How to birth a baby - Lamaze Jamestown, North Dakota

I am the type of person who needs information. When I get interested in a subject I find resources and learn all I can. When I got pregnant I didn’t know much. I mean, I knew the basics on the biology of the whole thing, but I didn’t know how childbirth was actually going to go. I knew there would be choices to make but I didn’t have the information to decide on which choices would be best for me. So I read and sought more education. I found a philosophy of birth that fit my desires. I also sought a care provider who was amenable to the options I was choosing. I took the childbirth class at the local hospital, but didn’t feel like they gave me the tools to have the birth I wanted. I won’t lie, there are many childbirth information sources out there that create fear and are not based on evidence. Many images presented on TV, in movies, and on YouTube show women giving birth in scary, chaotic situations that would make you question why anyone would decide to have a baby at all. Here

I can't wait to get back to my class and use some of the things I've learned. Friday at the Lamaze 2016 conference I attended a session "Design your Lamaze classes to maximize learning." It was fabulous! I have so many great ideas to put into practice and I learned a great way to structure my lessons so that my students will not only learn better but retain the information better. There is another session about the "flipped" classroom that I am excited about too. I am having some trouble deciding between certain sessions and I attended one today that I didn't get much out of and probably would have been better off going to a different one. Overall I'm gaining a lot and will need to take some time to process everything when I get home. Lamaze truly is a fabulous organization and I happy I chose this route. Here are some new friends I made including the current president Maria Brooks. She is at the end of her term and a new president will be electe

Today was a long day at the Lamaze conference, but a good one full of wonderful stuff. I attended a breastfeeding workshop today. It had "professional" in the title, so it was targeted to a level a little beyond mine, but that didn't bother me. I enjoyed being exposed to the information and although there was some jargon and acronyms that I didn't quite follow, I liked the in depth lessons about breastfeeding that I feel I can bring back to my classes. Allison Walsh was the presenter and she did a good job of covering the multitude of information. I really enjoyed one of the last modules where she talked about challenges with breastfeeding premature infants and those who need to be cared for in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). I feel like my breastfeeding experience was fairly smooth, I mean compared to the plethora of problems I could have had. I now have a broader knowledge to give to my students that will hopefully help them overcome some challenges they

My first Lamaze class series is off to a great start. I have two couples in fairly different places in their pregnancies. It is wonderful to get their different perspectives on the stages they are experiencing. These people have agreed to be my guinea pigs so I can test out my material and get my rhythm established for how I will teach future classes. The biggest thing I learned from my first class session was that I planned on packing too much information into that session. Two hours is a lot of time to fill, I know this because I've had trouble filling 15 and 30 minutes for other speaking engagements I've done with my other job. Also, it is a lot of time to fill with just lecture. Luckily teaching childbirth and pregnancy information can be interactive and I've tried to incorporate those kinds of things where ever I can. But, lecture is a bit unavoidable and I'm hoping I can break things up enough to keep everyone's interest. The session tonight is all abo

Having support during pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and breastfeeding is so important. As with other things in life, if you don't have encouragement and love behind you it will be hard to attain your goals. For me attaining my goal of becoming a childbirth educator wouldn't have been possible if my husband hadn't been behind me. Support during labor and childbirth has positive out comes that cascade into bonding and loving the baby. Having a Doula is one form of support that has benefits all around from healthy outcomes for mom and baby to economic benefits that decrease the costs of having a baby. It has been said that "If a doula were a drug it would be unethical not to offer it." Choices in Childbirth is an organization advocating for Doula care to be covered by Medicaid and private insurance. I'm in agreement with this effort. When you have someone with you advocating for your well being during labor, it can take the worry off of you so you can focu

It is all set! My first Lamaze Childbirth Education class will begin October 6 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota. 6:00 to 8:00 pm, Classes will run for 7 weeks (6 classes, I have to skip a date in between), October 6, 13, 27 and November 3, 10, 17. The cost is $125 per couple. There is childcare available if you need it provided by Stepping Stones. This will be an extra charge, but it isn't much (around $4/hour). If you are interested in signing up for the class, send me an email or fill out the Google Form .  I'm in business now, I got my brochures and business cards printed up and I've been handing them out around town.

