This is a picture of my 15 month old and my belly. It has been well over a year, and I have slowly and peacefully accepted that my belly is going to be floppy and riddled with stretch marks for a very long time. She has helped me accept my body. When she nurses, she often caresses my soft, pillowy…
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Generations of Support {Birth Without Fear}
Three generations of women gathered around to welcome the fourth. A mother’s strength. Welcome to the world little lady. Family. Midwife is Michelle with Lavender Moon Midwifery based out of San Diego, CA. You can follow Lavender Moon Midwifery on Facebook. Photography by Catie Stephens of Vuefinder Photography in San Diego, CA. You can follow them on Facebook here.
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A Midwifery Student’s Birth Without Fear {With Pictures}
I got pregnant with my first son when I was just about 18. I really wanted to give birth at the out of hospital birth center that a lot of my friends were giving birth at, but my mom and other friends convinced me it was best to have my first at the hospital, in case anything went wrong. I…
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The Fear and Anxiety of the Dad-to-Be
No one reading this needs an explanation of how men and women are different. It’s generally accepted that men, for the most part, are logical fixers and women are, overall, emotional nurturers. Men like to see things from an empirical point of view, cut to the chase, and get to the root of the problem and fix it. Women like to…
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Feeding the Children: Memories of a Single-Mom Childhood
Several months ago, I wrote ‘Eating is a Family Affair‘, a post detailing the many ways my husband supports me in breastfeeding. I loved reading the comments readers left. There were lots of mamas tagging their partners and thanking them for their support (love!). Some comments were from moms whose partners did not support them in their breastfeeding (tears!). And…
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In Pursuit of Perfection
Let me start this post by saying, “I’m a perfectionist.” Yep. I’m a perfectionist, always have been. And I am about to admit to you that I AM NOT PERFECT. I’m learning to live with it. Society in general is pretty obsessed with perfection. We want perfect bodies, perfect jobs, perfect houses, perfect lives. Messy relationships, screaming kids, stretch marks,…
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Prepping for Your Home Birth Without Fear {The Ultimate List}
One of the most common questions about homebirth from those considering it is, “What do you need?” While the list of supplies varies from midwife to midwife, there are some basic things that almost everyone is going to need to gather in preparation for the birth. There will also be things you will (probably) want to do for your comfort…
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The Nursing Babe
My daughter is currently 5 1/2 months old. I haven’t introduced solids on a regular basis yet, and really don’t plan to until after she is 6 months old. When I was pregnant my whole family was against breastfeeding. “How are going to feed her in public?”, “Breastfeeding will get old, you will never get a break.” Then once I…
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Circumcision Doesn’t Beget Circumcision {One of These Things is Not Like the Other}
Yes, you read that right, we’re going to talk AGAIN about circumcision, but this post is a little different. I’m not writing this to try to tell you what to do. In fact, this post is actually going to start off with a confession; the day after my first baby was born I had him circumcised. Whew. Okay. We got…