Some explanations

1. If you ever see my child running around looking like a ragamuffin with messy hair, there is a reason. She hates to have her hair messed with. She doesn't just cry when I do her hair - she screams! And she pulls forward or rears back, and it becomes a battle. Every once in a while she'll hold still for me, but most of the time, she rebels big time. Also, I cut her bangs many months ago, and am trying to grow them out. Also, I have bad luck with hair accessories. Yesterday, one of her rubber bands popped at church, so she had a lopsided do. Oh well. We think she's cute anyway. I'll keep working with her. Detangling spray seems to work well.

2. If you ever see our lawn looking long, it's probably because Jeremy has been crazy busy with work, and I don't mow. It's his job. :)

3. My good friend Julianne asked me the other day why I chose to go with a midwife. An excellent question that carries with it a HUGE disclaimer: Choosing a midwife was the right choice for me, but I respect every person's choice in medical providers for pregnancy. I have nothing against OB's. The key is to choose a provider with whom you are comfortable and who you trust and with whom you have a connection.

ANYWAY...

My midwife's name is Julie Jones. She is a CNM (certified nurse midwife), which means she has training as an RN and then additional midwifery training. You can see her profile here.
Going to Julie's office is exactly like going to an OB's office. She has a nice new office space over by the new Riverton Hospital, and she partners with one other midwife and a nurse practitioner named Mandy, who is also awesome. They take care of all kinds of gynecological issues in that office, not just pregnancies. Julie can prescribe medications. As far as I know, she just delivers at the hospital and doesn't do homebirths. She looks like any other medical professional in scrubs (no tie-dyed hippie clothes and birkenstocks).

Julie doesn't push natural childbirth, but instead supports whatever you decide to do along those lines. I had an excellent epidural birth with Meredith, and Julie was there the majority of the time. In fact, she came in late the night I was induced and gave me a massage. I think a CNM focuses on more personalized care. My office visits with her aren't long, but they are definitely not short. She answers as many questions as you have, and becomes a really good friend. She would take as much time with me as I needed her to. I think the main difference between and OB and a CNM is that an OB might take a more medical approach to childbirth, while a CNM is more natural all around, but going to a midwife does NOT mean you can't have an epidural. Here is a pretty good sum up. Should a C-section become necessary, she would scrub in as the first assist.

Again, this was the right choice for me. I think the term "midwife" conjurs up some weird images sometimes. Trust me, Julie is golden. I'm so lucky to have found her.