Doula

Wanted to for so long

Midwife/Nurse didn’t feel right at this moment in life

Course originally in June – Being intimidated allowed my mind to wonder if it wasn’t “meant to be”

Course was great

Great girls

Learned lots

Still intimidated – probably won’t stop being, certainly not anytime soon – experience

Working on contract, pricing, website, advertising, etc

Collective/back-up with other girls from course

Planning to take Postpartum as well – Calgary Sep-Oct

Learn to Pack Properly

Choosing types of fabric that don't crease is a hugely overlooked part of packing and one of the best ways to keep your clothes looking good after hours or days in a suitcase or backpack.

 

The type of luggage that you use should be more of a decision than just backpack vs suitcase. It should be practical for your destination and travel mode, appropriately sized for you and able to carry all the items you need to bring (and potentially any items you plan to return home with.) Consider if you will stay in one place or move around a lot, cobblestone streets, ease of getting through airports and train stations, etc.

 

What do you really need? Be honest with yourself, do you actually end up wearing/using/needing all the items you typically bring? Is paying and waiting for checked bags really worth it?

 

When travelling solo with carry-on it’s important to consider that it must go everywhere you go in transit. There is no one to watch out for your stuff while you go to the bathroom or to get food, it has to carried/pulled/worn the whole way.

 

How packing properly helps you save money – not paying to check bags unless necessary, not buying things you forgot, not paying to ship things home when your bag is too heavy, not throwing things away to make room for souvenirs, etc and having to re-buy at home.

 

Pack and roller, multiple bags, walking, stairs, etc

Bucketlist BC

Written March 2017 - Bucket List BC

 

Thus far almost everywhere that Ryan and I have travelled together 1 or both of us have already been there. Now that I’m trying to plan our 2017 summer vacation(s) we have decided to try for somewhere that neither of us has been to. I’ve been thinking about it for about a year now and because it won’t be a super long trip it should still fit in just fine with our other plans! We already have a for-sure trip planned for the summer but fingers crossed we can make this one happen too.

Summer vacation hopeful: Vancouver Island.

I have been to a few places in BC and I’ve road-tripped from Kelowna to Edmonton, but I’m quite sure I’ve never been to the island. Ryan has never been to the province at all so everything will be new and exciting!

We will be quite busy for all of July so maybe around mid-August we’ll hit the road. I would love to make this trip as inexpensive as possible and also full of as much nature and beautiful scenery as I can fit in. It seems to me that road-tripping from Alberta to BC may just be one of the most beautiful and scenic things I could do with my time.

 Here’s my list of hopefuls:

See the Orcas - I’m going to be honest now. Ryan and I watched Free Willy last year (mid-2016) and seeing the Orcas is my biggest draw to Canada’s west coast. The ocean in general is irresistible to me actually, but I’m really stoked to hopefully see what’s in it!

Cathedral Grove - Walking amongst the giant trees

Pacific Rim National Park/West Coast Trail – Can you do hour/day long short hikes on west coast trail???

Scuba Dive – I should have my certification by the time we got to BC and I would love to dive in the ocean if I can. I’ll need a rental shop and partner or group.

SUP /Kayak– If it goes well in Hawaii (SUP) and since I’ve never tried kayaking, I would love to do that on our trip.

Camping – I think, if for no other reason than cost, we will be camping on this trip. We both love to camp and what better way to experience the beauty around you than to sleep in it.

Biking – We are hoping to find a rack for the car so we can bring our bicycles with us. Cruising around the island on a bike seems so charming.

Mountain Parks – Explore more mountain parks along the way (Other than Jasper and Banff)

Visit Natural Hot Springs – This seems so appealing for a reason I don’t think I need to explain. It would be a perfect bit of relaxation in midst of a long drive.

Tofino – Visit the town, see the waves and watch the surfers

 

http://www.hellobc.com/victoria/things-to-do/water-activities/diving.aspx

NS Highlights

Ok, so I’ve been back for over a month and I haven’t posted about my vacation.. I really had every intention of doing it, but it just didn’t happen. Life has been so busy!

Let’s do a highlight reel and photos, shall we?

We spent the first few days on the South Shore with Ryan’s family and friends. We walked a few beaches, enjoyed a great Thanksgiving meal, saw lots of family and spent some time with Ryan’s best friend. It was a short visit but we had big plans for the rest of our time.

