Last post - Update in 2011

I stopped using the blog when Facebook became way more convenient. I almost deleted this blog today, but had second thoughts and decided to keep it.

Here is my update:

I now live in Virginia with my six fantastic children. I am a midwife (LM/CPM) and have a thriving practice called Eva Birth Services.

We are healing after years of a rollercoaster home life - most of that hidden in plain sight. The separation occurred after one of the children was placed in danger and a deputy sheriff brought him home. It was a final straw on top of piles of straws and on that day the separation was initiated and divorce should be final before Christmas.

I had no idea the amount of resources available to me. If you find yourself in a not-so-great situation and you're just making the best of it you can.. but it's still hurting you and your children.. please know there are MANY resources available. Email me anytime - bridget@evabirthservices.com - and I will personally help you find them in your area. They are there.

We are looking at an ELCA church to attend.

My children have survived a year of public school and most liked it, though a couple want to return to homeschooling.

I'm happier than I've ever been in my adult life. I'm thankful that the previous 'season' I was in has ended. I tried very hard to be the perfect cookie-cutter submissive Christian wife and finally realized that no amount of me being perfect was going to fix things.

I'm still very much a Christian, but I have found balance. God has been, and continues to be, faithful to me and my children and for that I'm eternally grateful.

I won't be updating this anymore, but you can find me on facebook under Bridget Bragg or soon-to-be Bridget Pelkey.

Could I be any worse at this? :)

(scroll down for video)

Probably not! But, blogging about life isn't nearly as productive as living life.. is it?

I am currently watching this lecture on brain development and addiction. I think it should be a must-watch for parents and those expecting. I have been learning a lot lately about pre-born consciousness and it is fascinating stuff. Even simple things like a baby will swallow more amniotic fluid in the womb if it is sweeter than normal. Babies are amazing creatures and too often we treat them like they're not a part of the pregnancy or birth process. Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering has fantastic information on how babies need to be undrugged in order to help the birth process. It also has interesting info (also available online) on how a baby born via c-section is not the 'same' baby if born vaginally - the process of a c-section literally changes a baby's genes. It's theorized that this is because a baby isn't ready to suddenly handle the stresses of out of womb life (yet another reason why a trial of labor is always recommended). Not only is the baby different, but the brain activity of a mom who delivered via c-section vs. vaginally is also different, especially in regards to her baby's cry.. I believe drugs were also included in that. I've had one epidural birth and I know my response was much different than the natural births, you miss out on that natural hormone cocktail that so primes mom and baby for birth.

I think it is time for the natural vs. meds debate to no longer be about how "tough" the mom is or for many people to believe they're equal. So many of the differences are hidden that it's just recently that we're getting even more of this information. Yet another reason for me to be passionate about midwifery. IMHO it's much easier to have a calm, centered, natural birth when you feel loved, supported, and safe in your surroundings. For the majority of women, this familiarity with their surroundings doesn't happen in hospital setting. Most of us equate hospitals with disease, emergencies, or other serious issues. (The NHS recently published that 80% of women are homebirth/birthcenter candidates). I've been blessed to see a few women give birth naturally after having previous epidurals and they constantly amaze me. Women are SO strong when they trust their instincts and feel comfortable demanding what they need - whether it be a position change, a real meal, privacy with their partner, extra closeness by the midwife/doula, no lights, more lights, music, silence, bed, tub, leaning over a chair, no vaginal exams, more vaginal exams (some like to know progress), and so on. Each mother/baby pair is unique and should be afforded the right to do what -they- need to do.

It's insanity that a sacred event like childbirth could ever be thought of as an assembly line process. More and more I respect the midwives I see.. they truly are the experts in normal pregnancy and birth. One midwife has a saying 'Look for horses, not zebras'. And, its a worthwhile reminder that the majority of what happens -is- normal.

On the homeschooling front: We're enjoying summer! :) Our school plans for the upcoming year are reasonable and I'm setting up the foundation now (getting notebooks and such together). It should look like:

Charlotte: Math - Teaching Textbooks Pre-Alg or Alg (probably Algebra), Science - Apologia, Writing - Novel/NaNo, Reading - ha, everything!, Grammar - Winston Grammar, History - CLEP early Amer. History, Bible/Worldview - Cornerstone Curriculum (Also studying Flash/HTML on her own)

Bethany: Math - Teaching Textbooks 7 and then probably into Pre-Alg or Alg (I'm cheap, so I'm thinking Alg), Science - Anatomy/Herbs/Mw'ery self-designed plan, Writing - NaNo/Novel, Reading - same as C, Grammar - Winston, History CHOW (Child's History of the World), Bible - Indep. Reading.

James: Math - TT4 (we have 5 in case he zips through it), Science - one of the Apologia Elem books, Writing - Prompts/ Italic handwriting, Reading - self picked from list, Grammar - Winston, History CHOW, Bible - Indep. Reading.

Joseph: Math - real life math, some workbooks, Science - Apologia Elem, Writing - Italic, Reading - 100 Easy Lessons, History CHOW, Bible - Leading Little Ones to God (same for Noah).

Noah & Nae -- Young Kid 101

Our official grades are: 8th, 6th, 4th, and 1st. Noah could be in K4. But, honestly, I don't get the need to rush them through those early years. They learn way more by self-discovery than being sat in front of a workbook with a pencil.

Mom: Midwife-To-Be course. A set of 30 units.. and more Rosetta Stone Spanish.

As always, we covet prayers of our family and friends. Quite a few know of an issue that has happened in my family, others do not. I am a relatively private person, so sharing details like that with the world isn't something I do. However, at park days or other things it might come up. I ask that others are sensitive and merely offer to listen or pray as needed. Right now things are smoothed over and doing okay.

