From Water to Water at Fort Wainwright, AK

Photo Credit:Waterbirth.org

Here is a Vimeo Video on a Water birth

The Birth of Cody Taylor

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 ARTICLE: Bassett (hospital)makes a splash with water birthing opportunities

Disclaimer: This post is about images, video and articles based on water-birth and laboring women. I will also tastefully share my "take" on the subject. If this content makes you uncomfortable, please pick a different post from my blog here.

[This article is relevant to me because my husband is associated with the US Air Force as a civilian (full-time work) and as Air National Guard (part-time service) member. He was active duty in his original association with the military. Next year he'll be deployed as a civilian to South Korea. I've also had two birth experiences: one with medication and one as pictured above as a planned waterbirth. I had a doula for my first birth and I still keep in touch. The Midwife was helpful but less hands-on with this second time around.]

 According to the article: "Currently Fort Wainwright, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., and Fort Hood, Texas are the only Army medical centers that offer water birth programs." Mountain Midwifery in Englewood, CO is the only free-standing birthing center in Colorado at this time. They are the facility that handled my recent pregnancy. These days caesarian sections are more and more prevalent and are considered less for emergency and more for swiftness and timing.

The American Pregnancy Organization's article  says that water-birth and "conventional" births have similar mortality rates meaning that water-birth is at least as safe as our hospital births with interventions. They also mention many benefits for the mother and a few benefits for the baby. But what they don't emphasize is the huge benefit of the absence of drugs.

I liken having medication during labor to being intoxicated. Many doctors would admonish a pregnant lady for drinking during pregnancy; but somehow it's okay to be hopped up on medication when the baby is about to be born? I personally had the epidural the first time around and I seriously felt similar to being drunk. I talked all goofy and didn't make sense.

Like the featured water-birthing mom, Katherine Armon shared in the article, I had a great experience in the water. It didn't help reduce pain as much as it made it easier to endure the intense pain. The water also helped the contractions be more efficient. Knowing I was going to get in the birth-tub, from the beginning of my labor I trained my brain and body to work together and to not resist what was naturally going on in my body. I framed it that my body was making the sensations and that I was in harmony with strength of the sensations. I was firm in telling myself that I wasn't a victim of the sensations but the creator of them.

With that frame of mind, I experienced labor from 2am and it ended at 5:47am (less than 4 hours, with 20 minutes in the tub) on my birthday. I used the pain for good. I wasn't empowered; I felt powerful. I felt in harmony with my core being and all the women before me and "modern medicine."  I felt so connected with Gabriel being born on the day I was born on. It was a mystery to me how water could make the difference between an 18 hour labor and a 4 hour labor. The only thing I missed the second time around was the hand-on care of the doula which I relished the first time around.

{About 5 mos old}

As you can see in my personal picture of my son, Gabriel, he still loves the water. I believe it is because he was born in the water and it feels very comfortable to him. My daughter, in contrast, is eight years old and recently got over having water over her face. Now  she perserverates on the sensation of water being in her ears. Bath-time was a nightmare for us as she was growing up; not so anymore with Gabriel. Many times, we will make it a family affair with him. He gets excited when he hears the water turn on.

So I hope that with more news exposure and personal blogs written about the natural business of bringing babies into the world under water, people can make more informed choices and not just go with what is "trending." I hate to relate natural birth with the word "empowered" because it, to me, insinuates that we don't have intrinsic power or wisdom. I'd go with the phrase "water birth activates our hibernating power." I hope that more military hospitals and civilian hospitals incorporate this avenue of birth. 

I envision becoming a doula when I'm a widow. Perhaps I feel that strongly about it because I was separated/abandoned from my mother and didn't have a mother with me during my pregnancies that I want to minister to other expecting mothers. I'll leave you with a question: how are you going to activate your hibernating power today and into the future? Sending God's blessings and love to you~

Sofa Talk. Virtual Peptalk [2]: Matt and Amy Roloff

Photo Credit: US Magazine

The TLC network has another marriage casualty. Perhaps it is a little premature to say that the marriage is "over," but things have certainly turned for the worse. It seems like it was more than the TV show that was ending; so was the marriage. I used to watch this show a few years back and I grew fond of the family. I found the couple's ambitions inspiring. I felt like if they could do great things with their vertical challenge, than surely I could too with all 61 inches of me.

In the "Trial Separation" segment, Matt mentioned that he and Amy had a lot of tension. "Amy and I stuck it out for years, when maybe we shouldn't have," Matt said flatly. Amy boiled it down to that they "failed to learn to live together."  I observed the tension in their little clips in that segment that highlighted their conflicts. Amy looked like she was past the point of trying to please Matt when he voiced his expectation of a uncluttered house. Matt looked unwilling to fight FOR the marriage and sought the change through living in their other house on the premises.

In the "Burnt Out" segment, I saw Matt talk about his formidable physical pain which is probably one of the attributes for his part of the bickering. Physical pain makes even the more skeletal sound (non-dwarf) person feel like tasks are herculean. He shared his frustration and Amy countered with "mind reading" and "putting words in his mouth" in all sense of the cliches. Matt said "We just clash on 'bout every decision possible." They are failing to back each other up and be teammates.

