When it comes to birth we are taught natural=good, medical intervention=bad, and with valid reasons. So when it came time to have my baby, I knew what I wanted and I was ready. I was having a natural home birth, likely in water and my husband was all for it.

I had my midwives (amazing women from Genesis Midwives Kitchener, Sky and Susan).

I had my doula (a wonderful ND friend, Corinne Brown, practicing in Beamsville).

I had another ND friend for support just a call away (and a short drive if needed!).

I had an extra large bath tub and enough food and coffee to last days.

At 10:30am on August 22nd, my water broke. Because active labour hadn't started yet, I had a stress test, everything looked good and I went home to wait. I spent the day having mild contractions and eating (the nausea and vomiting I had experienced for the 9 months previous disappeared the moment my water broke and I was making up for lost time). At 7pm Corinne arrived and we waited for my midwife to come and check on us. With still little progression we had a second stress test and were informed that should I not be in active labour, I would have to return in the morning to be induced. This was not going to happen, so we returned home and stepped up our game with some labor induction acupuncture (doulas don't usually do this, but because Corinne is also an ND, she is trained and licensed in acupuncture), which really got the ball rolling!

At 12pm on August 23rd, 12 hours, 2 acupuncture sessions, homeopathy and stair lunges later, my dilation stalled and my midwife made the call to transfer me to the hospital for induction.

As my husband drove, I cried. As the rude nurse made us sit in the wait area while the midwife waited for us in the room, I got angry. As I waited for the Ob-Gyn to come, I got impatient. When the midwife said there was an emergency C-section and it would be at least another hour, I cried again. When I got the 'tide-me-over' pain killers, I slept. When the Ob-Gyn finally arrived, I asked 2 questions: At this point, it doesn't look like I'll need a C-section (the answer was no) and How long is this going to take?

Because it was going to take about an hour/cm dilation (I was at 4cm and swollen and needed to get to 10cm) they sent Corinne home for sleep, since we had all been up for about 30 hours at this point, and they figured it would be a long night. I had made the decision the night before that should I need Pitocin (to induce) I was going to get an Epidural. So for the next couple hours I slept, 2.5 hours later, I was fully dilated. At 7:31pm on August 23rd, Lily was born.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been back and forth about starting a blog. Who would read it? What would I write about? Am I really a blogger?

I don't know what made me decide to go for it, but once I did, I couldn't stop thinking about things I wanted to share! I will start with a little about me. I am a Naturopathic Doctor and new momma to a beautiful, chubby, 6 month old baby girl. I am a little bit hippie and a little bit country club. I carry my baby in a sling, and my cloth diapers in a Coach bag.

Being a new mom has been my biggest inspiration, mainly because of all the information thrown at new parents, some good, some not so good. I find this trend isn't isolated to new parents but is something everyone experiences. I feel lucky to have the resources and the background profession to help me navigate these often confusing waters.

So what is this blog about? It's about wellness and clearing up some of the common misconceptions about health. It's about tips, tricks and recipes to be more natural and healthy. It's about my journey as a Naturopathic Doctor and a Parent and the bumps along the way. And most importantly it's a place for me to share professional, personal and life experiences to possibly help you make healthier decisions that work for the real world.

I hope you enjoy!

Jessica

Disclaimer: Naturopathic Doctors strive to provide individualized health care. The information contained in these topics is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it is provided for educational purposes only. This information shouldn’t take the place of seeing an ND for individualized health recommendations.