while she had only been on mama’s chest for mere minutes, it appears as if she has been here forever

So there I was, gazing into my mommy’s eyes…

when all of a sudden, I heard this voice just to the left of her…

“Hi DADDY!”

Sometimes mamas and babies can’t be together right from the start

but seeing our babies is still what mamas want the most

When Daddy got on the airplane that morning, mommy didn’t think these first contractions could possibly be labor…

but there you were…arriving just minutes after we got to the birth center… a beautiful boy…

mama announced your sex to daddy over the phone

…and kept you close to her chest for the next couple of hours…

until the time came for your newborn exam…

when your mommy learned you were a GIRL!

after the shock (and significant laughter) subsided, phone calls began … first to your daddy

adjustments were made…

and mother and DAUGHTER…reunited…welcome baby Jasmine.

Daddy made sure you were you skin-to-skin immediately until you could get back to mommy.

No comment.  But if you want to know what we all think…ask his mom.

Ranger, your mommy’s beauty and strength was matched only by the love your daddy has for both of you.

Who says birth can’t be fun…with the right company, it is.

OK, maybe not so “fun”

but worth it all

Photography by Kyndal May, Music by Josh Garrels

Baby by Raquel and Jackson

“Farther along we’ll know all about it, farther along, we’ll understand why.”

“Cause  I’ve got changed by what I’ve been shown…more Glory than the world has known”

~ Josh Garrels and the “soundtrack” of this birth.

Today is the day.

a successful VBAC journey ends where it started

with love

Sometimes a baby is a surprise, sometimes the planning and waiting seems an eternity.

Welcome little man.  Your mom and dad have been waiting to love you a very long time.

“to have a child is to decide to have your heart forever walk around outside your body”.

Sometimes it is the little things that steal your heart.

welcome baby Lawson, born at the Baby Place Midwives & Birth Center, Meridian

taking the prize for fastest birth this year

was a baby none of us expected until nearly February

Baby Brayden decided to be born in 2011 instead of 2012

this got him a short stay at the St. Alphonsus NICU

dad and mom came several times each day to hold him

and work on nursing

and soon Brayden let mom know he like to go home soon

Hi Mom and Dad!

Born at St. Luke’s, Downtown, Boise

no better place to be

Miles is smiling because he knows how hard his mama worked to get him turned around

two external versions later

Baby Miles knew best how he needed to be born

welcome baby Miles, born at St. Alphonsus, Boise

in Confident Birthing, parents learn that sometimes early labor lasts longer than we’d like

and on the 5th day…welcome baby Otto, born at Treasure Valley Midwives & Birth Center, Boise

welcome baby Penny, born at home

welcome baby Silas, born at St. Alphonsus, Boise

surreal and wonderful

“what do you mean, does she have hair?”

welcome baby Netti, born at St. Alphonsus, Boise

while mama thanked you for shaving 2 days off this second birth, the truth is, fast labors are intense

welcome baby Sophia, born at at Treasure Valley Midwives

feet that have yet to touch the ground will soon be running after big sister

we are all, forever changed

with deep love, we remember you

eye contact is everything for this mama

a two-handed catch with daddy and the midwives at The Baby Place Birth Center in Meridian

“oh. hi mom.”

St. Luke’s Hospital, Downtown, Boise

a visit from big sister

welcome baby Crosby!

the long-awaited and much-loved Lily was born at the Boise St. Luke’s, Downtown.

worth every moment

from one dad to another “it doesn’t get much better than this.”  Dr. Timothy West at St. Luke’s Downtown

birth is hard, but together, they are strong.

when Molly, born at Treasure Valley Midwives, heard her daddy’s voice

Daddy’s girls.

5/2/11 Resting is essential…

…since sometimes…

…morning comes before the baby.  5/3/2011

Big Brother Ritter sees his sister, Courage for the first time.

This sign hangs in the birth center at Treasure Valley Midwives. To help this laboring mother through her VBAC, I brought the sign into the birthing room.

Laboring together.

Baby Wyatt, born at Treasure Valley Midwives, meets his Daddy.

birth, like parenting, is a partnership…a dance to be danced together

hello, mama.

Welcome baby Lucy, born at St. Alphonsus Hospital, Boise.

Confident Birthing Dads are amazingly committed and present, just like this great Dad.  Birthing in partnership, laboring together at the Baby Place Midwives & Birth Center

Baby Boy Xavier with his parents…a great VBAC birth!

