Thread: *~*~*MamaArty_RMT/Ariana's Lodge*~*~*

Oh, how exciting!! Congrats and welcome to your lodge!!

Welcome to your lodge!!

Welcome to your lodge! Can't wait to follow your birth!

woo hoo! Congrats on making it to your lodge Ariana! Seems like you were just hanging out on the TOC board!

Hiya Jori! Congrats on TTC!!! woohooo!!!

Ok, my intro. Where to begin...?

Hmm...well I guess I'll start at the beginning. You all have some time, right?

I spent the first half of my life in Saskatchewan, and the second half here in the subs of Toronto. I was a 24 hour long coming out with only a shot of Demerol baby. Not too shabby!

I've always been pro-NCB, for no other reason than I figured women have been doing it for thousands of years, so why can't I? When the serious baby fever hit about 3 years ago (plus in being in close contact with Emily through her 2 natural births) I started really researching birth and getting MAD at the current system in North America. It only served to strengthen my convictions and passion about natural birth. I am not anti-doctor (as I have been accused of being before), anti-medicine or anti-medicated birth. What I am is anti-doctors in control and anti-ignorance. I've spent a LOT of time researching the heck out of birth so that I feel confident that I will know what is really necessary and what is not in order to have the safest and best birth experience possible.

Ok, going back in time a little bit...I met DH about 7 years ago through mutual friends. It was one of those awkward he really liked me but I didn't like him at all things. Well, eventually we became good friends. I won't bore you with all the gory details, but our friendship eventually turned into more, much to both of our surprise, and here we are today. We got engaged on Mother's Day 2007. It was a big conspiracy. Everyone was in on it and I was clueless. LOL Emily's hubby recorded it and made this awesome video and I just can't pass up an opportunity to share it.

A couple months later, July 26 2007, I found out I was preggers. It was pretty emotional for me. I'd wanted to be pregnant for SOOOOO long, but had finally gotten to a place mentally where I was accepting of waiting until our planned TTC date of Feb 08. It was really hard for me for a few months, with all my conflicting emotions. I was excited, but really scared, anxious, worried, guilty and a bunch of other things. I was FREAKED out about how my uber-religious parents would take it. I had just graduated as well, and didn't know how we'd be financially. Our wedding was scheduled for July 08 and I was worrying about how to handle that and a newborn.

In September DH and I decided that bumping up the wedding would be best for us. By doing that we also were able to make it much smaller, something we had both been stressing about. So we got married on October 20, 2007 with just our closet family and friends.

After we got hitched, I felt a lot better about the pregnancy. I know that we shouldn't let others people's judgments affect us, but the reality of life is that they often do. I was able to let go of a lot of the worry and guilt I'd been harboring once we were married.

A bit more about me. I'm a Registered Massage Therapist and Birth Doula. I've attended 2 births, one totally solo and just fresh out of doula training. It was a good and bad experience. The OB was horrendous, and I truly believe that if my client hadn't had such an easy and quick labour, he would have ordered her for a c/s. As it was he strapped her down to the bed, totally rejected her feelings, and gave her a 100% unnecessary episiotomy, for starters. But she had a drug free birth, and that's what her goal was, so she left the experience with good feelings. I left with not so good feelings, but have been able to use the experience as a learning one.

The second birth that I attended was my friend Kelly's (Mommy Buga~Buga) VBAC. I wasn't technically her doula, she had a hired doula, but I was kind of the backup/friend doula. It was an awesome, amazing experience. Totally different from the first birth. It was a much more fulfilling experience, and I learned a lot from that one as well.

Besides my own birth, I'm hoping to be able to attend Jordan's (JorgieGirl) in April (assuming we aren't in labour at the same time!) and Emily's (Emilys2Guppies) in July (assuming it lasts longer than 15 minutes!) I'm so very excited!!

Alright, on to the pregnancy. It's been pretty non-eventful, actually. I'm healthy, Beanie is healthy. We had a scare for a bit when Beanie decided to turn breech at 32 weeks, but we're back to vertex now, and it feels like things are in place to stay. I've had some Sacroiliac Joint and back pain, but thanks to my chiropractor that has pretty much cleared up. Right now I'm dealing with rib pain on my right side. I think it's because Beanie really likes to stick little toes in there and push things out of the way. I'm getting chiro treatments for that too. Oh, funny thing about my chiro, she's due 5 days after me with her second! It's fun comparing bellies and pregnancies.

Um...I guess that's about it. We're working on getting the house ready for the baby, I'm finished work this week woohoo!!! and I have birth class tonight. I'm really excited for that, because tonight is natural pain relief techniques. Woot! Anywho, I have to go eat now, because class starts in a hour. I'll save you some cookies if you actually managed to read all that.

Cheers!

I'm gonna cash in on that cookie promise.

I can't believe you have a lodge already! Time flies! Congrats!

Congrats Welcome to your lodge It's fun to read your story too

Welcome to your lodge Arty! Great story. I really loved the video!

Jessica