Another contest -- diapers!

Win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature's Child - Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies

Now, if we have a #3 in the future, I am definitely going to cloth diaper. Especially if I win this one!

Babywearing Stash Contest!

Boy, what a prize package this is:

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

It would be a great resource to have this stash so my clients could try out different carriers and not go broke!

AMA's statement on homebirth

Well -- I'm behind the wave on this because it happened this week, and if you think my blog looks like crap, you should see my living room.

I don't really have a lot to add to the much more coherent voices on other blogs. Anyone who knows me or this blog wouldn't be surprised to know I'm against legislating against homebirth.

I would, though, like to welcome the AMA to Netflix. Seriously, dude -- when did BOBB come out?

Our garden is growing

Nature's doing something productive this week! It's been a week and 2 days since I planted our seeds and our zucchini plants are FOUR INCHES TALL! Our watermelon is the next biggest (it's cute too because the shells of the seeds are still on the leaves), and the cantaloupe, scallions, Swiss chard, peas, carrots are all growing. On our porch, the tomato plants are small but growing, and the herbs are growing well, especially the basil. Not sure what the peppers, broccoli, and big onions are going to do but it sure is fun watching and waiting.

A sad day for me

An ultrasound today confirmed what I'd been figuring was the case since Friday of last week -- I'm having a miscarriage. This is a blow that we'll overcome. Just wish we wouldn't have to. I was really looking forward to this. I'm so grateful for my husband and my kids and my midwife.

Hooray for California!

Wedding Bells Chime for California Same Sex Couples

My feelings actually are, every "marriage" in the US should be reclassified as a civil union between consenting adults, regardless of sex. Then, if they care to sanctify their union, it's up to their individual house of worship. One of the main reasons we made the decision to be married by a Unitarian Universalist minister is that we supported UU's stance on gay marriage -- even though as a heterosexual couple we're not in the market for that, we're proud to be affiliated with a community that has this stance.

Terrific Birth!

What a wonderful birth. AROM first thing in the morning and the amazing mama took it from there! No further interventions and this wonderful family welcomed their fourth child, Baby Boy N., around 2pm. I had a great time too. The last few births I have attended have had a lot of interventions and as a doula as well as an expectant mom, this was very gratifying to see a birth go so perfectly. And, the dad was wonderful as well. I (half-) joked that he can be my doula next time :)

Planted our garden today, and a busy day tomorrow!

I'm not really a gardener. But we have this horrible yard that isn't ever going to grow grass, so we turned it over and I planted vegetables on the sunny side and wildflowers from a can on the shady side. I know it's a little late in the season but... well, we've had a busy spring. I planted watermelon, cantaloupe, 2 kinds of onions, broccoli, 3 kinds of peppers, Swiss chard, zucchini, carrots, and peas. Oh, and in containers on my front porch I have leaf lettuce, basil, mint, coriander, thyme, and tomatoes (the tomato plant is about 2" big so we will see if anything comes of it).

Bon appetit, deer!

And my June client is going to be induced tomorrow so I will have a busy day. She's a great woman and it'll be a pleasure to work with her and her husband -- they make a great pair.

AND, on Saturday I will be observing (and assisting) in a childbirth class... thus fulfilling all my requirements for DONA certification except the essays! Hopefully I can get it all sent out next week! I feel like I started so long ago... Badger was just 3 months old when I attended my training.

Speaking of whom... we think he said a WORD. We think he is saying baa-baa for BALL. He is also signing "more." I guess it's like when you take your car to the mechanic because it's making a funny noise and then it stops... before we are even scheduled for his first speech therapy session, he makes a few nice steps :) I'm certainly not complaining.

After Caesareans, Some See Higher Insurance Cost

After Caesareans, Some See Higher Insurance Cost

File this under annoying, outrageous, sexist, condescending, disempowering and friggin' predictable.

As a self-employed family with no health insurance for us grown-ups, we know what a boon it was when we had "real jobs" and group coverage. Fortunately, our BCBS doesn't YET impose these insane restrictions on women . YET. However, not for nothing, they can't sell me insurance that will cover this pregnancy because, well, I'll USE IT.

So you tell me, where do we begin to fix this mess?

Another Busy Week!

Happy 39th week to my client T! She'll be welcoming her little one shortly and I'm excited to be there. Her previous doula apparently had some mad Rebozo skills so I'm brushing up on mine... with my home-made Rebozo, which frankly is not great.

I'll be attending the Pittsburgh VBAC support group at the Midwife Center on Wednesday June 11 at 7pm, to discuss VBAC in general and how a doula can be particularly helpful when VBACing.

In family news, Chim is impressing us with her imagination and memory. She has named a toy with the first "real" name she's ever given one. Up until now, all her dolls and toys were named things like Frizza or Ooopalah, or Monkey or Puppy. Until she met a dragon named Greenie Pickles :) She's going on a field trip tomorrow and we hope she does well. It's hit or miss with her these days!

Badger is having his formal evaluation tomorrow with a speech therapist and developmental specialist. We're really looking forward to learning the results. He is getting much better about being read to and about finding non-verbal ways to communicate, and in an unrelated story, can blow bubbles... pretty well, actually!

And The Tiebreaker is still hangin' in there! I forget I'm pregnant from time to time. And I'm delighted about that! At this point with Badger, we were preparing for the worst since it really didn't look great from weeks 4-12!

On a final note... LET'S GO PENS! They're really hanging in there against the awesome Red Wings. But please, no more triple overtimes. This old lady is TIRED.