Fruit of the Womb Archive

Okay. Where to start? I officially became a student midwife in January! I sat in the first class and decided that this was exactly where i was meant to be. I cried all the way home, FINALLY able to identify myself officially as "Student Midwife." The class ended in April, and now i am now my own to study (yeah, right!) in order to finish the cirriculum needed to finish the journey. Thanks to the study group i attend, I found out about a local midwife practice looking for an apprentice. Since one of them happened to be my midwife, i figured I had a good chance. After an interview, i was accepted, along with another fellow student midwife as her apprentices. I began apprenticing last week. WOW. Surreal, let me tell you. So far, I am in love with their clients and wish already they were my clients. I have gotten to feel their babies and listen to heart tones and anticipate with them the arrival of their biggest joy. Foster kids: The reason i am behind on this blog is that i have...

WOW. After a week of juggling babies...I am finally getting the hang of it. Three kids under three while trying to be present for the others. But literally, I juggle babies all day. My giant two year old stands beside me to nurse, my hands are occupied with a tiny baby and his bottle (ugh!) and a grieving one year old is usually strapped to my back to keep her from crying. More than once this week i have wished i could nurse her. She has seemed so sad....slowly, every day gets better. It is for her sake I hope they become our forever children. More than once this week i have prayed for grace, and gotten it. More than once this week i have skipped a meal because I am too busy juggling. More than once this week I decided to stay home rather than run that errand. More than once I changed really stinky poopy diapers. More than once my husband this week my husband has done more than his share. More than once I have seen God's Hand in my business more than ever before. I am truly blessed...

Today has been an interesting day. The whole week, for that matter. Through a chain of events I never anticipated, I have added two more to my clan. Yes, six. So it happened like this: I am at a friendly BBQ with my son and his friends and meet a fellow mom at the party who is a judge. She plants a seed: She says I should be a foster mom for "emergency babies"...you know, those babies who they are trying to place with a relative, but are waiting for clearance. SHORT TERM. Two days to two weeks. I think, "Yeah, right." Maybe in some distant future. Did I mention i have a sister-in-law who works for CPS?? So my OTHER sister-in-law decides to have her baby at home, (YEAH!) and has a midwife who is both a foster mom and a midwife. WOW. I am in awe. During the birth i see that she is completely normal, (not crazy) and appears to be okay. I also learn of two local moms who have gone the foster parent route in order to adopt. Three months later I decide to "inquire...

Toddlers are funny creatures. This just occurred to me, actually. Well, for the millionth time. I have my FOURTH one (Hard to believe, I know, even for me) and she says, "Mommy, I have to go potty." You see, we did the whole EC (elimination communication) thing and she has been wearing panties since before her second birthday. But that is not the subject of this blog (stay tuned for future blogs on the subject). It is that toddlers are funny....and that occurred to me as she was skipping her way back to the bathroom wearing her one piece brown polka dot bathing suit (backwards, of course). Even as i write, she has dug out the bottoms of her 2 piece and is currently naked. Keep in mind, although it is an unseasonably warm winter here in Northern California, it is January. She insists upon pink most of the time. Pink egg shakers in music class, pink clothing, pink stuffed doggies in a bag at the toy store, pink strawberry shortcake nightgown, pink bows and hairthings, pink eve...

Ana has chicken pox. At two and a half, that is not such a bad thing, but i have lost some sleep over the last week because of it. You see, i co-sleep, and heat makes it worse, so her little warm, itchy body would wake up, ask for water and then scratch. Meanwhile, I have had some mild Adult acne for a number of years. About six (before and after the last pregnancy) i believe. A dear friend mentioned i should try some homeopathic cell salts. After a bit of research, i bought the combo remedy she recommended: Hyland's Bioplasma cell salts. After about a month, i noticed a HUGE difference. I was thrilled! I decided that since i was having all this luck with homeopathy, why not try it on Adelina? The right remedy literally jumped out at me on the stand. Hyland's HIVES remedy. I read the bottle, it didn't say anything about chicken pox, but i decided to bring it home and research it a bit more. At home, i looked up all the funny sounding names and nearly all of them were an a...

Okay, newest blog on the net. Feel free to subscribe. Subjects will include...mothering, parenting, disciplining, cooking, baking, reading, exercise, midwifery, my journey to midwifery, tales of a pregnant teen....after she grew, single motherhood, married life, toddlers, newborns, foster parenting, foreign exchange student hosting, life in the coffee shop, doula-ing, teens and last but not least, me. I am happy to answer questions you may have about any of the above subjects and hopefully i will be a place on the net that you have to bookmark...either to get some off-the-wall advice, a second opinion, or just a good belly laugh. My disclaimer is that nothing on this site is intended to take the place of good medical advice. I will be stating my opinions and personal experiences. My qualifications include: Being a mom for 17 yrs., having had both my own hospital and homebirths (including waterbirth), being at the side of over 50 women while they have given birth in hospitals, h...