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The Birth of Beau Austin
Everyone always told me that I would “just know” when labor started. I didn’t quite understand what that meant, but when I awoke at 3:30 am on January 19 to the feeling of slight lower back pain that...
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Gray's Almost Homebirth by Vanessa
It's been almost 3 years since this beautiful and unexpected birth experience. Although I wrote the story one week after he was born, I haven't shared it until now. I felt disappointed and ashamed...
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Jo's Birth by Nikki
4/9/14, 6:42am8lbs 11oz, 21inThe Saturday before Jo’s birth, I walked to Jane Austin yoga on Valencia with Katie, had lunch after at Papalote with her, Melissa, Sage, and Sage's cousin. The 5 pregnant...
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Baby E arrives!
Baby E is fed and sleeping so this is my moment to write his birth story! He’s in his newly-set-up rocker, with a gorgeous hand-knit blanket that just arrived from my sister D, and if he wakes I’m...
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Mel's Birth
July 13, 2014Baby Mel arrived very slowly and all at once. I spent the pregnancy feeling that he would be born between 38 and 39 weeks. This was my third pregnancy, and my first and second sons came at...
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Birth Story : Cole Alexander Monsees
On the Saturday morning of November 1, 2014, at 9:13 am, we welcomed little 7 lb. 10 oz. 19" long Cole Alexander Monsees into the world! The previous night was Halloween, and Dave and I decided to take...
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A Tale of Two Sons: a VBAC Story by Vanessa
I grew up surrounded by homebirth. Not only was I born at home, but so were my three sisters, two brothers, and four step siblings. I can vividly remember my parents preparing for birth, spending hours...
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Welcome Emilia!! by Maura
It's Emilia's day 6 and I still find it hard to sit and write about the birth, mainly due to the incredible emotions that it brings to memory and I feel like words won't do justice to the miracle of...
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We are here, we are here, we are here!!!
Having left San Francisco at 4:30am on Friday, we are now sweating away at the Midwives for Haiti house in Hinche on Saturday evening. Here is what we have done so far:Successfully transported 500...
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Nou la nan Hinche!
Arriving on the weekend has afforded us the opportunity to "hang out" with our Haitian friends while we gear up for a busy week ahead. The girls at the orphanage have easily fallen into a common love...
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First Day at the Hospital
Norrell blogs today:Today was our first day at the hospital. We arrived by motorcycle taxi with our translators at 07:00. The first thing that struck me was the odd odor of the place- kind of a...
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A Haiti Day
Prestige is the local beer here and we sit and drink. It has been a long Haiti day for all of us. Lots of stories to tell, but for now, I will just send photos, and rest. A longer post tomorrow about...
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Three for One!
(Dina)We are quickly falling into a regular rhythm in Haiti. Volleyball at 6am (Maria and Norrell “off to work”), then a big nap for us, off to the boys’ campus for lunch and Kompa-guitar playing,...
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Kijan ou rele?
How are you called?Aug 6 Blog:Guest Bloggers: Viola & Eva Today, in order to remember the names of our sixty five friends at the orphanage, we decided to take photos of each of the girls...
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What day is it?
After a hugely successful week, we arrived in New York City. Not without our final medical adventure though.After our 3-hour car ride from Hinche to Port Au Prince, checking our much reduced baggage,...
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Haiti - We are here!
It took us two days to get here, but no time at all to fall in love with Haiti all over again. It is hot and sweaty and dusty and we love it! Having skipped last years trip due to the Zika virus, we...
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Busy days!
July 26, 2017We have been so busy. Then, at the end of the day, when I can finally sit at a computer, sometimes the internet is down. Like tonite. I’m writing this offline and hopefully can post it...
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Haitian Home visits!
I jumped at the chance to do home visits here in Haiti. This is by far my most intimate view into the life of a Haitian mother and baby. Clinically, the visits are largely the same as my visits at...
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Bèl Dezòd la
(from Dina: Hinche, Haiti)Early this morning Maria and I took a “ti mache” (little walk) around the corner, literally. We left the Sage Femme pou Ayiti (Midwives for Haiti) house and took 2 quick...
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Faces of Haiti
Somehow, this trip has gone by in a flash. We are committed to 2 orphanages and the Midwives for Haiti program. So, it seems, every moment is filled with some activity or other. We've loved every...
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The adventure begins!
As I sit on the veranda at the Midwives for Haiti house, all is right with the world. Let’s just say, all is right with my world. After postponing the trip due to a fuel hike that caused rioting and...
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Day 2: An Introduction to Hinche
Mother Theresa’s order of nuns run feeding centers and orphanages around the world. In Hinche, they have a feeding center where they take in malnourished children, nurture them back to health, and then...
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Day 4 - A mural, a row boat and a goat named Viola
It’s 10pm on Day 4 of our trip and I am finally able to sit down and jot down a few thoughts. It is hot. Haiti hot. Hard-to-fall-asleep-at-night hot. Two-showers-a-day hot. Sticky. Sweaty. Hot.A good...
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Day 5, Backpack Day!
Yesterday we finally gave away the backpacks that families from Rye collected for Gampson’s school children. The storage room at the Midwives for Haiti house that housed our 600 pounds of donatables...
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