I'm not green. I'm better than green!

Who woulda thunk it - I walked away from a cesarean birth feeling positive.  Was it a necessary cesarean?  That is for each individual to decide on their own and in their own time.  The soon-to-be parents knew all of their options (including the options that the hospital staff did not give them), and because of certain situations and personal reasons, they opted to stay where they were and see how everything turned out.  As they neared the "deadline" the doctor gave, they started to really prepare emotionally for a c-section.  It was incredibly uplifting to see the transformation of planned natural childbirth to cesarean, but never giving up hope that maybe just maybe she had dilated enough to continue laboring.  Their time ran out and a cesarean was agreed upon.  We talked long and hard about how mom's state of mind could affect the environment to which the baby was born.  Dad and I encouraged peace and relaxation - even though we both knew how difficult it was. 
After they brought her into recovery, she told me how successful she had been - She listened to her headphones and imagined herself on a warm beach near the water.  Because of this, their baby was brought into a peaceful and loving environment - and you could tell as soon as you saw him.  As soon as he started to get hungry and root for his mother, Mom was ready to begin nursing.  It was a beautiful moment to see baby latch perfectly and Mom gain confidence in her body and as a mother.

I have one more "free-of-charge" birth coming up any day now, and I am desperately looking forward to watching this couple unfold in the labor and birth process as new parents.  The transformations I witness in just a few short hours is incredibly breath-taking.  Nature is truly amazing!

My birthday was earlier this month, and my sister-in-law and brother really gave me a touching gift.  They had talked to another well-known doula, with whom they are taking childbirth classes and hypnobirthing classes from, and put together a beautiful basket full of necessary things for my doula bag.  It really meant the world to me.  I can't wait to put some of the stuff to use!

I'm really looking forward to finishing up this certification.  It will be a great sense of accomplishment for me.  As soon as I am done, I am going to start the CBE certification and the Women's Herbal and Aromatherapy course.  I'm sure I won't move through these courses as quickly because I have so much to do around this house over the summer.  We have a side room that used to be a garage, that we are turning into our master bedroom with a full bath.  Once the weather warms up and we can turn off our heat, we will get started.  I am so looking forward to having a little more privacy in our house.  I'm planning on setting up my tea station and sewing table in there as well.  We also have got to finish off this chicken coop.  Our chickens are rather large and are escaping into our house.  I can't wait until they start laying.  I know we will get more eggs than we need, so I have put together a ton of recipes for custards and such so that I can use them up.  I also vowed to no longer buy pasta - looks like I will be making my own.  And then there's the garden.  I'm beginning to get a little overwhelmed with how large it is going to be, but I can't wait for harvesting time and starting the preservation process.  And who doesn't love watching nature at it's best - growing from tiny little seeds, flowering and fruits, and then dying off and feeding the soil with its nutrients.  It is almost as exciting as watching a mama's belly grow with a beautiful baby.  Oh yea, and the bees.  The unassembled hive just came in and the bees are getting picked up in a few days.  Thankfully my dad is helping out and putting the hive together for me.  He's going to start the bees at his house and transfer them over here once Mike's birthday rolls around.
Ahhh, the busy life we live.  Hopefully I'll be able to add a few births to this mix as well.

Mike and I have really been daydreaming about opening our market.  We've been working so hard to educate ourselves and get better at what we already know how to do.  We definitely have learned from our mistakes after running that first business.  Now all we have to do is come into a massive amount of money to start the business...  Sounds so simple.  Anyone have a massive amount of money??  :)

After all of this craziness leads us back into yet another winter, I am hoping to enter that season with baby #3 on the way.  I know we have to have a lot of things come together before we can take that next step, but I'm praying like crazy it all does.  I'm really itching to add another member to the family.

So this is my somewhat boring update on my life right now.  As I read over what I have written, I realize one thing.  We're a pretty cool family.  We are definitely survivors.  We're strong, competent, smart, healthy....and what the hell - good looking.  Haha. 

Please keep sending positive thoughts and prayers for this upcoming birth.