Our Midwives

Wrapping up Caleb's birth posts wouldn't be complete without an ode to our midwives. Jared and I have met and worked with a lot of midwives over our 5 pregnancies and 3 births and I have to say none of them until these were a great fit for our family. Some midwives we've known were surprisingly insensitive, clinical or reserved. Others were almost invasive, without a whole lot of respect for privacy, boundaries etc. One midwife was quite pushy and had a hard time hearing what we wanted at all. Some midwives have been tough and strong (not bad qualities) but also not so soft and gentle. The midwife that helped us with Benjamin, was a little caught off guard by the intensity of the birth and in some ways hurt more than she helped. Also, all of our midwives, so far, delivered babies in hospitals and were working within those constraints. This time we really lucked out.

Dena Moes is a Certified Nursing Midwife (midwives with this degree usually deliver in hospitals) who is also an RN that worked previously as a neonatal nurse and graduated from Yale. She has amazing qualifications, education and experience (including doing part of her training with the Amish!). She is one cool hippy chick. :) She and her husband and their two girls, live in town, in Chico in a cool little house on the curve of the road right next to the community center. Her office is in the front room of their house. Her husband is a massage therapist and acupuncturist who also has a clinic in their house. She is brilliant and confident and really great.

Jessica Mairs is a lay Midwife in training. She is young and sweet and cried with me if I cried. She is gentle. She is a Mom and an herbalist. She and her husband and her two girls live out near Grass Valley with lots of land and chickens. She is sensitive and tender and also a hippy girl. :)

They were the perfect team. They were feminine and loving. They listened and cared and helped us work through all of our preparations both physical and emotional. They were respectful, supportive, interested and honest. They were awesome.

Most of our appointments were at least an hour long as they helped me work through some left over baggage and concern after our first two births. Talking things through with them helped me release a lot of that stuff and be ready to receive the miracles waiting with Caleb's birth.

They came to the house at about 37 weeks and we all ate lunch together. They checked out everything we had prepared for the birth and Jared gave them an adjustment. : )

At 39 weeks they drew a picture of the baby on my belly as it would be in the womb with washable marker. The kids loved!! that. Benjamin especially. He kissed and hugged and patted and talked to the baby. Even after the picture was washed off he still ran and talked to my belly all the time..."Guess what Baby, guess what!" and then he'd proceed to let the baby know about his latest adventure or bit of family news.

I remember thinking at the time, I don't know anybody who had a cozy family lunch with their OB or whose OB drew their baby on their belly. :) Not that that's what everybody wants in the person helping them bring their baby, but for us it was so friendly and personal and fun! We loved it!

Besides all this, I think the time I appreciated the midwives the most was in the hours after Caleb was born. They were so loving and gentle and careful and good to all of us. They fed me by the spoon full, held my hand, cleaned me up, took care of the baby and everything else there for a while. They were so nurturing and peaceful. Another big difference about a home birth...the midwives are really able to take care of you in a family sort of way.

I'm so grateful for our great midwives, for the good they didfor me and our whole family.

Jessica weighing Caleb.

Dena gazing at our beautiful little boy.