the storks

It was really important for me to speak about some of the people who guided me and cared for me from pre pregnancy to post birth. These people ensured that my body held up, my mind stayed clear and our little bub was as healthy as could be. It was most definitely a team effort. 

After my second miscarriage and not a lot of insight or suggestions from the medical world I embarked on a two pronged approach to get prepped for pregnancy. 

My body has always lapped up the benefits of acupuncture and Wendy came recommended to me from a friend. The first time I saw her I knew the fit was right - she told me that her approach was not going to be to rush me into getting pregnant again. It frustrated the impatient Aries in me, I knew that was a good thing. Wendy was listening to what my body was already telling me (that I didn't want to hear) - it wasn't ready yet. So we began to build my body back up, to restock the supplies I guess you could say. Chinese massage, acupuncture and moxa herbs was her toolkit for me. My body gratefully absorbed the treatment and my mind was relieved to have someone else taking care of things for a while. Because that's the thing, you feel so responsible for your own ability to get pregnant when in fact there's often very little you can control on your own. 

Lou's approach was focused, well researched and confident. She was the most clinical naturopath I'd come across and I found a real comfort in that. She embraced the fact I was working with an acupuncturist and pulled out all the stops to compliment it with her bag of tricks. She understood my APS and knew what it would take to prime my body for conception and then support it throughout pregnancy. Her approach was so thorough; her expertise puts most GPs to shame. 

I have not the slightest doubt in my mind that it's largely thanks to these two talented women that we now have a beautiful baby, so it seemed perfect to me that Wendy was one of the first people who knew I was pregnant. It was a Friday afternoon after having a positive ovulation test two days before. As I sat and chatted with her as we did before all my treatments I told her the hunch I had. "I know they say its too early to be able to tell if you're pregnant, but it feels different this month. I'm pretty sure that I am." The great thing about Wendy is that she trusted my instincts as well. She began a pregnancy treatment that day instead of a pregnancy prep treatment. Our little one was supported from the get go. 

Post birth Lou has been vital in me combating some not so nice health issues (mastitis and some other even nastier things), when the GPs could do nothing more than whack me with a script of antibiotics or tell me I would just have to 'wait it out'. I remembered very quickly why naturopaths are my preferred method of healthcare. 

So to these two 'storks' I say thanks for helping bring us our baby. And thanks for reminding me that it's just as important that I look after myself too so I can be the best mother to our little munchkin. 

For more info on Wendy or Lou: 

Wendy Robertson (NB: Wendy's practice is now in Thornbury, not Abbotsford)

Ljupka (Lou) Peev

Waiting with a loving heart and flexible mind

At 35 weeks in things are getting close to the 'beginning line'. I'm excited, nervous, impatient and happy all at once. 

For me it was a couple of weeks ago that I started really thinking about the birth and what it would be like for me. I am aware that I am considered 'high risk' and that being diagnosed with APS meant it was likely that the birth might not be a straight forward process. So I left it a while before asking my obstetrician if that would be the case. When I finally plucked up the courage he answered me in his calm, nonchalant way - No, I would not be going into labour naturally; Yes, there would be certain considerations that would need to be made as a result of my body's over eager need to clot itself up. 

So there it was. Things suddenly felt a lot more real. He'd obviously been thinking about it a lot more than I had, evidently. 

In my case it means that I'll have to be induced, that they'll take me off my injections for the duration of the labour and then whack me back on them as soon as the tiny little one has made their entrance into the world. There's also the possibility of a c-section if my body struggles. But that's just my circumstances -  there's plenty of other reasons why birth doesn't turn out to be an intervention free experience for a lot of women. 

It took a weekend of confused tears and blurting out my previously unexplored beliefs to James about what giving birth should be like to allow me process it all.  I was afraid of a c-section, the possibility of going under and not being awake when the baby arrived; and I thought that inducing might in some way hurry along a little baby who hadn't decided it was time to move out yet. Cue more tears and helplessness. 

And then I stopped. I stopped creating stories and I remembered how we got here - we were at this place because I was having a baby, a baby that we've wanted for such a long time. Suddenly the what and how didn't matter anymore. All I was focused on was this baby making it's way into the world and me being there healthy and well to be it's mum. 

When we know the time is coming I'm going to give baby the heads up so it can pack it's bags and we can work as a team and I've reconnected with giving this little soul Reiki.  I'm packing my bags too (just in case). From here on in I am surrendering to whatever the experience will be.

With a mind open to experience and a heart full of love, we wait. 


(To read more about our journey to this point go here)