In that same segment, Amy confronts Matt with changing his tune about taking things easy (knowing their physical challenges and pain); he used to squash Amy's same suggestions in the past. It seems like Matt didn't account for margin for their marriage in the physical energy sense. I genuinely believe that he is in acute and chronic pain from most of his voluntary activities on the farm. It seems that he's left his "best" for their farm business and has given Amy the scraps.

Using the John Gottman's research on predicting divorce with "criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling," I see that both Amy and Matt were displaying one or more of these signs often in the clips that I watched and referenced above. I could see the contempt that was laced inbetween their words. The criticism flowed from Amy's mouth virtually effortlessly. Matt's defensiveness, in my eyes, seemed to drive him to live in the other residence on the farm.

Like I said before in "Sofa Talk, Virtual Peptalk [1]:" I offer my lay counseling (hypothetically) based on my marriage experiences, family and individual counseling, parenting seminars, family seminars, communication seminars and my 1 credit away from an Associates Degree in psychology. My career goal is to be a family counselor and so, I want to exercise my counseling muscle in a virtual exercise of sorts. I've also done "My Virtual Child" and "My Virtual Life" exercises hosted by Pearson (Educational Products and Publisher).

I italicized words and phrases in the above commentary to highlight the damaging components to their interaction. I also bolded the words and phrases that would strengthen their marriage. But I'd focus on reducing visible signs of contempt for Amy and giving their marriage margin for Matt. I believe that working on those two things, difference for each of them, would greatly turn around their marriage.

Many counselors warn that neglecting the marriage while the children are in the "nest" spells insecure future for the marriage. It seems that with the kids out of the house, that forecast has come to pass. But on the optimistic side, there's been research that says that if couples stick it (fight FOR the marriage as I bolded previously) out for five years, that their marriage satisfaction increases. And let's face it, marriage requires continual pursuit; repeatedly saying to each other "you're my number one" and proving it with our actions and decisions. As Jimmy Evans of Marriage Today Ministry says (loosely) that people don't fall in love by NOT making each other first. So why do we think that marriage can survive when we don't put each other first?

Unfortunately it seems that "The Learning Channel" couples (Roloff and Gosselin) had much to learn about marriage relationships. They have left the viewers like me to learn from their mistakes. There was no way for "TLC" to screen for solid families and marriages if they didn't take Dr. Gottman's research seriously.

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I pray over these public marriages. They are "normal" relationships that are merely put under the added stress of celebrity and public scrutiny. I pray that God would redeem this marriage. I pray that he would use his power to turn their hearts toward each other and extend each other grace. I know that if anything can save this marriage, or any marriage for that matter, it is our Mighty God. I invoke his healing power over Matt and Amy that they may put marriage redemption into the public eye and be champions for enduring marriages. Separation is not the end if they do it the repentant, godly way.
I pray all of these things in his Perfectly Loving Name, Amen.

#Roloff #Gottman #TLC #LittlePeopleBigWorld

In response to Michio Kaku

Photo Credit: teambeyond.net

"By 2100, our destiny is to become like the gods we once worshipped and feared."

Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist. Navigate here to learn more about him.

I would never claim to posses the intellect or potential that he has reached in his life. I am really no-one compared to anyone. Still, I, with my whole being, shudder at this quotation of his.

Even if I wasn't a Christian believing in one God, I would hate to embrace this projection. I am all for people to strive to their potential and seek what they were put on the earth to do. But I do not want any "man" to be a "god" over me. Yet I'm not surprised that such a solid scientist would have this notion.

That is one of the reasons why I have a distrust for scientists who want to have an answer for everything... to be all-knowing and possibly all-powerful. I acknowledge that there are many God fearing invaluable scientists, so I'm not speaking of a blanket statement. But for those scientists that cannot have room for faith AND knowledge (seeking to be of god-status); no wonder why they want to debunk Christianity and the Bible. Now- if said scientist had no interest in being god-like, I wouldn't have so much trepidation toward them.

I admit. Humans can create some things. Humans can learn some things. Humans can know some things. But they cannot answer all of the questions of the universe. They can't create another earth. That is something that only the Creator God can do. That is the pompous mentality that will have humanity crushed like Sodom and Gomorrah.

If humans become gods, so too will the responsibility that comes with it. We will become the genie of the lamp with shackles and curses. Only God can possess power without curses and destruction. I seek a powerful person (not a god) to use that power for good. I am okay with being fairly ordinary. I am okay with knowing myself and fellow man. The quotation brings to mind varieties of scenes from the TV series Supernatual where both demons and angels have awesome powers but end up destroying more than anything.

I don't want to be worshiped or feared. I don't want to know anything more than I can handle. I don't want any responsibility more than I can handle. I still have dreams and visions of influence. But I don't want to replace my Almighty Perfect and Ever Loving God. He is the only one who can endure that lonely only position.

Hopefully I'll be long dead by the time "our destiny" comes along... God have mercy on us.