Enjoy Birth Blog

Dads Coming Alone to Hypnobabies Class

EnjoyBirth — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

I have had Moms who have come alone to Hypnobabies classes. Usually it is because Dad is out of town or is staying home with an older child. It works out fine.

Well, I had a couple and the Mom knew she was going to be out of town for one of the nights. She asked if her hubby could come without her that night. I reassured them it was fine! But I wondered if he would come.

He DID. I loved that he was so dedicated that he came without Mom. He went home and went over all that he learned and she was all ready for class the next week. What a GREAT Birth Partner. :)

I love working with all these amazing parents who are preparing for a wonderful birth. I have the best job ever.

If you think you want to be a Hypnobabies Instructor click here to find out more!

Party During Hypnobabies Class

EnjoyBirth — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

I usually teach Hypnobabies Classes on Monday nights in my husbands office. He is kind enough to let me use his conference room. Monday night is what works best for my family. But sometimes I have students who need a different night and if it works I can teach other times.

This is why I had a Friday night class the other month.

I didn’t realize the office next to my husbands office is gaming developing office and they have gaming parties on Friday nights!

That very first night they had a BIG party and it was LOUD! Luckily it was dulled on our side of the wall, but it was still obvious that they were having a fun time on the other side.

Even better we go into a different room to do our scripts and it was quiet there.

My students were fine with it and understood. But I don’t think I will be teaching any Friday night classes again, at least not at that location! ;)

I have the best “job” ever.

If you think you want to be a Hypnobabies Instructor click here to find out more!

Baby Kegel – or the possible side effects of Kegel Stickers

EnjoyBirth — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:08:07 +0000

I was SO excited when my friend Nikki got pregnant. There were so many reasons why it was so wonderful.

She had been wanting this for 7 years.
She was going to take my Hypnobabies Class
She was going to have a VBAC
She is just an awesome person and breastfeeding goddess (more on that in a later post.)

This is something else you need to know about Nikki’s other kids.

She has twins.
She also has triplets.
She also had a singleton.

When I first met her the twins were 4, the triplets were 2 and she was pregnant. She is amazing.

So 7 years later she was pregnant with number 7 and was in my class.

Kegel Stickers

I hand out Kegel Stickers in class 2 when we talk about exercises. My students stick their stickers around their house and in their car to remind them to do their Kegels.

Well, Nikki was expecting another boy and all her boys start with the letter K. So when her kids found these stickers they got so excited that Nikki had found a name for the baby. He was going to be named Kegel!

Surprisingly, while that is a unique K name, Nikki decided to go a different route.

Nikki has already had Baby K. and I will share her breastfeeding amazingness in another post.

If you want to learn a VERY interesting fact about me and learn more about Nikki then you can read about it over on our mutual friend Brittany’s blog!

I have the best “job” ever. I get to help my friends prepare for their babies births!

If you think you want to be a Hypnobabies Instructor click here to find out more!

Earthquake During Hypnobabies Class

EnjoyBirth — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

last thing we do in almost each Hypnobabies class is a hypnosis script. All my parents were relaxing on the floor or on chairs and I was finishing up the script when I started to feel it.

A small rumbling.

I wasn’t sure if it was a big truck passing by (though it was after 9 at night so that would be odd). The rumbling contintued for a bit and then faded off.

I kept reading and after I finished the script and everyone was up and moving around, I asked if anyone else noticed it. Almost all of them had!

I got out my Quake App and sure enough there had been a little earthquake! We all took it in stride.

Such are the extra bonuses of teaching Hypnobabies in Southern California.

I have the best “job” ever! :)

If you think you want to be a Hypnobabies Instructor click here to find out more!

I Love Teaching Hypnobabies! Do you want to teach Hypnobabies too?

EnjoyBirth — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:24:13 +0000

I love to teach Hypnobabies. I have the best “job” ever. I put that in quotes because I honestly love it so much I forget I get paid to do it. :)

Teaching Hypnobabies is the perfect way to share my love of birth with expecting parents. I have the best parents take my classes and it is so fun getting to know them and seeing them learn and grow together.