Stop number 2 was Moncton to see my brother, niece and nephew. It was my first time meeting my nephew and he was the sweetest little boy. We walked around the mall together for a few hours, ………………….. Our time in Moncton was short but worthwhile for the visit and to sleep in my favorite bed.

Next destination was PEI where we had big plans to drive everywhere and see everything. We drove for hours and hours, saw very little and got rained on almost the whole time. I certainly don’t regret going to the island but I’m really glad we didn’t stay as long as we planned.




---------------------------------------------------

Ok, so I’ve been back for over 6 weeks and I haven’t posted about my vacation.. I really had every intention of doing it, but it just didn’t happen. Life has been so busy!

Let’s do a highlight reel and photos, shall we?

We spent the first few days on the South Shore with Ryan’s family and friends. We walked a few beaches, enjoyed a great Thanksgiving meal, saw lots of family and spent some time with Ryan’s best friend. It was a short visit but we had big plans for the rest of our time.

Stop number 2 was Moncton to see my brother, niece and nephew. It was my first time meeting my nephew and he was the sweetest little boy. We walked around the mall together for a few hours before Abby got bored and wanted to go home to her toys. I guess I’m not that exciting! Our time in Moncton was short but worthwhile because of the visit and the sleep in my favorite hotel bed.

Next destination was PEI where we had big plans to drive everywhere and see everything. We drove for hours and hours, saw very little and got rained on almost the whole time. I certainly don’t regret going to the island but I’m really glad we didn’t stay as long as we planned. Unfortunately, we chose to go the week after Thanksgiving so almost everything was closed. We went to the Anne of Green Gables heritage site, walked along a few beaches, visited a couple lighthouses and I enjoyed fresh PEI oysters. I can’t pretend the oysters weren’t a huge highlight of my time in PEI. 

My Goals for 2019

Planning a wedding and preparing for baby has all but completely taken over my life recently. Researching cribs, car seats and strollers, attending bridal fairs to get ideas for the wedding, check-ups with the Midwife, dress shopping, suit shopping, house organizing.. the list goes on. It’s been a busy time and I have had a few things on my mind that I’ll be treating as goals for the year. Here they are.


Prepare our home for baby, and de-clutter in general. – We live in a 2 bedroom apartment (that I honestly love!) but somehow it suddenly feels like the walls are closing in on me. How are we supposed to fit a teeny tiny human and all their stuff in here with us?? We’ve made great progress on this already but it will be ongoing for a while. We have had to re-home furniture, get new pieces, rearrange rooms and dispose of junk.


Read more. - I set the goal to read 1 book per month last year and I kept up with it until August. Not sure what happened for the rest of the year, but I would like to start again. I can’t pretend that most of what I expect to read is going to be much outside of pregnancy, birth and babies, but reading is reading.


Do the best I can for my health and fitness while pregnant. Be active. Eat well. Sleep as much as I can. - I found a studio in Edmonton that caters specifically to pre and post natal women (you can even bring kids and babies to class!) I’m going to be joining very soon and making a stronger effort to keep myself active and strong. Eating was a little bit of a struggle for my first trimester, between being sick, having no desire to eat and then just being in a rut. I’ve started making lists of better snacks and meal ideas to choose from so I can hopefully make some better choices. I still sleep reasonably well most of the time and for long stretches, I’d like to keep that up as long as possible.


And then do the best I can postpartum for my physical and mental health. – As I have historically not done super well with big hormonal changes, I am a bit concerned for my mental health after baby arrives. That being said, stating that here might be the best thing I can do for myself as I’m hoping it will stick with any of you and you’ll help get me out the other side. Other than that, once I’m cleared to do so, I have high hopes to get back to the gym with baby, take frequent walks and enjoy lots of sunshine.


Plan a beautiful wedding day that is minimally stressful, "inexpensive" and above all else, a day that celebrates the love Ryan and I have for each other. – I have dreamed of getting married forever, but there was never any detail involved when I considered it. Now that I am actually planning, I’m seeing things a bit differently. I’m still excited and I still want a beautiful day, but when it comes to the details, I honestly don’t care that much; I just want a special day to celebrate Ryan and I. I want to do as much ahead of time and in such a way that it keeps all stress to a minimum, doesn’t cost anymore than absolutely necessary and is something the 2 of us will be really happy with.


