With a passion for empowering military spouses and a career that can follow you from one duty station to another, my initiative provides not only valuable skills but also a sense of purpose and community by offering a transformative opportunity through labor doula trainings.
Favor's Birth Story
Oh sweet baby – how will you come into the world to meet us? I have always be so interested in parenting, and not so interested in birthing. Birth is one day and parenting is years and years. But, I am so very thankful for the birth I was able to have. I sat at the OBGYN yesterday for my 6 week checkup and wanted to say to the all of the pregnant ladies “you know – you can have a wonderful birth” but I didn’t say anything – maybe next time I will.
Rachel's Birth Story
Let me start off by saying that I have two BEAUTIFUL, healthy children that I was blessed to give birth naturally to. I know natural birthing is quite a controversial subject these days. Between the many statistics, opinions (medical and otherwise,) pressure from friends and family, and those who insist that not giving birth naturally is nothing to be ashamed of, it can be quite confusing when deciding which course to take. While I do my best to never judge another mother’s choices, I do know that certain decisions and actions can contribute to a healthier and more enjoyable birth (Yup, that’s right. Enjoyable.) I’d like to share some of my experiences and maybe a few comparisons between both of my birth stories.......
Learning from the sensei
For as long as I've lived in Okinawa I should be fluent in Japanese now. Sadly, I am not. Over the years I've learned to understand and pick up on what most conversations are about. But don't ask me to speak it back. So far I have been able to maintain with my version of "Janglish", a terrible combination of broken English mixed with small phrases in Japanese.