Orlando area Moms: Anyone know anything about the Birth Place in Winter Garden?

I'm currently "due" (we always add a week because our others were all a week "late") on 7/7/07 - I'm using Michelle Gwane at Heart to Heart Birth Center. We live in Davenport which is much closer to the Birth Place but I just didn't click there.

My dh is really ticked off that the midwife is 1hr away if you're driving 80MPH all the way!!! : But Michelle and Del Marie have been the perfect fit for me.

I gave birth to our ds #2 at Special Beginings, of which Michelle was a founding partner. We got the news that it was closing in November - the same time we found out we were having our 3rd babe!! :

Anyway H2H is worth the drive for us. plus you'd have the benifit of delivering in the "off season" for babies - (the summer has the highest birth rates of all the seasons) My SIL and brother also chose to go with H2H after searching out area hospitals etc - after one meeting they knew that Michelle was the one. She's very intelligent, experienced, caring, compassionate and overly quallified as a midwife!!!

There have been other moms coming to H2H all the way from Palm Coast!! And I thought I had a long way to drive?! :

For me the Birth Place wasn't enough like Special Beginings - which I loved - and I'm no particularlly happy about the traffic on Plant Street - It took us 30 min just to get into the parking lot from 429 . . . It's only a mile or two down the road but the traffic was non stop.

I think that really did have an impact on me because I was most likely going to have to drive myself in with our two boys and then hope my husband gets there in time. Granted now my dh's schedule has calmed down a bit so he or a neighbor will probably drive me n my 2!

Godd Luck and Congratulations!!!!

Catherine.. def interested in the Montessori schools. we are currently driving ourselves insane trying to find a nice one nearby for ds that isnt too outrageous in price.. We are going to be living so close.. we will need to meet up after I get settled in down there. One of my bigger fears is that I will get down there and everyone will be so mainstream that I will be a complete outsider lol.. even though Im not super super crunchy (just moderately so lol.. if I were rich, Id probably be super crunchy Anyways, Im just glad to know there are like minded people nearby. All the Montessori schools I keep pulling up are like 20+ miles away and stuff.. is this normal? Just something I need to learn to live with or are there options nearby I just cant find online?? LOL.. We signed the lease today and will be living in Ocoee on June 28th (although we have to legally take up occupancy on June 20 lol)

I'm currently under the care of Cathy Rudolph and Jennie Joseph at The Birth Place and can't say enough great things about them. They've just been SO supportive, caring, informative and professional during this pregnancy, which is far more than I can say for my previous HCPs (Advanced OBGYN in Leesburg). They really don't mind addressing any of our concerns at any hour of the day, and are always willing to guide us to make informed choices. Jennie is an amazing woman and midwife who has worked tirelessly to normalize birth in C. FL. Now with Cathy having brought her experience from Special Beginnings, they make an amazing duo and prenatal visits are always a blast! The staff is genuine, caring, and the care itself is personal and individualized. It's the first time I've been to an office where they remember the names of my DH and DS, and don't have to check the chart every 5 minutes to remember my history.

We live in Leesburg and gladly travel 35-45 minutes down the turnpike and 429 to The Birth Place. If you're looking for an awesome birth center experience I would HIGHLY recommend them!

BTW, my 2 1/2 year old should be starting at Lake Montessori in August. They've been highly recommended by many people in our area, and the cost is reasonable. The website is www.lakemontessori.com if you're interested.