The program is SO complete and laid out in a way that is so easy to teach. I have been teaching over 5 years and have taught 33 classes so far, 115 Moms/couples.

It is the perfect thing to pair with being a doula. It is creating built in doula clients! I’ve been a doula for 36 moms. There were many more that wanted to hire me, but my vacations/family commitments wouldn’t allow it to work out. Luckily I have some great doula friends I can refer my students to when I am not taking clients.

I have some funny teaching stories I am going to share with you in the next few weeks. But first…

Do you want to teach Hypnobabies?

Now is the perfect time to sign up for the only Hypnobabies Instructor training of 2012. Here is more information about how you can become a Hypnobabies Instructor AND how you can get $100 off the training.

$100. OFF Hypnobabies Instructor training fee for members of “Birth Professionals of America” on Facebook! Details: http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1411223665

In case you want to know more about being an instructor you can read through my blog. Here is another Hypnobabies Instructors experience and why SHE loves teaching Hypnobabies too.

If you have any questions about being an instructor you can post a comment!

Massage PLUS Therapy is Amazing!!!

EnjoyBirth — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:20:33 +0000

Back in the spring my two dear friends Valerie and Angela (I also happened to have been both of their doulas too) kept telling me about this amazing therapist they had found. She did deep tissue massage to you while doing talk therapy.

They wanted me to go to her to “see if I had any issues”. They both thought I was so balanced they were curious what would come up.

I on the other hand, love massages. I didn’t really think I needed therapy, but the massage sounded great. I also wondered if I still had some birth issues lingering from T1′s birth. (though I was pretty sure I had let that all go.)

So I started seeing Pam in the summer.

I totally already believed that sometimes our strong emotions can get trapped in our bodies. But to experience the deep massage and talking was amazing.

It turned out I did have issues. We all do. Right?

I have come along way from then. My blog has seen some changes. I am not posting nearly as much as before summer. I was posting almost daily before I started with Pam. Then 3x a week and then a whole month with nothing! There have been some other changes too, that I want to share over the next few weeks.

But first I am going to share how my birth trauma was still very alive and well in my body! For those who think birth doesn’t effect how women mother are SO wrong!

(If you are in the OC and want Pam’s info – contact me!)

I am coming out of the closet

EnjoyBirth — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

I don’t quite know how to say this and I am not sure how it will be received. Some of my IRL (in real life) friends LOVE this about me, but there are many who think it is really strange. Here you go -

I am an energy healer.

A few years ago I started my journey into the amazing power of energy healing. It was motivated by my birth trauma from T1’s birth. I was amazed with how powerful it was and I really wanted to be able to harness this power to help my family and friends.

I read Remembering Wholeness, which helped reassure me that as a Christian, Energy Work is a gift from God, and learned about EFT. (Emotional Freedom Technique) EFT was pretty easy to learn and do, so I have used that for a few years. But it still felt limiting and it was sometimes hard for me to really tap into the person I was working with (usually myself or my boys) to find out what they really needed.

A Tool to Harness More Information

Someone suggested I read The Emotion Code and that book is what really helped me see how I could easily access what it is people need to release. The book was sort of mind blowing and I started practicing and was amazed.

I wanted to delve deeper so I got the Body Code Healing System and started learning and developed confidence to start practicing on friends and family.

I can say after a year of practicing I feel like I can say, I am an energy healer. I can easily tap into others energy (with their permission) and easily find out what they need to release and then help them release it. I love it and have been able to help my boys, husband, friends and myself stay physically healthy as well as emotionally and spiritually healthy. Honestly the power of this tool amazes me.

Helping Others with this Gift

Part of me wants to start helping others, but in light of my intentions for the year, I am not wanting to go there yet. Maybe one day I will want to offer this service to others.

