Grace and Glory

Musings from the Threshold

Category Archives: Midwifery

Happy International Day of the Midwife!

FacebookIDoM_squareMy life has been immeasurably enriched and blessed by an amazing number of wonderful midwives.  I want to take a bit of time to express my thankfulness for them on this special day.

The midwives who helped birth our babies…
Michelle Ruebke, our first midwife, laid a firm foundation of belief in the God-designed process of birth throughout the pregnancies and births of our first four Blessings. Cynthia Bernard helped make our hospital vaginal frank breech possible (and we couldn’t forget Barb Hueffmeier’s fantastic help with that one!).  Kathy Brace and her team assisted in the births of Blessings #6&7 (for which we traveled from MO to KS). And dear Mary Walsh came to bat for the birth of Blessing #8 – at last, a home birth in Missouri, with a team that included several precious friends.

The families who support the midwives…
Our time in Missouri included years of involvement with Friends of Missouri Midwives, a consumer advocacy group that was on the front lines with the Missouri Midwives Association in efforts to legalize independent midwifery in Missouri.  My experience with this diverse-yet-united group of folks was a time of growth and enrichment. These friends, their families, and their stories strengthened my appreciation for the beauty of the birth process and the value of midwives.

The midwives who are helping to birth the midwife…
Along the way in my own birth journey, I realized that I wanted to bless other women by serving them as my midwives had served me.  That dream was conceived around 2001, and so many midwives have invested in it, many without knowing it.  The midwives of the MMA opened my eyes to the sisterhood of midwives, the value of unity and consensus, and so much more.  Midwives I’ve never met have also inspired and encouraged me.
After we moved back to Kansas a couple years ago, I began apprenticing with two wonderful midwife friends, Bethany and Heidi.  I am learning so much from and with them.  I am also learning from and being encouraged by other midwives here in Kansas, and value their investment in me.  In the last few months, I have been blessed to begin studying under Debbie, one of my hero midwives, and a dear friend.

So, to all of these amazing folks – my thanks, love, and admiration.  Happy Midwives Day!

FacebookIDoM

 

This and That

So, I left home late LAST Monday morning to go to a birth and haven’t blogged since, though I did start a post last Wednesday afternoon with this:

I left home late Monday morning to go to a birth. Got home late this morning. Intense physically, mentally, and most of all emotionally. Glad for my wonderful preceptors, for the safe arrival of a baby, and for the rock solid “knowing” that God is good. So thankful to be home and I can hardly wait to see my husband this evening. As I learn more in my midwifery journey, my thankfulness for the midwives who have blessed me by serving at my births increases exponentially. God is good. After the last couple of days, I am clinging to that knowledge.

Last week’s birth was quite the emotional ride, and between the swirl in my heart/brain and efforts to get back in the swing of things with my family, blogging just took a back seat. I’m hopeful to be back in the saddle again now.

Random news tidbits:
~ Davey and Barak started basketball practice this week. I’m excited about all they will learn this season, as it is their first time on an organized sports team.
~ School is going well these days. We are doing well with a forward-moving routine. Though I am still needing to tweak/add some things, I feel good overall about the learning we are accomplishing.
~ We bought a wind turbine and are having a Turbine Raising this Saturday. We are excited about this as a way to save some money on our electric and as a potential income source, as Jonathan is interested in installing them for others. It will be interesting to see how everything comes together.
~ I’m now walking five mornings a week with Bethany (when births allow). I’m hopeful the added days will help get me off of the mini-yo-yo I’ve been on with my weight loss/health journey. We’ll see what tomorrow’s weigh-in tells us!
~ Would you pray for some St Louis-area friends of ours, Brian, Allison, and one year old Henry? They were hit by a drunk driver Sunday night and Allison and Henry were both injured severely. They are out of ICU now, and there is a possibility Henry will be released today, which would result in the family being able to really be together for the first time since the accident. Allison is in a tremendous amount of pain, with a broken femur and her pelvis broken in multiple places. Please pray for them?
~ I had my first “missed” birth yesterday. Things went really fast at the end for this mom, and since the hospital was closer than our arrival, they went ahead and checked in and baby arrived before us. All is well with baby, and Mom and Dad are thrilled that they were able to have the best-for-baby birth for which they had hoped, despite the last minute change in plans. It was also nice for B. and I to have a positive hospital experience after last week.
~ And the big news in our house this week are some fun and exciting milestones for Andrew. He has 1)started standing by himself for several seconds at a time, and 2)signing “please” when prompted. The “please” is his first consistent intentional “verbal” communication, and we are hoping that it opens a whole new world for him. The other Blessings have really been working with him on signing, and our work is having results!

Here’s a cute shot of Andrew standing yesterday with his physical therapist, Dayna. She is actually not supporting him at all, though her hand is close. Yay for Andrew!

A New Habit

Tap Tap Tap… is anyone still out there?

If only you could read the blog posts that happen in my head…

But you can’t, so I’d best get back to typing them out.

So, the new habit I’m committing to is 15 minutes a weekday to blog whatever I manage to spit out in that time.

I’m crazy-far behind.

The Kansas State Fair started last Friday, and it we spent eight hours walking around the Fair. Get in before 11 on the first day = free. Ten people families are all about free. It was such a joy to be at the Fair again. It is something that I keenly missed each September we were away, and most of our Blessings had no memories of it. I believe I wore a goofy grin the better part of those eight hours.

We went again Monday afternoon (Dollar Day) with Dad and Mom Smith and Grandma Hall. Not as long a visit, but it was fun and memorable. Midway rides were 1 ticket per ride, so the Blessings each got to pick a ride. Tight budgets make every treat sweeter. I rode the ferris wheel with Ellie, Josiah, Kate, and Grace, and it was a delight to see their varied reactions. Kate = giggles of joy! Davey and Barak rode the Starship, the one where it spins fast enough to stick you to the wall. I also rode Stephen’s ride with him, one of the little roller coasters – he loved it.

Jonathan and I will be working the Sterling Alumni booth tomorrow, and will get to have a bit of a date night afterwards. Davey and Barak have been working at the Dairy Bar during the Fair, which is good experience for them, and they’re looking forward to the paycheck.

Jonathan just started back to work this Wednesday after three weeks unpaid leave due to severe tendonitis. He is seeing a new chiropractor now and we are encouraged about the results. In the meantime, our Heavenly Father has been providing for us wonderfully through His “hands and feet.”

I’ve now been blessed to attend three births as the apprentice of two dear midwives from whom I am learning a great deal. I’m also learning from the mamas/families/babies. This apprenticeship seems to be working well for our family at this time, for which I am deeply thankful. I am without-words-thankful for Jonathan’s total support of me in pursuing this at this time. I am beyond blessed.

We put up almost 3 bushels of peaches last month, mostly just sliced peaches, but quite a few pints of peach butter, Earl Grey peach preserves, and a batch of “plain” peach preserves that turned out to be peach topping because I didn’t cook it long enough (it’s fabulous on waffles/pancakes).

My online timer seems to be malfunctioning, so I think I’ve snuck in more than my 15 minutes. (sneaky chuckle) Off to bed!