I think this upcoming schoolyear is going to be one of our most basic and plain ones ever... and I look forward to it! :) We are still looking into being part of the local co-op, time permitting.

Other random tidbits:

• Naomi's favorite show -ever- is Oswald. It's insanely sweet and light-hearted.
• Noah has realized that Nae can be a pretty good playmate, but wow does she have a SCREECH when things don't go her way. She calls him Noah now instead of Whoa-Wah!
• Joseph lost a tooth, he looks absolutely darling. He also likes to tap his head to 'get my brain working'. Along with that, he can play-act most of his favorite shows complete with voices, sound effects, and motions.
• James has a wickedly dry sense of humor that is showing up. He also no longer believes me when I claim that I spit in something so he won't drink it. hehe. (Yeah, I know it isn't appropriate Mom behavior, but it -works- with most of them!). His favorite website is www.incredibots.com
• Bethany wrote out a mealplan for the week - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack. She did way better than I would. :) If she could drive, I'd happily hand over the grocery shopping to her! She's currently hoping to find a way to visit her best friend in Kansas.
• Charlotte can cook, she made up a child-friendly meal of macaroni and cheese (box) mixed with spaghetti and marinara sauce. She loved her trip to summer camp and looks forward to going again next year.

Well... there's a Civilization:Colonization game going on, so I'm off to watch. Charlotte is being Douglas Adams and James is George Washington.

Life is good!

"Hey, all of the leaves are back." - comment by James. And they are.. we're loving the weather here and all of the brilliant green. The duck eggs are getting close to hatching. One of them rotted (and burst slightly) so it went to the trash, we're hoping to get at least one baby from this group. If not, we'll try again!

We're getting closer to the end of the school year which will be nice. Charlotte still has more science to finish which might extend into the summertime. James is excited about getting Teaching Textbooks Math 4. I'm excited about a summer off and then getting stuff situated for next fall. 

A few of you already know this, but I haven't been telling the world. :) I officially mailed in my midwife apprentice license forms. In SC, it is a somewhat big deal because it is all a formal affair. I'm also very blessed that it worked out the way that it did. It's an amazing opportunity for me. I will be apprenticing with a homebirth midwife about an hour away and also helping at the birth center in my city. It gives me a broad variety of experience for which I'm quite thankful. 

On top of apprenticing, I need to graduate from Ancient Art Midwifery Institute to meet SC requirements. SC also requires a written exam (NARM, it's expensive, long, and has lots of chatter about it on the internet!) and an oral exam (3 hours, given in state). At that point I'll be a licensed midwife (LM) here and can do a few more things to be a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) which is recognized by a variety of states. 

I feel very blessed that this has all come together like it has.  I am still teaching HypnoBirthing courses at the birth center (and love that!) but will probably not be taking as many private doula clients. My next client is planning to birth at the center so that will work out nicely. :)  

Jim has been a great encouragement, especially since the children are at an age that this isn't leaving us in a bind for finding childcare and such. The children themselves have been wonderful. Charlotte is often my help with giving me feedback on how we can continue to adjust/improve with the variety of schedule changes. Bethany enjoys helping me with office-tasks and enjoys reading about herbs, etc. James sat down by me today and said, "So, are you still liking this midwife learning?" and we had a chat about it. The youngest three are obviously not as involved, but they do keep me sane... I've learned to appreciate plopping on the couch, snuggling, and reading a children's book to them. Being away from them at times (and busier at home) has made me appreciate them all the more.

But, honestly, to God goes the glory. He set this up and I'm eternally grateful for it. One Pastor we know likes to say "If God guides, He provides" and that has happened here. I'm doing a lot of work (I won't even play false-humble and deny it!) but He opened every door and it still brings me to tears at times to think of His greatness in this.  Those who know the full story of how all of this has played out so far, know that to say it was anything -but- God would be foolishness. 

Sooo.. I will try to get posts up. I do have great pics of the kids from the park on Friday. Every so often the printer doesn't play nice with me and I'm unable to get them moved. I'll try soon. :) 

Sesame Street Video - Very cool!

I'm amazed that this was covered by Sesame Street. I showed the video to the children and James said, "She's feeding her baby. Can we watch something interesting like the sheep again?" :)  

Here is the sheep link:

http://shipfullofpirates.com/2009/04/14/foolish-waste-of-time-yet-amazing/

Naomi is two!

It is hard to believe that Naomi is very close to being two. We plan to go out later to celebrate and I'll post two-year-old pictures at that time. This is her birth picture. :) She is probably thirty minutes out of the womb in this shot..  and in denial about everything. She rarely cried at all those first two weeks. We spent the first week almost entirely in bed for our 'babymoon' with nursing and recovering from birth. All moms deserve a babymoon! I missed that with most of our others due to moving, prematurity, or bilirubin checks. Naomi's birth was about as perfect as they come...

* She basically slept her way into this world, born into a large tub of warm water.

* Her pregnancy was the longest I'd experienced, which I credit to the midwife's nutritional information and fish oil. 

* Her birth was unrushed and peaceful. Friends came over (with their children) and it was seen as a normal and natural event.

* I birthed during the day, which was my dream for this pregnancy. I could see the flowering dogwood out the bedroom window... it's flowering now and it's such a nice reminder of that time.

* We ate, drank, and walked in the country while letting labor get going.

* At around 5-6cm I was in the kitchen helping to make grilled cheese for the children. Not because I had to, but because it felt good to be in my kitchen doing normal things. 

* My birth was empowering, not because it was natural, but mainly because it was -normal-. My home, my surroundings, my friends, my family, a normal day with a miraculous happening. 

The verse I kept in mind during my labor and birth:

"Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert." - Isaiah 43:19