ABOUT ME
I NOW TEACH CLASSES REMOTELY FOR THOSE UNABLE TO ATTEND CLASSES IN PERSON!!!
I am a mother of 10. Yes 10! Beautiful children. I and my husband are natives of The Great State of Texas.
After eight adventurous years of being a Marine military wife living in Washington, DC we relocated to the Sunflower State of Kansas to be closer to family.
I have a Bachelors Degree from Texas State University in Early Childhood Education(2005). At the present time I am a stay at home mom, doula, midwives assistant, and student of midwifery taking advantage of enjoying every fun moment with my children, and helping and feeling blessed to guide other mothers to have the birth they desire, and share in their tender and transformative journey!!!
??MY BIRTH STORIES??
My husband and I have been blessed to be able to use The Bradley Method® with the birth of all TEN of our births!!!
Our first baby girl, was an induction due to me being type 1 diabetic. This added to the stress and hardwork of our labor. Despite this, we were able to have an unmedicated Bradley Birth thanks to the relaxation and Husband Coaching taught to us. The fact that with my first baby and the induction of labor, we were still able to achieve this- is my testimonial!!!! THIS STUFF WORKS!!!! Having an unmedicated labor through an induction is no fun, but with preparation and a plan and a well trained coach YOU CAN DO IT!
Our second baby, the birth of our son was a much more relaxing labor! I went into labor naturally, and because I was educated on The Bradley Method®, I knew what my body was doing and was confident enough to stay home comfortably with most of my labor. Thanks to my husband reading my labor signposts, we got to the hospital 20minutes before our son was born!
My third baby, another little girl, was another induction. This time I knew what to expect and was able to use more Bradley relaxation techniques and positions to make my labor more comfortable. They say "third times a charm." This must be the case. With this labor my Husband Coach was exactly in tune with my needs, and made our labor go very smoothly!
Our fourth baby came on strong and didn't stop until she was born! With my first contraction that woke me in the middle of the night, I knew it was time to go to the hospital! Three hours later, after all of the "textbook" emotional signposts and stages of labor our little girl was here!
Our fifth birth was another that woke me. This time at 4:30am! I was in denial for about an hour, saying, "This cannot be it...I am only 37weeks." Well, God had a plan, and it was IT! At around 9am we had a big baby boy!!! Because of the benefit of my bag of waters being intact until the point of pushing, this labor was one of the more gentle ones. For this I was thankful! Because of our little guy coming a little early, he did have some blood sugar and breathing problems. I was happy to be able to walk to see my little one and be alert when I visited him in the NICU immediately after birth because of having an unmedicated birth. After about 5 days we were able to go home and he is a strong little guy!
Our sixth baby, was a labor slow to start, but once it got going, things moved very quickly! I was happy that my husband was able to read my labor signs! Because of this labor progressing so much differently than my others, it was hard for my to interpret for myself. I was very thankful to have a well trained coach to guide and carry me through this labor. In the end we had a happy healthy baby boy to add to our family!
Baby number seven started with my water breaking at 4pm all the way in Kansas City!!!! We birthed about three hours from there!!! Thankfully, my very trained husband got us to the hospital in time. Later, with a lot of back labor we had a very healthy, beautiful baby girl that was so worth it!
Number eight was born after a ton of Braxton Hicks/practice contractions getting things all primed and ready! After a quick drive to the hospital, we gave birth with a total labor time of three hours!!! Despite the quickness it was still able to be a calm and relaxed birth thanks to my awesome husband coach!!!
Number nine began with some anxiety around the care I received leading up to his birth. My doctor wasn't interested in looking at my cycle charts, and therefore "assigned" me a due date that didn't correspond with my actual cycle. Due to this, for the first time in all my pregnancies, I went "past" my due date. This can really mess with your mental outlook of your pregnancy and birth! My body does still work and went into labor right on my "typical schedule" based on my charting. Yay! We gave birth to a sweet baby boy!
Number ten, was....a TEN!!! Due to an amazing midwife, who was willing to come up with type 1 diabetic protocols, we were able to birth at HOME!!! The. Best. Birth. Ever! Not only did I feel heard and listened to in my concerns during pregnancy, but that continued through my birth, and postpartum as well. For the first time, in all my pregnancies and births, I felt truly supported by my care team, and that I was not just going through the "checks in the box" that someone else had implemented. After being awoken with a contraction at 5am, we had a home water birth to a 10lb baby girl, with her three older sisters in attendance!
With all nine hospital births, we were still able to have an unmedicated labor. We were in control of how we had decided to birth! With my one home birth, we were able to feel informed to make the decisions that more fully met our needs at that time. My husband coach is my hero!!! The memories are so precious and priceless!
I want to assist you in gaining the knowledge and skills to create your own cherished memories!!!!!