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Yesterday I ventured in to the city.​

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I went with these two beauties-- and there was blue sky!

We ate thai food.​

We did a little shopping.

We ate fresh mint ice-cream outside (from Eat local).

Oh, and then we had a meeting.
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{Pssst! That's Penny Simkin. Author. Doula. Childbirth educator. (With 45 years of experience!!!!) Teacher at Seattle Midwifery. Simply put- she's one of my heroes. What a kind soul she is. I'm doing some work on reformatting my childbirth classes and her expertise is vast and valuable. For 90 minutes she graciously answered my questions and encouraged me. I was a little star-struck sitting there in her living room!}

And then we went home.​

Not bad for a Monday!​

a day at the office

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5am awakening


candle burning


clock ticking


sun rising


breaths deepening


heartbeat monitoring


uterus contracting


cervix opening


hands holding


arms enveloping


words encouraging


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(Doppler, gel, and pre-dawn candlelight.)


tub filling


water relaxing


warmth helping


body pushing


downward moving


passage opening


head crowning


shoulders coming


birth


baby crying


mama relieving


papa awing


finger counting


toe counting


eyes adoring


cord pulsating


family bonding


bodies warming


voices cooing


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(Nearly 30 years of practice and approx 1,000+ babies! Pictures to prove it. Amazing.)


placenta leaving


breasts feeding


scale weighing


bottom diapering


blanket wrapping


word spreading


people congratulating


grandmas hugging


love growing


life beginning


home


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(I'm always starving when I get home!?! Geez. It's not like I was the one doing the hardest work!)


 


And now let's go watch this:









Watch Call the Midwife - Preview on PBS. See more from Call the Midwife.

baby catchers

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Dinner with midwives
 (Laurie, Anna, Dzhan, me, Danelle, and Kristen)


I had dinner with the midwives on Thursday night. Chalk it up to busy lives, but this is a rare occurrence. It happens like twice a year. Whenever I sit in the presence of these women (whom I love) I sort of feel like I'm with Greatness. But better. They are legendary and yet they are just real people. They are my friends.  I personally, have witnessed and experienced some of the most emotional and moving moments of my life standing right beside them. Birth is so intimate that it seems to bind us together tightly.


We sipped some lovely wine and joked about who was supposed to be on call. We told all of our favorite birth stories over again. There's one story that we refer to as "The Naked Birth". We don't usually get to it until the second or third glass. Wouldn't you like to know how that one goes? Oh man, my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. It is probably a good thing that the restaurant was nearly empty. Ours is not your typical (or maybe even appropriate) dinner conversation. 


I have a deep respect for these midwives and the amount of "themselves" that they willingly pour into their profession. I am so blessed to have them in my community, to have had them catch my very own babies, and to have them woven into the very fabric of my life. Fun night.



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