Mindful Birth & Beyond

10/02/2024

09/24/2024

Did you know that many pregnancy complications (listed below) have a common denominator: food deficiency and low blood volume?

That’s why midwives recommend the Brewer Diet. Read more about the Brewer Diet and get additional nutritional tips at https://givebirthgivelife.com/the-brewer-diet/

09/18/2024

NewBaby101 p40-42 - Learning to recognise and follow baby's instinctive behaviour is fundamental to breastfeeding success. This begins by "switching on" baby's instinctive feeding reflexes with skin to skin contact, which triggers baby's response to seek the breast. Optimal positioning allows baby to tilt his head back and place his chin firmly and well below the ni**le. This stimulates the reflex to gape widely, latch deeply and feed comfortably. This link includes a free NewBaby101 "how to" video. https://newbaby101.com.au/breastfeeding-just-happens.../

09/16/2024

09/15/2024

Be gentle with yourself mama. 💕

09/15/2024

We love a supportive birth partner😍

Camera Settings. This week was the start of our Fall 2024 Cohort for the Essence of Birth. Monet and I both had births this weekend and it was fun to debrief on Monday together. Even though both births were beautiful and positive, it’s nice to have someone to process with.

My client moved very quickly from a long early labor phase into active labor and pushing. I had to quickly adjust my camera settings when the room went from very dark, to pushing with bright lights on. It was a sudden change that required my settings to change. But, I knew exactly what I needed to do in that moment, adjusted, and was able to capture the birth with camera settings that worked the best for the situation.

We want our learners to be able to manage your camera in the same way by guiding them to find the very best settings for their camera.

We are excited about this cohort and look forward to seeing them grow as photographers.

Jenn & Monet

09/15/2024

09/15/2024

From the moment we’re born, we’re shaped to trust logic over instinct, science over nature, and ‘rational thought’ over our inner knowing.

But how often has that really served us? My guess is, more times than not, when we’ve ignored that inner voice—whether by negotiating it down or overriding it—we’ve ended up wishing we hadn’t. And when we have listened to it? We were grateful.

Intuition isn’t only some mysterious force—it’s an intricate blend of life experience, emotions, and even science. In fact, there’s a term for that gut feeling we all have: interoception. This is your body’s way of sending messages from your gut to your brain, through the vagus nerve, acting as your own internal GPS. It’s real - and even Einstein believed in the power of it! 💫

From my decades as a midwife and mama, both learning traditional wisdom and diving into research, I’ve seen firsthand how trusting intuition can offer powerful guidance—from making critical decisions about our health, a relationship, or an opportunity. It’s clear that our body’s signals and cognitive processes are intricately connected, giving us valuable insight faster than we can logically process.

But here’s the challenge: we’ve been taught to silence that voice. To discount our gut feelings as ‘woo,’ instead of honoring them as the powerful guide they are. For years, my practice has been to not just hear my inner wise woman—but to follow her. As in - If it’s not a hell yes in my body, in my gut, in my deep knowing, it’s a hard no. No negotiating, no justifying. Trusting her has transformed the clarity of my decisions and the direction of my life.

The beauty of getting older is that we start to fully own this gift. We become more in tune with ourselves, more able to follow our inner wisdom without questioning it. The more we listen, the clearer our path becomes.

🌿 Have you ever had a time where you did—or didn’t—listen to your intuition? How did it change the outcome? I’d love to hear your story in the comments below! 💬