These sweet triplets were born today.  Each under 3 lbs, all are holding steady in the NICU at St. Alphonsus, in Boise, receiving exceptional care and attention.    Daddy, Craig was with them until their mama, Morgan, could get up to the NICU to see them.

Ruby, 2 # 14 oz

Ryder, 2 # 12 oz

Reagan, 2 # 7 oz

My continued hope and dream for this New Year:  more options for expectant parents everywhere in this country.

I cannot say how grateful I am that this will likely be the last image of a laboring woman that I have in my mind as I bid farewell to 2010.  I have learned so much from the 3 minutes I have spent witnessing this mama claiming her birth space and welcoming her labor.

I talk about moving through labor ALOT.  With a background in movement and bodywork and many years of attending laboring women it makes sense that in seeing this video, I might want to comment on the importance of moving through labor and birth.  And I certainly love that she shares that she had a few contractions through this, but what stands out for me is how this woman uses this sweet dance story to claim her birth space.

I experienced SO much watching this gentle dance and this intentional mama.  Initially, watching her, I noticed how awkward I felt about some things.

As a doula, I noticed I wanted to move that huge hospital version of a rocking chair out of her way.  As I watched her move so gracefully, I wanted to get that “i.am.a.patient.” hospital gown off of her and give her back her own clothes.

And then, as I noticed all the thoughts going through my “thinking brain” my eyes and ears and HEART just kept being drawn back to HER.

HER story told through music and dance.  HER hula prayer.  The music, so sweet and simple, drowned out the sounds in the room and in my head.  Her  intention takes over the room and took over my heart.  And all I noticed at that moment was how lovingly and reverently she seems to be welcoming this labor, this birth, this baby.

I felt the change of the energy in the room through the screen of my computer and I remembered a truth I learned when I became massage therapist over 21 years ago and that I live by  to this day:  intention is everything.

I thought of the times I have witnessed people talking over a woman who is drawn inward, breathing, rocking and I wonder…can they not see she is having a contraction? Can they not stop for this moment…this minute or so…to honor her while she and her baby do this most sacred thing called birth?  I model it for them hoping they will join me in holding the sacred space for them.

And then I watched this woman and imagined incoming hospital staff stopping in their tracks and waiting patiently, respectfully for her to finish.

This mama proves it.  For some, it really may not matter where you are, what you are wearing, who is in the room.

The intentional, powerful, all encompassing love of the MotherBaby is theirs to claim…and to invite others to witness and join.

Welcome…Baby Isaac

Born at the St. Alphonsus Birth and Family Birthing Center in Nampa.

Isaac gave his mommy a kiss as soon as she took him in her arms.

During at least one of our visits I will meet you in your home.  I love these visits because as you welcome me in, I have the opportunity to observe you in your space. 

Sometimes, your home gives me little clues about you…photos of family and friends might reflect a value of the important people in your life. I can often spot the chefs in the bunch by the serious kitchen utensils and athletes and lovers of outdoor adventures invest in some serious equipment as well. 

Some of you treasure your library of books and others have a keen and passionate appreciation of music or movies.    Some of you have a wonderfully lived-in space where a child’s (or a pet’s) experience is priority.   I see attention to detail that sometimes reveals the value of comfort for some and others use the home mostly only as an anchor for sleeping as you are serious lovers of life and a house is for shelter, while the living happens elsewhere.

If you have other children, I can meet them now (as well as the 4-legged “children” you also love dearly.)  We spend time celebrating the changes that are coming…brothers and sisters who might be moving into big boy or big girl beds, who show me “where the baby is” as they point to mommy’s belly and let me get a picture of them…maybe.

Spending time in your home allows our relationship to expand a bit beyond your pregnancy and we connect around the bigger picture of your life as well as your upcoming birth.  This is often a time when partners and I find common interests or experiences and this is reassuring to dad that I am there to support him as much as mom.  I enjoy this time with you both and appreciate all you are willing to share.   

During this visit, there is a bit of paperwork, and some questions.  I am definitely there to find out how you see me helping you best and learning about your preferences for your labor - there is always a lot of information gathering, by all of us, happening in these visits.  But I will share this with you…

…when I am in your home, I am looking for clues.  What intrigues and inspires you?  What motivates and moves you? What relaxes you?  What brings you comfort?