You have your lovely infant and spend 2 or 3 days in the hospital, depending on if you had a vaginal or cesarean delivery, then you are on your own. Hopefully you had some knowledgeable nurses in the hospital to help you figure out the breastfeeding thing. And if you took a Lamaze or other childbirth education class you have some pointers on how to read your infant's hunger ques, how to soothe your baby, and how to change a diaper. But there may be a significant lack of support when you bring baby home. As a new mom you could be feeling overwhelmed and unsure of your parenting skills and the decisions you are making. During this immediate postpartum time many new parents have family visiting to "help" with the baby. I say, choose wisely who you have at your home during this time. Some people feel the need to entertain these guests and keep their house clean. Well during this time you need people around you who will let you just relax and focus on baby. Those people

Lamaze has a great App that you can use to track your pregnancy. It gives you information on how baby is growing week to week and how your body is changing. You can log your doctor's visits, your moods, how you are feeling, and milestones like feeling your baby's first kicks. Tools you can use toward the end of pregnancy include a contraction counter and there is a breastfeeding tracker so you can remember which breast you last fed your baby on. Because that is something I never remembered. Check it out and leave me a comment to let me know how you like it.

After having a baby vaginally your pelvic floor can well...be bent out of shape (so to speak). Whether you had an episiotomy, a natural tear, or your perineum stretched beautifully, the muscles have been stretched and damaged and will need some recovery time. Consequences of this damage include urinary incontinence, anal incontinence, perineal pain, pelvic pain and pelvic organ prolapse. So how do you get back in shape? Well like any type of training you need to exercise your pelvic floor muscles by doing Kegel exercises!! I found this wonderful site where you can download a cheeky song that gives you full instructions. Do the Kegel! It is a great song that will stay with you to remind you to do your exercises. This applies to pre- and post-natal. Anytime is a good time for Kegel exercises. In my personal experience, I had no idea that you can go to a physical therapist to get help with this problem. For several months I went to Apex Physical Therapy in West Fargo for therapy on

I am starting my first Lamaze class in October. Classes will be held at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota. The class will be one night a week for six weeks. Each class will be 2 hours long (likely 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.). I am still working out the exact day of the week with the church. What you can expect from my class. Learn about how to take care of your pregnant body. Changes in your body during pregnancy, labor, birth, and breastfeeding.  How your partner can help guide you through labor. Questions to ask your care giver about your pregnancy and your care. How to build the birth experience you want. How to use your BRAIN when making decisions about your care. Comfort measures to take to have an un-medicated birth. Techniques to help you decide on optional interventions. Surviving the first few days with baby. So please email me if you are interested in attending this class. I'm excited to take this next step. lamazejamestown@gmail.com

I've decided to go to the Lamaze International Conference ! I wasn't sure if it would work out because it is in October. That is a tough month for me to be gone from home...well because I have a husband who loves to hunt ducks and October is prime duck time in North Dakota. But, the conference is in West Palm, in my home state of Florida and I have resources down there to help get me there. I decided to take the kids with me. Now this may be the end of me, traveling alone with both kids will be a challenge. But they can stay with my parents in Barefoot Bay while I go down to West Palm for the conference. I'm also going to stay with a friend in Lake Worth to help me save on costs. So here I go! Another step in this journey. See you in Florida in October!

I passed my Lamaze Certification exam! I am so excited. I was also offered a space to teach my classes at the local Lutheran Church. My goal is to start my first class in October. I am now working on developing my curriculum for my classes. I would love to have a Yoga practice incorporated in the class somehow as well. Yoga really helped me during my pregnancy and birth and I'd like to share that option with my students. My interactions with the labor and delivery staff at Jamestown Regional Medical Center have been positive, yet unsuccessful. The nursing director there told me that they weren't interested in taking on a Lamaze Childbirth Educator at this time. I'm fine with that. The nursing director did say that she would help refer patients my way for education and that I could work with them to do some shadowing of a labor and delivery nurse. So, I'm on my way. One more step completed. Now onto the hard stuff.

Well I took the Lamaze certification exam on April 13! I am excited to be done with the exam, but I don't feel great about how I did. I felt like I was prepared, but the questions just threw me. They were worded oddly and I don't think I always chose the correct answer. I am terrible at standardized multiple choice tests. A lot of the questions asked you to chose the MOST important answer when to me it seemed like all the answers were important. Anyway, I am continuing on my progress to begin teaching. I test taught some friends of mine the birth comfort measures lesson. They also asked me to attend their birth. So I am excited about that. I heard back from the local Hospital and they aren't interested in hiring a Lamaze instructor at this time. They also declined to give me a teaching space. However, the Lutheran church in town has offered me the use of their space. I'm not sure how it will work, but it is free and a big space for couples to be able to pra