• Last updated 3/8/13 by mamazee

“I really wanted a boy,” my mother said of her first pregnancy. We were sitting side by side at a faux Japanese restaurant where food is prepared at an enormous grill in the middle of the table. A handsome Korean twirled his spatula in the air. “And I had a boy.” My mother looked pleased. In one deft movement, the chef squirted teriyaki sauce on the tofu on the grill. “Then I really wanted a boy,” my mother laughed. The chef added a heaping portion of white spaghetti to the tofu. “And I had another boy.” The chef flipped the tofu dish onto my plate and... read more

• Last updated 3/8/13 by mamazee

“I think I’m pregnant,” I told Ron a few months ago. “My breasts are sore. I’m tired. I haven’t started bleeding.” It was too early to take a pregnancy test, but I had an extra stick in our bathroom leftover from previous attempts. It would give me an answer in a few days. Ron was excited, but cautious. “Let’s keep this one on the down low.” Part of me understood where he was coming from. He didn’t want to have to explain another miscarriage. With our first pregnancy, we had shared the news right away. I blogged about my morning sickness; about... read more

• Last updated 3/8/13 by mamazee

There are so many different ways to keep a journal. There are weight loss journals, exercise journals, travel journals, nature journals, gratitude journals, financial journals, and spiritual journals. There are pregnancy journals and journals mothers keep to record their babies’ first years. As a kid, I loved looking back at the book my mom kept for me. Today, I keep my own journal. Lately, it’s been about my fertility journey (not sure my future kid would want to read it, but it helps me). I like to think of journals as gifts. Allowing space for creative... read more

• Last updated 3/8/13 by mamazee

Chiggers, Tics, & Birth All I kept hearing about from the day I received my enrollment packet to the day I arrived in the home where we would be staying on the farm was to watch out for chiggers and tics. The woman at the welcome center asked “did the midwives tell you about chiggers and tics-well we got em, oh and snakes too.” I had visions of little tiny critters waiting for me on the doorstep in the morning when I left and in the evening when I returned-I packed bug repellent (from Whole Foods of course) and purchased some farm made “bug off sulfur... read more

• Last updated 3/8/13 by mamazee

Mighty Midi-Men Being a family friendly environment most of the women who are here for the workshop brought their families.  My husband is here with my youngest son and he was hanging out at the swimming hole with two other of the attendee’s families.  One of the local guys concocted a name for them-he said “oh you must be here with the wannabe midwives-or midies as we like to call them-Hey You guys are the Mighty Midi Men!” It is funny-I had intended on writing this blog nightly and posting it right away.  This is impossible for two reasons 1. We are... read more

• Last updated 3/8/13 by mamazee

Honorary Hippie Today was what I think a lot of us were waiting for.  Though I am quite content just to be on this legendary farm with these legendary women-some of us really came here to acquire some skills.  I had never taken blood pressure before so that was really fun and have been practicing it all day. I even learned some really great tips for my childbirth education classes-like using rubber bands to show the different stages of effacement or ways to remember how to technically described the baby’s position. Pamela Hunt named the model Fanny so... read more

• Last updated 3/8/13 by mamazee

The Farm-Day 4 A surprise When we think of The Farm most of us think of Ina May.  Even if you have read Spiritual Midwifery and have met the other midwives we don’t always remember their names.  After this trip I know that I will never forget Pamela Hunt.  She was on the original caravan with Ina May and Stephen-she was one of the original midwives.  She is the epitome of everything you would imagine a midwife to be-sweet, compassionate, funny, intelligent, knowledgeable, skilled, excellent teacher, otherworldly and let’s face it the woman loves to... read more

• Last updated 3/8/13 by mamazee

Last days   Last night I was lying in bed trying to sleep but just kept thinking -Ina May Gaskin taught me how to measure fundal height!  It was like a dream-or actually it was a dream and I made it a reality.  I think about all of the lives that have been changed by coming to The Farm for a workshop.  Some women have come here thinking they wanted to be a midwife and maybe changed... read more

• Last updated 3/8/13 by mamazee

This was written as part of the workshop “Writing into Motherhood” taught by Tanya Taylor Rubinstein in the MotheringDotCommunity earlier this year. I am reposting it here for your enjoyment. You can read all nine of the pieces written by our workshop moms here. Baby Makes Five by Jenny Raby Sitting there in the birth tub I remembered the disbelief when my husband suggested the nausea I was feeling was probably because I was pregnant. I remembered the sinking feeling I had when it began to dawn on me that he wasn’t so far off base. I remembered... read more

• Last updated 3/7/13 by mamazee

I took a Mindfulness Birthing class during my first pregnancy. On the last day, our teacher guided us through a Metta Meditation, cultivating loving-kindness towards ourselves and our babies-to-be. Our teacher had us repeat intentions including, “May my baby be healthy,” “May my delivery be safe,” and “May my baby be happy.” In the spirit of the New Year of 2011, I invite you to participate in a collective moment of compassionate meditation. Feel free to add sentences in the comments sections. May my baby be healthy. May my baby be... read more