on April 13, 2014 which means I wasn’t at full term (40 weeks) until a full week later, on January 18, 2015. Had I remained under the standard care with my doctor in the hospital I probably would have been subjected to induction and drugs, among other interventions, and at a higher risk for surgery–all based on an estimated calculation! Call me crazy, but this is enraging to me! It is not only shocking that we subject women to all of these interventions but that we do it based on a mathematical average. It makes me think of the countless number of women who want to have or could have had uninterrupted, natural labors and births and were unable to because of this ridiculous notion that all women’s cycles are the same. No two women’s bodies are the same so how can their cycles be?! My baby could have been forced to come out a week premature because my doctor chose not to listen to me or simply did not want to believe I knew what I was talking about when it came to my body.  

Baby girl was born just hours before the 18th of January (which was exactly 40 weeks after the day she was conceived) at 9:38pm on January 17, 2015. She wasn’t late, she was right on time! Early, even! It irks me but it reassures me that I knew this all along. 

If I had known this at the time I could have avoided the unnecessary and stressful monitoring and tests I had to undergo in my last week of pregnancy. It was such an intense experience for me that it brought me to tears! I had to go to the hospital early in the morning and be hooked up to monitors and screens and told I could not leave until my baby moved. She was always active at night– a time when these clinics are not open for monitoring. And no one there is in the business of listening to mothers. I was forced to sit through yet another risky ultrasound when the monitoring and tests proved no results despite the fact that I knew my baby was active and that she was indeed coming very soon because we were connected and I felt her moving every day. I was talked into doing these tests under the notion that if I did not I could be later scrutinized and even prosecuted for neglect and abuse.

We are not empowering women or their babies under this model. Instead we are alienating and frightening the very people who are supposed to be honored and cared for during this sacred and unique time. This system would benefit from connecting with mothers rather than making them feel like subjects in an experiment. 

I knew my baby would come when she was ready and this book is reiterating that I had the information I needed to know exactly when that would be. I’m grateful that I was able to come to this realization now and look forward to learning more on the subject. For now, it’s back to reading! ☮

“I gave my child a little time … and in return, she gave me her last bite and reminded me that things taste sweeter and love comes easier when you stop rushing through life.” 💘💘💘

This is a beautiful reminder that our children come into this earth operating at a much slower pace than us. We’ve been rushed and bustled by the bureaucracies of life, technology, and the pressure to “keep up.” If we try to slow down with our children, even for a couple of moments each day, we allow time to connect and breathe together, and build a deep foundation of trust and allow for time to communicate with one another. 

http://brightside.me/article/the-day-i-stopped-saying-hurry-up-20655/

This is definitely a recipe worth making! It’s a dairy free delight for anyone who misses the treat of a classic whipped cream and can’t have dairy or just loves coconut milk! So light and fluffy, it makes the perfect accompaniement to berries, a scone and a cup of tea! 

  
http://www.healthhomeandhappiness.com/coconut-vanilla-dairy-free-whipped-cream-real-food.html

A beautiful time lapse of a mother’s journey through pregnancy to the birth of her child documented by her partner. There’s nothing quite like the time you spend growing your baby. The body, mind & spirit grow with each day accompanied by an ever expanding heart after your baby is born 🌟☄🌐

I find it important to share my experiences with others especially when it pertains to topics that are taboo. I remember a peer posting to Facebook about an actress who had publicly announced that she had eaten her placenta in a smoothie after the birth of her baby. Since as a culture we do not practice or hear about these practices enough, when they’re brought up they can be alarming. But the more we hear about things the more familiar they become to us and that’s when things start to change. I hope to help bring about positive changes for mothers and babies. That’s one of the reasons why I am studying homeopathy. I hope to share the knowledge and benefits I have gained with other mothers and children as soon as I’m done with my courses. And I hope that more mothers are able to receive the benefits of the wonderful birth practices that my baby and I did. 

When my daughter was born, we waited until all the blood had drained from the cord into her body giving her as much nourishment and fresh blood from the placenta as possible. This is called delayed cord clamping. After the placenta was birthed it was kept in a metal bowl and put on ice in a cooler where it was transported to the home of my student midwife. She prepared my placenta using an ancient Chinese recipe of healing herbs meant precisely for this purpose. I received immense emotional, spiritual and physical support through the resulting capsules. 

This is because after the baby and placenta are born the mother’s body undergoes a tremendous fluctuation in hormones. Women go through hormonal fluctuations regularly throughout their lives through menstruation, pregnancy and menopause and once the pregnancy cycle has completed there is a drastic drop in hormones that can lead to all sorts of side effects, most notable and least talked about: post-partum depression. As a person who has felt the pangs of depression before I was more than willing to try an ancient practice that could help me avoid these feelings after my baby was born. Even if my friends or family might think it was weird. That’s been one of the best parts about becoming a mother: I’ve learned to put myself and my baby’s needs first without second thought. 

In those first few days after the birth, when I felt the most serious dip in hormones, I took three capsules a day with meals. It was such a big transition and I was able to enjoy every sweet, lovely and peaceful moment as our new family rejoiced together. I felt so at ease. 

In the weeks that followed I decreased my intake to one capsule per day and kept the remaining precious capsules for a “rainy day.” I’ve taken them from time to time when I’ve felt low or depleted or like I’ve just needed a boost. I wish I had one to take every single day. They’re truly that amazing!

The wonderful woman who made these capsules for me was also trained in making tinctures so she made me two bottles of an alcohol-based tincture where my placenta had been kept in the alcohol for thirty days. I can keep these for as long as possible–hopefully into my menopausal years when they will help to regulate my hormones, even then! The tincture will also be able to offer hormonal support to my daughter when she begins menstruation, if she so chooses when the time comes. 

To me it is like liquid gold. It’s the preservation of the miracle that sustained and grew my daughter inside me. It’s all the good things that go into the miracle of life. It is the essence of creation in a capsule and in a bottle. 

I can only hope that more mothers will be able to reap the benefits I did by using this precious substance that nourished our babies in the womb to nourish ourselves as new mothers. To gain more confidence and support during this special time. Life is boundless and beautiful! ❤️

  

As my daughter’s first birthday approaches–tomorrow :)– I relish in the delightful year we’ve had together. Tomorrow we will celebrate with ours dearest and reflect on our daughter’s growth and love and light (and our growth as parents).  She’s taught us so much, mainly to listen to her and what she needs and be there for her. We have learned that she is happiest being an active participant in her everyday routine. My favorite author on this philosophy-of treating children as autonomous human beings deserving of the utmost respect-is Janet Lansbury. I am grateful for what I’ve learned from her work in this first year of mothering.

With my daughter’s first birthday comes out next visit to the doctor’s office and as nervous as I am, I plan to make my daughter as secure as she possibly can be by walking her through exactly what’s going to happen at her next appointment. Here’s a link to the article by Lansbury. I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do ❤️

http://www.janetlansbury.com/2010/01/this-may-hurt-why-some-babies-love-doctors-dentists-and-haircuts/

The Native Wilds Nest is a unique mommy-approved & mommy-made item with multi functions. It’s a super soft and stretchy bamboo item that serves three purposes: a nursing wrap/shawl,blanket, a car seat cover or “nest” and a shopping cart cover. 

We ordered ours to try it out and see what it’s all about! The black & white Lyla Nest is our favorite! Available on the Native Wilds website and their Etsy shop. 

Native Wilds Lyla Nest $49

  
http://nativewilds.com/collections/nest/products/lyla-nest