Taking A Stand

Ayden had a fussy morning this morning.

"Who me?"

I'm pretty sure he's cutting his 7th tooth.  This kid teethes like a maniac and at this rate he'll have all of his baby teeth by the time his first birthday rolls around!  He was content if I held him but I needed to a few things that required two hands so he resorted to hugging my legs and looking up at me while crying, "mamama."  I rushed through my tasks, then scooped him up and strapped him into the Ergo so he could fill his mommy tank.

Much better!

The weather was beautiful so I made myself a mug of Chai tea, leashed up Maverick and we went for a nice, long walk.  I decided I wanted to go for a jog during Ayden's morning nap so I got dressed in my athletic gear before our walk.

After walking Maverick around what we call the "big block" we dropped him off at home and I transferred Ayden to the jogging stroller.  I jogged our usual short route to our neighborhood park and back.  Ayden fell asleep on the way home and finished his nap in the stroller in our foyer.  It was nice to breathe the Fall air in so deeply on my run.

I spent the rest of the day keeping our little man happy and finishing a few household chores.  I cut up a cantelope, made kale chips, sweet potato fries and dinner while Ayden had his afternoon nap.  David got home just as I was taking our stuffed peppers out of the oven.  After dinner, I headed out to a documentary viewing hosted by The Kentucky Home Birth Coalition (KHBC).  The documentary was called "Freedom For Birth" and was about a midwife in Hungary who was actually imprisoned for practicing home birth midwifery and the journey one of her clients made to help change the laws and in their country. Though midwives in Kentucky aren't imprisoned for attending home births, it is a misdemeanor.  KHBC is hoping to build support for their efforts to change legislation so it will allow Certified Professional Midwives (CPM) to become legalized and licensed in Kentucky.  The idea is that women deserve the right to choose where and how they give birth.  Since a lot of women are going to do it their way, whether is legal or not, it would be in the best interest of these mothers if all aspects of home birth were legal, midwives could practice openly and everyone be properly licensed and held accountable.

As it is now, midwives have to "hide" to protect themselves, it is difficult to find one when you need them, and you can't always guarantee that you'll get one with the proper credentials since there is nothing formal in place to monitor such things.  I got lucky with finding a wonderful, experienced, certified midwife but I did have to be careful about who I shared her name with in an effort to protect her and her practice.  It is not illegal to have a home birth in Kentucky but it is illegal to attend one.  Doesn't really make sense does it?  It is because of this that some women end up attempting unassisted births which isn't safe for anyone.

Though I am on board with home birth, I do not feel it is for everyone.  I do, however, feel that it is a woman's right to birth in an environment where she is most comfortable.  For some mothers that is in a hospital with access to pain relief and the reassurance of immediate care in case of an emergency.  For other mothers it is in the comfort of their home with their own bed and the freedom to eat/drink/do whatever they want.  The efforts of the KHBC are attempting to honor the rights of these mothers and give them safe options in providers for whatever route they choose.  I am going to do what I can to help support these efforts and maybe by the time we are preparing for our next baby, my midwife will be able to legally attend our home birth.

Find something you are passionate about and help take a stand. When many people come together to support a common cause you can make a difference.

I ended up staying out until 10:00pm!!  I thought I'd be home by 8 to put Ayden to bed but the video started late because they gave everyone time to eat and talk before hand.  David told me not to worry about them and to enjoy the movie and being social.  He thawed some milk from our freezer stash and put Ayden to bed.  He's such an awesome dad and husband and I am such a lucky gal.

~Sarah