Stick a Fork in Me!

Stick a fork in me and you will find out that I AM NOT DONE! I am not done learning how to be a doula. I am not done learning to be the kind of person I want to be, the kind of person God wants me to be. I am patient with myself. That in itself is growth! But I now know that I will never be done! Life is an amazing journey, and I am open to learning something new every single day along the way. As an adult I learned that I am A.D.D. (attention deficit disorder) and oh boy am I!!! Just ask my mom and my family. We laugh alot...

My imperfections (A.D.D.) serve me well sometimes as a doula. Birth is not predictable, measurable even. So an O.C.D. (obsessive complusive disorder) person might struggle with the ever changing birth climate, conflicting birth studies, variety of birthing women and the babies that come in positions and times that are not comfortable or not convenient....for whoever *tisk*.

Here's a great doula! Fay is a doula in the UK. Here is a testimony from a happy mama!
Inspiring.

I swear I will get back to Vancouver some day and when I do I will have a cup with Jacquie. My Canadian mentor.

My local San Diego mentors are many. My doula trainer, Gerri Ryan is now a midwife! And now my clients are becoming doulas and mentors. Ahhh the birth of a doula! Yes we are giving birth to strong women and safe babies. Who in turn will give birth to safe women and strong babies. I have a strong God who encourages us to love each other in a way that makes us a safe, peaceable, simple, happy people - not finished, quite undone, but happy.

I give thanks to Him. I am grateful. Gratefully underdone. Looking forward to what's cooking! What about you?

If you are cooking a baby, I am sorry to tell you that your baby won't be perfect. And I like to think all babies are perfect so that is hard for me to say! But truth be told, only God is perfect. Genesis 1:31 says, "And God saw everything that He made, and behold, it was very good."
Very Good! Yay, I am very good! Your baby is very good! That ain't bad!
In our world today and particularly in our hospitals we expect perfect. We expect our bodies to birth perfectly. We expect our doctors to be perfect and we expect our birth plans to go perfect. Agh! Lets be real. As a doula I often say, "Birth works." It does most of the time. If given time and patience. If mom is given a few tips from our ancestors (squat), and a few herbs and a junk food free diet, birth works. Even if we do nothing, birth works. Babies are born.

Please be patient. with me. with your baby. with yourself. And finally with God.

Philippians 1:6 "And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion..."

Love you madly, Rosie

Calendars Sentimental Memories and Birth (of course!)

Does anyone else hang on to old calendars?

I love to reminisce as I read and reread the scribbled notes on my 2008 calendar. My old calendar is full of appointments, birthdays, trips, births, due dates, anniversaries, special events, etc. The planning, anticipation of each event involves an emotional investment of myself and as I remember each one the emotions come flooding back. I also like to read other people's calendars. My mom's is so much fuller than mine; she is a super amazing, energetic, ball of fire!

I put all my scribbles on the calendar that is on my refrigerator so that family members coming and going are in the loop. The guest bedroom calendar was blank, beautiful but blank so I had no qualms about tossing it (scriptures and all).

Here at work I starting really reading my calendar from last year and guess what, it has some great stuff! Every month had a Successories motivational quote.

For instance, December's theme was CHANGE. Can you see how that relates to pregnancy, labor and birth? Here is what it said, "Recognize that life is in constant motion and every change happens for a reason".

November's theme was CHOICE. Success is not reached by chance, it is reached by choice. Midwifes, homebirthing families, doulas know well how this relates to birth. If a woman is even somewhat healthy and she wants a natural birth, an unmedicated birth with little to no intervention, or maybe an ecstatic birth she will find out that she has the option to birth at home. Will she be successful in her vision and birth wishes? It's her choice.

I love what October says about VISION, Advance confidently in the direction of your dreams and endeavor to live the life you have imagined!

September is a really great mantra for pregnancy and labor (and life)! STAY IN THE RACE - Be the one who sets the course, focusing on the right things at the right time. Pregnancy is a good time to "focus on the right things at the right time! Read (focus on) positive birth stories not negative birth stories. During labor focus on your body, the air you breath, your baby, relaxing every fiber of every muscle as well as you can (big time focus!), like the non focused awareness that your Birthing From Within mentor taught you. Focus on the present moment and do not be cerebral, thinking thoughts like, "What is he thinking?", "How dilated am I?", "how much longer will I labor?" These thoughts are not staying in the moment. "I feel the warm sun coming in the window", "I hear my helpers breathing with me", "I hear my own breathing", "I see the light through the crack in the door", "I feel my baby move". Focus without judgment will allow you to 'stay the race' or the 'course' and experience your power like never before.

All this from a calendar! We can really see where our hearts are by our interpretation of our tangible world each day - eh? My heart is with you, my friend, woman-with-child or mommy-to-many.

Lastly I would like to share something that I found a couple of years ago and again recently. It rings true so deeply in my heart. I’m like, "What?" "Somebody else feels what I feel?" "How could they have put my tortured mind at rest so completely in one sentence?" Good day, Rosie

"...be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves... Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now."

Rainer Maria Rilke