The Heart Beat

Today was a busy birthday at H2H, although it isn't over till the fat lady sings I guess the saying goes....(would that be me??) So far today, we have had two beautifully smooth births and lots of fun with these families! We woke to the call with one lady in early labor, then another called, then a third. It worked out so great...we had one come in, we checked her, sent her to breakfast, another came in and delivered, then the other came back from breakfast and hung out a bit and had her baby. the third is coming back in now. Please welcome baby girl Riley to Heather and Rob. Baby Riley weighed 9.1. Also welcome baby boy Asher to Kathleen and Aaron. Baby Asher weighed in at 7.6. We are waiting Nicole to come in and her baby tonite as well...we will keep you posted!! Michelle, Becca, Misty, and Michelle R (new Asst at H2H)

I did it! Finished the Danskin Triathalon on Mother's Day May 10th. Swam 1/2 mile, biked 12 miles, and then ran 3.1miles in 1hr 32min! Placed 102 out of 1688- 28th out of 279 in my age group! We did disney after and I walked around for 8hrs! My 2 younger boys were in Aww- first time to Magic Kingdom. Picture is of all three in Minnie's House. Their were no lines and it was absolutely perfect> Looking for people to train with for next year!

For those of you who did not know it yet, our Birth Assistant Misti Balzer (senior student midwife) is having TWINS! We are all very excited for her and know that her family is really going to have a blast with two new little girls! Misti currently attends Florida School of Traditional Midwifery in Gainesville, lives in St. Augustine, and works here at H2H as a birth attendant...she really gets around! HeeHeee! As you can tell, she is very dedicated to becoming a midwife! Please remember that to support midwifery, everyone we know needs to join the Florida Friends of Midwives to keep your right to have a baby with a midwife legal in FLorida!

I recieved the most fantastic e-mail the other day from one of my Hypnobirthing graduates.... She told me how wonderful of an experience she created using these techniques, even in a hospital.... "It was the most amazing day of my life and I wish every mother was able to have this same reality. I felt great that day after I had him with very little pain and was home the next day. The nurses couldn't believe how great I was doing. I think they're just used to the normal drug induced comas most moms are in at the hospital. Learning how to breath properly and relax about the natural process of birthing is the reason I was able to do this. Thank you again so much for all your help and guidance." It always makes me smile to hear success stories. I am blessed to be able to assist moms in this path of loving their childbirth and to be able to witness this often at Heart 2 Heart. It makes me feel so hopeful when I hear Mom's are taking back their experience in hospita...

For those of you who don't know it yet, we are expecting as well! Okay, so it is not a baby, but it is taking 9 months!! We are having our dream birth center built. Now before any of you panic, it is going to have all of the charm and beauty of this building, it will just be a bit more practical: all on one floor (no steps to climb in labor!), three birth rooms, two exam rooms, and a better waiting room for extended family when they come for the birth or after! We will still be right here in Sanford, but will actually be right across the street from labor and delivery (The Baby Suites) at Central Florida Regional Hospital on Lexington Drive. Although the building will be new, it will have all of our antiques in it, so we know it is going to be simply wonderful.  We love this beautiful old building and appreciate having gotten our start here, but we have definitely outgrown this beautiful old place so we can offer some more stuff to ya'll. We will also be opeing a Wellness Cente...

Just an FYI to any followers on here: we will now be offering homebirth! My heart soared the other day when Kaleen said she wa gonna need an oxygen tank and a travel bag...I have been doing some select homebirths, but didn't really know that she wanted to do them as well! For those of you who don't know, both Kaleen adn I had babies at home. I had my first in a birth center and my second at home. Kaleen had her first in a hospital and her next two at home! And over 9 pounds at that! Most dads prefer birth center for a few reasons: we are near the hospital in the case of an emergency, we do the clean up after the birth and you go home to your clean house afterwards so he doesn't have to clean up the sheets, and moms usually just really like the tubs here. I have heard from moms who have several children that coming to the center was better for them because it is quieter here than at home. But now we will be able to accomodate your birth wishes!! Yeah!! Now join the Florida F...

Yesterday was our Mother's Day Celebration. We were joined by many of our birthin' mamas here at the center to honor them for their support for midwifery and to just plain old say Thank You. The work we do is so rewarding for us that we want wach of you to know how much we appreciate you. For those of you who missed our little shin-dig, there was food galore! Our local Mirena (IUD) representative donated TooJays deli food...there were sandwiches, salads, cookies, rugulache (SP?) cakes (thank you Valeria!) and more food from my caterer friend Drew who brought the most scrumptious veggie wraps! The food was terrific. Misti, our twin expecting student midwife, read the Proclamation for International Midwives Day (05/05/09), which reminds me to remind each of you to please sign up and become a member of the Florida Friends of Midwives and support your right to have a midwife attend your birth. If the state representatives don't know what you want they can't protect your rig...