Buy only things that bring value and joy, including and especially, for the baby. - I've said it before and I'll say it again; stuff is just stuff. Babies do not need mountains of toys and I do not need a closet full of clothes I don't wear.


Take at least 1 trip, even if it's small. – I really, really want to take a “babymoon” to Kauai in March or April, but I’m not sure that will happen. So, at very least I would like to go on a road trip or for a nice weekend in the mountains. Thumbs down for missing out on camping this year!


Save as much as I can before and during maternity leave. – Because weddings and babies cost money. And not working for 18 months while on maternity leave will obviously cost a bit too.

Rowan's Birth Story

July 8, 2019

Today, our baby was born.

Labour was 10 hours, but completely manageable. It started at 2:38am. I could easily breathe, walk and talk through the contractions for the first several hours.
I woke Ryan up at 5:45 and by the time we got driving to my parents house where we planned to give birth, around 6:30, the contractions were already 1-2 minutes apart and lasting 1-3 minutes. Still manageable.
I thought I must be progressing quite quickly but by 8:30/9 when the midwife arrived and checked I was only 3cm, able to stretch to about 4cm. I was temporarily disheartened until I all but forgot about the cm’s as I continued to get contraction after contraction, nearly on top of each other. The best relief was to stand and walk during and continue to breathe, in through my nose, out through my mouth. I never had any moments feeling like I couldn’t do it or I wanted to quit or have drugs, even when I unknowingly reached 10cm. I got out of the pool, (which was a great relief between contractions, but I still had to stand during them) feeling like I had to use the bathroom. While sitting on the toilet my water broke. I was checked again by our midwife when I got back downstairs and was told it was pushing time. 
On my back on the bed, where I was checked, looking back now it feels like it would have been impossible and so painful to birth that way, I don’t know how people do it. Back in the pool however, I had the freedom to take on a deep, hands and knees, forward bent squat and it felt so right. I pushed hard with every contraction, but not so hard that I felt I was keeping oxygen from my baby or exhausting myself. I never actually had the urge to push, I just knew it was time.
I had no idea at the time, but I pushed for about an hour before the head was born. I cried out during crowning, it was very intense pressure, but it was over quite quickly. Our midwife said the baby had its hand in an awkward position so she helped rotate a bit and then I felt the whole body explode out of me with no pain and minimal effort on my part.
Ryan and I both sobbed as the baby was passed between my legs, still underwater, and I brought it up to my chest. We were (are) both so smitten that we didn’t even look so see if it was a boy or girl, it truly didn’t matter in that moment.
Of course we did eventually need to know, and it’s a girl! Rowan Alice.
Ryan was with me every step of the way through labour, so supportive, reminding me to breathe and telling me how well I was doing. Other times just being there silently for whenever I needed to reach out.
Lynn and Dad came to meet her shortly after she was born but didn’t stay to long as the placenta wasn’t far behind.
Ryan cut the cord and held Rowan while I birthed the placenta with little effort and no pain at all.
I was up almost right away, up three flights of stairs to shower while Ryan took Rowan to bed for a snuggle.
We had all the grandparents (except Norma) over for Rowan’s first birthday cake that evening.
In bed before we (kind of) slept, I nursed her for the first time. Harder than it seems to get a good latch and I ended with a rather sore nipple. I tried feeding her again several times throughout the night but she didn’t seem to be getting anything and was clearly frustrated, as was I (with myself) ... in hindsight, I realized I kept putting her on the same side because the other was sore, of course she wasn’t getting anything. It all worked out better in the light of the next day.
We took our first little walk outside as a family of 3 and it felt so good to be in good enough shape after the birth to be able to do that. I couldn’t be more proud of what my body did for me.

Rowan and I have matching birth marks. Outside of the right ankle.


It’s crazy how none of this has been the way I always thought it would be. I don’t feel like my life has changed dramatically because Rowan arrived, it’s like she was always going to be here and I’ve just been waiting for her to arrive, knowing all along that she would. I feel calm and at peace and perfectly in love. I wouldn’t change anything about labour or birth and I certainly wouldn’t change anything about my daughter.




mind over matter