trekking 12-30-11, near Chiang Mai

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0100

Before leaving Chiang Mai, we took a “Jungle Trek,” which included a visit to an orchid farm and a “Karen long neck village,” where most of the women wear rings around their necks, to slowly stretch them. The guide said that they consider themselves descendants of fairies. Y [...]

Elephant Nature Park

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0100

12-24-11

Elephant Nature Park, Thailand

Ben grabs the crocodile by the tail...

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0100

12-21-11 Snacking on a freshly sliced, dripping with sweet nectar pineapple, straight from Lampang, I am tucking my kiddos in for the night. They had an exciting day riding all over the outskirts of Chiang Mai in a tuk tuk, visiting monkey, snake, and crocodile shows. with Ben. They were very impressed by the monkey’s hilarious card tricks and the amazing guy who put his head in a crocodile’s mouth.Bangkok 12/16/11

I am still trying to figure out what day it is. I awoke in the dark with fluorescent light gleaming in through the window, thinking it must be close to sunrise, and turned on my ipod to look at the time. 10:30am? Obviously it hasn’t acclimated to local time, but what time is it, really? I felt pretty awake, [...]

VBAC twins!

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:00:00 +0100

I went in at 10:30, and Rianna was pretty uncomfortable. She is the mother of twin boys, 11years old, delivered by c-section, and a girl, 9 years old, delivered vaginally. She was planning to have a natural birth with this set of twins.

When she was checked soon after my arrival she was at 4 cm dilated, and 100% eff [...]

An incredible turn of events

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Her water broke at 7am, and she called me, her doula, immediately. When I got to the hospital at 11, she wasn’t yet having contractions, and nurses and doctor agreed she could go home. Thank goodness! I massaged her in her bed for a while, and she fell asleep, so I went home too.

Doctor wanted her back at 7pm, so I met them at the hospital again, and she was having dinner when I arrived, still no regular contractions. We watched silly TV shows, laughing, and walk [...]

Whooping Cough vaccine; is it a good idea?

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Today I attended a panel discussion on the Pertussis vaccine, hosted by Southern Oregon Birth Connections. The panel consisted of Bonnie Nedrow, a naturopath, here in Ashland, Jeff Houghton, another naturopath, Jim Shames, the director of Public Health, and Michael Framson from the National Vaccine Information Center.

Pertussis,(also known as whooping cough) is a childhood illness that lasts about 6 weeks, but the cough can go on for months. It's caused by a bacteria, Bordetalla Pertu [...]

Patience, Mama

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Allison and Joe called at 12:30 last night to say labor had begun, and they wondered if I would be available to show up at the hospital as their doula, when they got there. I agreed that they could have the nurse call me in, and around 2:30, I got a call and headed over. They had arrived about an hour earlier, and she had been at 4cm. We got in the tub a little after 3:00, and she was already at 5cm, but a bit discouraged with the number, since she had been working hard al [...]

Get a Second Opinion

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0100

I was called at 3:30am, to come to the hospital and be a doula for Consuelo, a third time mama in early labor. She had been checked at 2cm, some time earlier, but her baby was suspected to be posterior,since she was having pretty bad back pain. Consuelo is from Mexico and speaks mainly Spanish, but understands English fairly well. I got over my shyness and got to practice my Spanish with her and her partner.

Her husband slept for a few hours when I first a [...]

A Good Hike to Get Things Going...

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Patricia called at 2am to announce that her water had broken and her doctor wanted her to go to the hospital to be checked out. (There was a little green in the water, a hint of meconium.) I told her to call back if they admitted her, or she needed me, otherwise call me in the morning.

I woke around eight and called to check in. She had in fact been admitted and was able to sleep there for a while. She was not having contractions yet. I told her to keep me posted. Ar [...]

Intuitive Birth

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Jean called last night at 10:50 to say that she was leaking a lot of fluid and thought her water might have broken. When I asked her how much fluid, she said, “I am gushing, and there is a little blood in there as well.” I said it sounded like her water had indeed broken and yes, she should call her doctor. I advised trying to get some rest, and asked if she had any cramping. She reported having “some mild menstrual cramps.”

[...]

Transition Time

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0100

I called in around 5pm, and May was just getting active, not yet needing much assistance. The hospital had called earlier in the day to tell me she was in early labor and requesting a doula. Around 7pm, the nurse, Joanne called and said to come as soon as possible. When I arrived a few minutes later, May was in the tub, had recently been checked, and was at 4cm. She was making sound and starting to get focused. John was right there with her, giving her an ice pack, telling her “You� [...]

Family Currency and The Sticker Chart

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0100

Before having my second child, I thought the "reward system" of sticker charts and tokens was basically bribery, and I believed that my children would learn to behave just for the sake of the natural consequences for good behavior. I have found the time and place for a sticker chart, though. My second child has been an incredible challenge for all of us, and I've had to reexamine what is really the best thing for her. She needs clear consequences, positive and negative. She [...]

Mama catches her own waterbaby at the hospital!

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:00:00 +0100

Lisa and Bill lived across the street from the hospital, and were hoping to labor at home as long as possible with me there as their doula. When she called me around 5pm on Friday her water had just broken, and she reported that her contractions had kept her up most of the night before. When I arrived at their home, she was up and about, and they were both excited about things moving along. I suggested that she might like to get some rest as it could be another long night. We put on some musi [...]

The Power of Suggestion

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:00:00 +0100

Sofia was at 5 cm when I arrived at the birth center. She had been at the hospital since the afternoon and seemed fairly comfortable at 7:30 when I arrived. She had been checked in the morning at her appointment and was at 4 or 5cm then, too. Sofia seemed to not want too much attention. She was asking how her husband was feeling, checking to see who was with my children, and so concerned about her dog that she sent her husband home to feed him.

Things seemed pretty m [...]

VBAC

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:00:00 +0100

The birth center at Ashland Community Hospital called at 10:45 today with a VBAC patient dilated at 2 or 3 cm, whose water had just broken. They said she had requested a doula, and asked me to come right in. Five years ago, Julia had labored with her first baby to 8cm, then the doctor realized the baby was breech and did a ceasarean section.

When I arrived at 11:45, Julia was in the bathroom with her husband. She was pretty uncomfortable, and wanted to get [...]

Pelvic Floor Health

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:00:00 +0100

After giving birth, many women experience loss of strength in their pelvic floor. Symptoms of this include incontinence(peeing your pants, especially while coughing, sneezing, jumping, or laughing), and prolapse of bladder or uterus (it descends through the vagina.) This is not a permanent condition. You can strengthen your pelvic floor and the supporting muscles.

Muscles to focus on include not only the pelvic floor itself, but gluteus muscles, adductors, transverse abdominals and di [...]

The No-Cry Discipline Solution

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:00:00 +0100

I sometimes find it quite impossible, as the parent of two young children to have an adult conversation. It's not that people aren't around or available to speak to. I live in a cohousing community and am surrounded by friends. It's just that as soon as I answer the phone or get interested in a conversation with a friend on my couch, my children "need" my attention. Perhaps it's because they can't stand to share me, or maybe I seem much more interesting when someone else i [...]

Baby Yoga

honoringthemother@gmail.com — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:00:00 +0100

My 2 month old, Jayden, inspired me to teach a postpartum yoga class, so I could get back into my body and take care of myself in a community of conscious moms. I had never considered possibility of a yoga class like this until I had my own baby, but it became obvious that this was one of the most important times for women to have body consciousness and tools to nurture themselves. The members of my prenatal classes were thrilled to come back with their babies to this "mommy 'n [...]

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