The greater the sense I have of you as a woman and the two of you as a couple, the better I am able to support you together in labor.  So, I am very serious when I say…when I come to visit, don’t tidy or clean up too much.  You might be putting away a valuable clue as to how I can help you best at your birth.

“If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it.” Dr. John Kennell

But really, what IS a doula? This wonderful video from DONA International gives us a great glimpse into what a doula is, what a doula does and most important WHY, in other words: how important her role is in serving expectant and new parents.  As Penny Simkin puts it in the film:  “We can’t control how long labor is going to be or how difficult, but we can control how we care for women.”   

In addition to providing birth doula services to expectant parents, Baby Bump Services also offers DONA-approved Birth Doula Trainings in Boise, Idaho several times a year facilitated by Kyndal May and Jennifer Clover.  Our BEcoming a Doula Workshops are part of the vision of DONA International:  

“a doula for every woman who wants one.”

Thank you to Lindy English for this taking this photo at my Confident Birthing Childbirth Class

Did you have a doula at your birth?

Welcome…Baby Conrad

Born just 10 minutes before his mommy’s birthday, baby Conrad reached out to her as soon as he heard her voice.

What a wonderful birthday present!  Conrad was born at the Baby Place Birth Center

Doulas and midwives have long known that giving a laboring woman the option of climbing into a large, deep tub of warm water often results in decreased pain, increased relaxation and better coping.  And a better ability to cope with labor means less need for medical interventions.

A survey of 510 women revealed that laboring in and with water (bathing and/or showering) was more effective than systemic pain medications such as Pethidine (commonly known as Demerol, an opoid analgesic).  In the survey, 77% of the women used drugs, with 56% receiving epidurals and while that method of pain relief received the greatest score for effectiveness, the survey showed that less interventive comfort measures such as breathing, massage, hot and cold packs and most especially, laboring in and with water, were found to be very effective as well.

According to Robin Elise Weiss, Pregnancy and Childbirth Expert at about.com, “The use of water in labor is second only to epidural anesthesia, without the risks of medications. Water birth is available in all birth settings, including hospital, home birth and birth centers.”

So, for women who value a non-medicated birth, water becomes a powerful tool for coping and working with labor.

Some hospitals have larger than average tubs in the birthing rooms, while some only have showers.  Some hospitals will have only one large labor tub on the maternity wing floor so be sure to check with the facility where you plan to deliver and be aware of your options ahead of time.   Ask to see the tubs and showers when you tour the facility.

 Free-standing birth centers usually have large, deep labor tubs in every birth suite as the birth tub is sometimes referred to as the “natural” or ”midwives’ epidural”.   

 All the birth tubs used in out-of-hospital births can accomodate more than one person so the laboring mother can have her partner in the tub, both for physical and emotional support and the midwives use under-water dopplers to listen to heart tones.

Waterbirths are common among women who give birth out-of-hospital and many expectant parents planning to give birth at home can buy or rent birth tubs to use for their labors as well.  Portable birth tubs come in many styles and while the older models are still available, (above) many of the newer models are larger, with inflated bottoms, lids to keep the water warm and soft sides that make laboring even more comfortable.  (To rent the tub below, contact me).

Did you labor or give birth in water?

Need to say a little something about Confident Birthing fathers…

 All are amazingly present

 some are protective

some are prayerful

some are playful

 many show their love

through TOUCH

loving both the mother

and the MotherBaby

 How did your partner support you best during your labor and birth?

It’s not easy to prepare parents for the patience that is sometimes needed during a long birth. However, I have attended long births many times and I think it is essential to let couples know that sometimes, that is just how a birth needs to be and a long labor, while a variation from normal, is still normal.

The long births I have attended have taught me so much about the patience that is needed for some mother-baby dances. These lessons in patience have certainly come from caregivers (usually out-of-hospital midwives), but more often the profound lessons I have learned about strength in waiting have come from the laboring mothers and their partners whose trust in normal birth sometimes peaks my own.

I have repeatedly been in awe of these women who continue on…working with body and their baby, moving in and out of exhaustion and energy, through doubt and back to trust again. So often I hear that they looked to me to carry on and I believe with all my heart that in those moments what they saw was me reflecting their own resolve back to them in that moment.

I also have such respect and gratitude to the partners of these women, who invested in this journey with her, who believed in her and carried her through when she needed it. I want to thank these women and their partners for affirming for me what I know, but love to be reminded…birth is bigger than all of us and it requires us simply to remain present for the journey.

Did you have a long birth?  If so, what helped you cope the most?