For now I will just keep helping friends and family. But for those of you interested in helping yourself or your family, I really suggest reading The Emotion Code. It is a great introduction to Energy Work. If it resonates with you and you want to delve in deeper get The Body Code System. You can be an energy healer in your own home!

Here is a great post by Mama and Baby Love explaining more about energy healing and how it works.

Guest Post: The Challenge that is Baby Names

EnjoyBirth — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Everyone knows that pregnancy is a rollercoaster of emotions and various other events that can lead to choosing a baby name being one of the last things on your mind! That being said, it is one of the most important decisions that you will have to make, at the end of the day this is the name that your baby will live with for the rest of their life – unless they really hate it and change it by deed poll! So choosing the right baby name can be really tough, but it’s a challenge that we can all rise to!

Pressure from the family?

When we have announced to the world that our baby is on the way, there are a few questions that are commonplace. How are you feeling? How far into the pregnancy are you? Are you going to find out if it’s a boy or a girl? And of course, have you thought of any names? There are thousands of boys names and girls names to choose from. Some people might have thought of a name straight away and there is no challenge at all, others will think long and hard, and might not even come up with a name until the baby is actually born! There can be pressure put on from family to come up with a name so they know what to expect. Some families would like it if your child was named after Grandpa Joe or Aunt Vera, or that they had a middle name that somehow represented the family. It can be the cause of arguments between families and partners, but it is important that you choose a name that you want – don’t choose a name only to resent it a few months later.

Celebrities and their uniqueness!

You might also feel under pressure from the various celebrities who come out with crazy baby names, and names that seem to become increasingly ‘unique’ year in year out. Finding a unique baby names whether they be boys’ or girls names is becoming more and more of a struggle, and with that you could really start to wonder where the inspiration for your name is going to come from. It is important to remember that your baby will be just as happy with a name like Steve as it would be if you decided to call it Zayden, or as happy with Lucy as they would be with Harper! Feeling pressure because of celebrity naming trends is a pressure that you can easily avoid, so despite the challenge don’t put unnecessary strain on your hard work!

Your choice is all that matters

Overall the challenge of naming your baby is one that everyone should enjoy. If you feel pressured by anyone or anything to name your baby in a certain way then make sure you take a step back. You are the person who is carrying it for nine months, so take some time for yourself, sit down and have a good think about what you really want to call your baby. Whether it is a common name, a unique name, or something you’ve completely made up, as long as you’re happy with your decision then the challenge of baby names can be one which you confront head on!

New Orange County Photographer 30% off Coupon for my Readers!

EnjoyBirth — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:54:48 +0000

I was excited to find out about a new photographer in my area. She just moved here from Arizona and is trying to get her name out there. So I did a trade. She gave me a discount on a photoshoot and I am letting you know about her. She also gave me a discount code for my readers to use!

We had a fun family photo shoot on the beach. I was amazed at how easy it was now that my Things are bigger! 14, 11 and 6 is much easier than 8, 5 and newborn.

Ashley was super nice and easy to work with. Her prices are great, so if you are wanting to do a photo shoot, check her out.

Talia’s Mom Shares Her Thoughts on Hypnobabies

EnjoyBirth — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Hypnobabies was so helpful in my VBAC. I know it may sound silly to use hypnosis, but I feel like it made a big difference in my birth experience. I never intended (or even wanted) to have a pain-free birthing experience. What I wanted was to clear my mind of the self-doubt that comes from having had a c-section for “failure to progress”. Hypnobabies taught me to trust my body and my baby to know when and how to make things happen. It taught me to trust my gut when choosing where and with whom to birth my baby. I used the tools to train my body to relax and just surrender to the process, and I feel like it did what I wanted it to do for me. I would not call my birthing comfortable, but I wouldn’t call it painful either. That just isn’t what birth is to me. It is intense and powerful. And although my birth was augmented with a tiny bit of pitocin (making those sensations stronger), it never felt like more than I was able to handle.