by thebirthhour | Mar 17, 2016 | Birth Center, Birth Stories
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The Mama Behind Jen Loves Kev
Today’s birth story guest is Jen Lula who is a mama to two girls and one newborn baby boy living in the Northeast where she runs a blog called Jen Loves Kev sharing everything that she’s passionate about; she’s an adventure seeking, art loving, fashion obsessed, stay at home mom. You can connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.
Rowan’s Birth Story
Jen’s first daughter, Rowan was born at a birth center within a hospital and came nine days after Jen’s due date. and was a wonderfully empowering experience. She arrived pretty quick for a first child and Jen felt empowered by the experience birthing with midwives.
Finley’s Birth Story
After such an amazing first birth experience, the only thing that Jen wanted to do differently was to birth at home so when she became pregnant with her second daughter, Finley, Jen and Kev planned a homebirth. When discussing this birth, Jen talks about the speed at which Finley came, leaving her feeling defeated and lacking that sense of empowerment that she experienced with her first birth. I love how open Jen is about this as many women assume that just because you have a fast birth you are thrilled. Sometimes having a fast birth just means that all of the work is crammed into a shorter period of time making it all the more intense. I actually had discussed the same thing in my birth story with my second baby.
Orion’s Birth Story
Jen’s most recent birth with her son, Orion was also a homebirth and she spent a lot of time preparing for it and setting up a beautiful birthing space in her home with lots of natural light and all of the things that make her feel comfortable. Orion came very quickly as well and his big sisters were waiting in the wings, making him cupcakes, ready to meet him as soon as he arrived.
The Instagram image from @foxmeetsbear that we talked about can be seen here.
by thebirthhour | Feb 23, 2016 | Birth Stories, Homebirth, Hypnobirthing, International, Waterbirth
Planning a Homebirth in Australia
In this episode Cassandra Casillas-Smith tells the her birth story of having a homebirth in Australia. She describes the midwifery model of care and her experience as an expat in Australia of planning for and going into labor and ultimately giving birth at home. If you want to hear another set of birth stories that took place in Australia, listen to Shalome Doran’s episodes which also feature a homebirth in Australia and one of her experiences was even an orgasmic birth.
An Expat Preparing for Childbirth in Australia
Cassandra Casillas-Smith lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband Ben, baby girl Ruby and little pup Winston. She grew up in a small town outside Dallas, TX and went to college in Austin, TX. After college she joined the Peace Corps and received a placement in Mongolia. It was in Mongolia where she met her husband, Ben. He went to Mongolia with the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Programme and worked at the United Nations Development Programme.
After Mongolia they did some traveling and Cassandra returned to the Peace Corps to serve a 6 month placement in Suriname, South America. After Suriname she and Ben decided to move to Perth, Australia because that’s where the jobs were. They spent 2 lovely years in Western Australia before moving to Victoria so her husband could attend the Masters Programme at The University of Melbourne. Cassandra was 6 months pregnant when they packed up the car and their pup and drove across Australia from Perth to Melbourne in the heat of summer. Just to give you some perspective, that’s pretty much the equivalent of moving from California to Florida! They are now settled in Melbourne and Cassandra is officially an Australian Resident.
To listen to this episode, and the rest of The Birth Hour archives, join our listener supporter group here!
Birth Resources in Australia
Sarah Buckley – Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
Ten Moons Personal Midwifery Care
Prenatal Acupuncture
Hypnobirthing
http://hypnobirthingaustralia.com.au
http://www.pathtobirth.com.au
The Big Stretch
Ina May’s Ted Talk
by thebirthhour | Feb 18, 2016 | Birth Stories, Cesarean, Homebirth, Hospital
To listen to this episode, and the rest of The Birth Hour archives, join our listener supporter group here!
Katie Vigos Birth Stories
Katie Vigos is a mom to three boys and wife to her husband of nine years. She shares her three birth stories: a hospital birth, homebirth, and her most recent birth which was a planned unassisted home birth that ended with an emergency c section.
Her first birth was in a hospital and was an unmedicated, vaginal birth without complications but she didn’t feel supported by the staff and felt pressured to get interventions she didn’t want. Determined to create a more positive and comfortable birth experience when she became pregnant again, she began researching homebirth options. After attending her sister’s homebirth witnessing firsthand the midwifery model of care, she knew it was the experience she needed.
In 2010, her second son was born into her arms at home. His birth was everything she hoped for – “a spiritual awakening, a sacred rite of passage, a rebirth as a stronger and more powerful woman.”
Empowered Birth Project
It was after his birth that Empowered Birth Project was born as the midwives left and her husband and newborn were asleep next to her. The oxytocin surged through her postpartum body, and she replayed the birth over and over in her mind. She immediately felt an overwhelming desire to share her birth experience with others, and wanted to help create a world where all women feel supported, empowered, and comfortable when giving birth.
The Unassisted Homebirth Plan
When she became pregnant with her third child in 2013, she planed an unassisted homebirth, meaning that she wouldn’t have the assistance of a trained medical professional. During her pregnancy, she and her husband immersed themselves deeply in preparation to give birth to their baby at home. She started sharing her journey on Instagram and making plans for a documentary film about the experience.
But things didn’t go as planned.
Katie’s due date came and went. As she approached 43 weeks, it was obvious that something was wrong. Her baby gave was in distress and in a dramatic turn of events, her son was born by emergency C section.
Katie felt broken and defeated as her vision of empowerment through birth had failed. But, as she shared the process of postpartum recovery online, she began to heal from the trauma of her birth and realized that so many other women had been where she was and longed for support through their journey.
by thebirthhour | Feb 11, 2016 | Birth Center, Birth Stories, Homebirth, Hypnobirthing
Elise Kirkpatrick’s Two Birth Stories
To listen to this episode, and the rest of The Birth Hour archives, join our listener supporter group here!
Today’s birth stories feature Elise sharing her birth center and homebirth experiences. Her first birth at the birth center, although empowering, was not what she was expecting. With her son she carefully planned for and had what she describes as a sacred birth experience. She also shares her experience having a blessingway in lieu of a baby shower. You can read more about that in this post she wrote about the blessingway.
Gypsy mama Elise and her tiny tribe currently call the islands of Hawai’i home, although they are travel junkies most of the year. Elise whole heartedly believes in natural birth, gentle-playful parenting, and living life to the fullest!
Birth Story and Homebirth Video
She is passionate about sharing her experiences birthing her two babes, which she believes inspires the way she now lives her life. Everything in life comes back to the breath. You can find Elise on her blog, Salt Water Diary and watch Taj’s birth story film. You can connect with Elise on Instagram.
Resource Links
Hypnobirthing
Hypnobabies
Birthing from Within
Blessingway
by thebirthhour | Feb 4, 2016 | Birth Stories, Homebirth, Waterbirth
Liz Angeles’s Home Birth Story
Liz Angeles is a massage therapist, aspiring wellness coach and the published author of 45 and Pregnant: How I Conceived & Delivered Naturally and today she is sharing her unexpected journey of becoming a mom at age 45 and her decision to have a peaceful water birth at home.
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