Hope4thefuture

"Don't make a birth plan." This was the best advice from my doctor.  I had often joked throughout the pregnancy that I would probably go into labor while at work in the hospital.  Well...it almost came true.  I was working in the ICU when I started getting my "irritable uterus" pains.  Another nurse who was sitting near me started timing them, then said, "You better go to the birthplace".  So, I called the supervisor, gave a report on my patients to the next nurse, and a coworker pushed me in a wheelchair to the birthplace.  Turns out I was only 3 cm dilated, so they sent me home.  That night I got the best sleep I had had during the entire pregnancy.  Then I woke up at 5 a.m. with similar pains.  I did all the things they tell you: I drank water, I ate a snack, I moved around, but the pain never improved.  By this time, the father had already left for work.  I decided I would call a friend once the doctors' office opened.   In...

Buckle up... my journey into pregnancy isn't for the faint of heart.  I still couldn't believe I was really pregnant.  I called my gynecologist's office, and the receptionist said, "Oh, honey, those pregnancy tests are like 99.9% positive."  I was in disbelief that they didn't even want to see me.  Thankfully I was a nurse and knew that I should probably be taking a prenatal vitamin, but I had to ask to be seen.  Women's healthcare is seriously lacking.  That's a story for another day.  She did end up making my appointment for an ultrasound to confirm my pregnancy only after my insistence.  Who could forget such a day, when your boyfriend is sitting next to you in the exam room when the technician casually asks you to "insert" the ultrasound equipment into yourself.  Once I saw the flicker of the heartbeat, my whole world changed.  It became so real.  I found out I was 7.5 weeks pregnant.  I am what they call "geriatric" in pre...

My goal..my vision is to give children and their grownups tools and strategies to deal with stress and to lead more happy and joyful lives.  To break the chains of pain passed down from generation to generation.  I hope that they don't have to wait until they are in their forties to realize these things.  Wow Wow Wow,  if you had said that I would have had a son, I would have said, "yeah, right."  I didn't see this coming.  To give you some background information, I had trouble with my menstruation( I know..yikes..you didn't sign up for this info), but, basically, I was told by a few doctors that I probably wouldn't get pregnant.  As the saying goes, "You can make a plan, but don't plan the outcome."  It really does matter what you put on and in your body.  As it turns out, I had been living with undiagnosed Celiac Disease.  Once I became gluten-free in both diet and topical beauty products, my health improved.  My periods became re...

In the final hour of 2020 and the year of the Covid 19 pandemic..Let us begin with the End in our minds..because we are not promised tomorrow.  IF....I only had today..what would I want to share with my son...or with the world?  Here are the top 6 things I would share.. 1. You are ENOUGH  2. Do not allow others' opinions of you to be bigger than your own (they are NOT always correct).   3. Have a meditation practice to include self-compassion.  4.  You will make mistakes- let them be your opportunities for growth and improvement instead of your downfall.   5.  You only get one body-learn how it works and how to take care of it.   6.  The adults in your childhood didn't always know the right things to do or say to support you.