Intentional birth

Intentional birth

by alisonmendykaNo Comments

Just 12 weeks and 1 day ago right around this time a full day and a half had passed since my water broke.

Acupuncture had unmistakably put me into active labor around 5PM and yet the night took many twists and turns before I finally got to meet my baby boy 10 hours later (and 46 hours after my water broke).

Intuition drew me towards our birth team and intuition is who I have to thank for the intentional uninterrupted birth of our healthy baby boy. The twists and turns could have led us in many different possibly scary directions given a different type of care team. Crunchy hypnobirthing education midwife nurses yoga-centered doulas and water birth hopes are not for everyone. To be honest each of those elements were cherries on top to what I REALLY wanted.

I wanted a team who would encourage me to trust my body.
I wanted everyone in the room to have a holistic big picture approach to my baby s health m as well as my own.
I wanted people who would encourage me when I felt like I just couldn t BE with those damn sensations any longer.
I wanted to feel ANYTHING but rushed.
I wanted brainstorms rather than cookie-cutter reactions.
I wanted care and compassion.
I wanted to feel supported but not in a held way – in an empowered way.
I wanted to feel safe but also trusted.

It all sounds so demanding when said out loud but like all mama bears the health of my child was very very important to me and I recognized how interconnected we all ready were.

I am confident that compassionate knowledgeable birth teams like this are not restricted to birth centers. Hospitals homes and everywhere in between have the potential to make mothers feel safe & supported. Each of these places also have the potential to make her feel minimized scared and unheard. My prayer for all mamas is that they are able to birth where and with whom they feel the most care desired expertise and love.

Love is important.

However we choose to live… however we choose to birth our next generation I have to believe that having FAITH in ourselves and surrounding ourselves with people who TRUST one another might be two of the most important factors to bringing more love light and hope into this country and into this world.

6-weeks postpartum – the new beginning

6-weeks postpartum – the new beginning

by alisonmendykaNo Comments

Alright, Team NO Judgment if you continue to read. Deal?

I hated being pregnant. Yes, OF COURSE it was worth it – OF COURSE.

But we have the option to own or truth despite the highlight reel on social media and my truth is: growing this sweet peanut drained me mentally, emotionally and physically more than any other phase of life.

So, this isn’t about a “before and after.” It’s about the freaking journey.

40 weeks pregnant vs. 6 weeks post-Max

TODAY I feel squishier and much weaker than I’ve been in a long time (just being real) BUT then I remind myself:

You birthed a (pretty sizable) human being.
You (somehow) feel energized again, despite that little sleep situation.
You ARE strong, just in different ways than before.
You are evolving simply by recommitting to yourself WHILE nurturing your baby.
You get practice compassion with yourself by being consistent with your self-care.
You survived the first six weeks.

I’m one of those crazies who’s excited to start moving again mostly because it makes me SANE and makes me feel empowered to change what’s no longer serving me (like watching all the Gilmore Girl episodes)! So, this is week 1 of the returning to my yoga mat. Week 1 of getting to know my bod again.

Why tell you all this? Well, believe it or not, it’s bigger than the belly & even BIGGER than abs. (Although, I’ll be real: if I happened upon abs, i wouldn’t send them away… I mean, anything to help me lift my milk monster!)

I am committed to sharing my postpartum journey OUT LOUD, no matter how uncomfortable. BECAUSE I’m absolutely positive I’m not the only woman who feels squishing, weaker or a grab bag of other adjectives this time of year (orrr after birthing a human).

It’s important to me to share the FULL journey rather than just the sparkly “after” moments in life.

As far as I’m concerned, friends, we’re all in this life game together, and I’d prefer to travel with folks who aren’t afraid to show their squishy, weak, uncomfortably vulnerable moments as well as their highlight reel.