Trust Birth Conference 2012

 

  Feeling renewed by all the Oxytocin being spread at Trust Birth Conference!

 
    Trusting in Birth is something many would think impossible for the mother who has tasted the bitterness of stillbirth. If Johnny had been my first and only child, this may have been true for me. But, I was blessed to have had two beautiful healthy babies born at home before his loss. The memory of what my first two births were like helped me to keep my faith in the miracle of birth. Had Johnny's birth story been different, the memory of my first two births may not have been enough. But, his birth was blessed and I was blessed to be able to give birth to him even in knowing that he would be born still. My trust would carry on. After his passing, I did not want to lose my trust in birth and I was afraid that I would. This trust for me comes because of my trust in God and my belief that our Creator designed women to be the vessels to bring new life into the world. To me, I felt as though losing my trust in birth would be like losing my trust in God. I wanted to do everything in my power to keep my trust strong.
    Attending Trust Birth Conference seemed perfect for me. I wanted to be surrounded by women who fully trust in birth. I wanted to know more about life's miracle. God opened the doors, and I went. It was an experience of a lifetime! I met so many incredible women from around the world. It was very humbling to be one of the youngest women at the conference and also to be one of the least experienced. These were women I could learn so much from and I was eager to soak in as much information as I could while I was there. Nashville, TN was so inviting and so exciting!

     During the week and a half that I was there I was able to talk about Johnny to women who cared to listen. I was able to see my sister and her family and to spend time with them. I was able to take classes from women like Carla Hartley and Dr. Sarah Buckley. It was incredible and I was able to genuinely smile everyday I was there. It felt like being loved from all around me. My husband and I talked every night and though I missed him and the kids, being apart from them made me appreciate them even more and made me talk about them to everyone. I was even able to meet up with an old friend from middle school and early high school while I was there and catch up with her. I even got my nose pierced while I was there!I made new friends at the conference and it felt like being refreshed everyday. There was an amazing artist there, Amanda Greavette, who had her original paintings displayed. I remember looking at the one pictured below and wanting to have such an emotional release as I looked at it. My eyes welled with tears because all of a sudden, there I was again, back in the hospital bed with my Johnny beside me. I was so tired and he was so still.

      When I would come home, I would make the decision to begin Doula school. I wanted nothing more than to help other mothers and to educate women about birth. I felt ready to begin my journey to being a birth doula and was so excited that I could honor my son as I helped families and babies in my area! Looking for a doula course took a while, but I finally settled on taking my courses through Childbirth International. I am so glad that I did!