Thanks for stopping by our new blog! We thought we’d start it off with a fun interview about us to help you all get to know us a little bit better. Enjoy reading about the fun little quirks that make…
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Prenatal Perineal Massage: the Origins’ Way WHY in the world would I want to do that? Let’s be honest, perineal massage probably doesn’t sound like a good idea. It’s hard to motivate yourself to be committed to do it regularly. Research has shown that performing prenatal perineal massage can reduce your risk of having vaginal trauma at birth as well as several other benefits. I think of it this way….if someone forced me down into the splits it wouldn’t be pretty! I haven’t stretched those muscles that far in years. My hamstrings would snap in half because I’m not limber enough to stretch that far. However, if I were given the opportunity to stretch everyday for several weeks before hand, my muscles might be strained, but they wouldn’t tear. Your vagina is made up of several muscle groups. When giving birth they will be stretched farther than they have ever been stretched before. It only…
Dear sweet Joseph, Your birth story began 9 days after your due date. Even though you were late, I was not feeling anxious or rushed about your arrival. A couple times I thought “today is the day” only to be mistaken. I started my leave on your due date, July 17th, and was sooo much happier. I slept a lot, but more importantly spent a lot of time hanging out with your daddy. He was nervous about me going too far so I pretty much just laid around the house. It was nice being off work together for those nine days (he took time off waiting for you also). Every night we would go for a walk. Or as much of a walk as I was up for, and only as far as your dad would let me go, so not more than a mile. The day before you were born I had my weekly…
Lord help me, I’m about to write something on circumcision. It is such a hot topic. I’m actually afraid of offending someone, so I’ll proceed with caution… (If you’re already upset then please stop reading now!) Okay, so I’ll start by saying I have three sons. The first two I chose to circumcise, and my last son I decided not to circumcise. Here is how I came to my final decision NOT to circumcise: When I found out I was having a boy with my last child his dad and I were faced with the difficult decision of whether or not we would circumcise. At that point I had been a birth professional for a few years and I had come to some new beliefs about circumcision based on research I had encountered. But to be honest with you, even though I knew in my mind circumcision wasn’t necessary, I still had a difficult time letting…
Over the years we have supported hundreds and hundreds of mommies with breastfeeding. Collectively the Origins Midwives have nursed their own children for a total of 16 years. Crazy, right!? I guess you could say, we know a thing or two about breastfeeding. Sometimes breastfeeding is the most natural thing you have ever done. The baby does the breast crawl up to the mother’s breast, finds the nipples as they bobble their head around, and latches right on. OR it’s the most un-natural thing you have ever done! This tiny little baby has no idea what to do with this massive boob that is being shoved in its face. Tired mommy feels awkward and little baby is frustrated. In these times it’s important to remember that there will always be a learning curve for your new baby. (S)he has never nursed before, so they just need a little time and…
The Case for Vitamin K As with most topics in the field of obstetrics, the Vitamin K injection is very controversial amongst midwives, doctors, nurses, childbirth educators, and doulas. Many of you might be wondering what Vitamin K is and what function it has in our bodies. Simply put, Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin necessary for blood clotting. Our bodies can’t make Vitamin K, nor are they very good at storing it. As you can imagine, it is very important that all of our blood-clotting factors are functioning well, or small injuries or internal bleeding can become a big problem. A Vitamin K deficiency makes it very difficult, or even impossible for our blood to clot and to stop active bleeding. There are three types of Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding (VKDB): Early VKDB happens in the first 24 hours of life. Early VKDB is usually seen in babies born to mothers who…
Here at Origins we are excited to introduce our newest chiropractor Rachel Moore, DC. Rachel is a small town girl who married the love of her life, Gary, seven years ago. She received a Bachelors in Bio-medical Science from Texas A&M in 2007 and achieved her doctorate in Chiropractics from Parker University in 2011. She began her practice at an OB/GYN’s office specializing in maternity care and infant chiropractics. She has since branched out to offer holistic care to everyone. Rachel loves being able to care for the whole family! Rachel uses modified diverse techniques and is Webster Certified, which is great for expecting moms. She believes that for the body to function at maximum capacity the spine must be in alignment for all the nerves to function optimally. She not only adjusts the skeletal structure, but she also believes that the muscles need to be addressed as well. She combines these two…
It’s hard for me to know where to start? I guess this journey really began the day I gave birth to my third child “The World Changer” Paxton, four and a half years ago. It was an incredibly healing birth for me, and my first midwife-assisted waterbirth. Two years after Paxton was born, our family suffered the loss of a late miscarriage. Six months later we were excited to discover we were expecting twins, only to have our hearts broken once more with the loss of them – also due to a miscarriage. Seth and I felt our hearts were too fragile to bear another loss so we decided that our family was complete with the 5 of us. Seth had a vasectomy preformed and we felt at peace. We had the perfect family, 2.5 kids, a beautiful home, an amazing marriage, fulfilling jobs, an incredible church family…..what more would anyone…
Eating nourishing foods during labor, especially early labor, can provide the energy and strength necessary for the intensive physical work ahead of you. Snacking can also help keep nausea, vomiting, headaches, and exhaustion at bay. During early labor, as anticipation runs high, resist the urge to skip snacks. As you enter more active labor and get closer to pushing, you may naturally lose your appetite. If you do get hungry during active labor, choose small portions that are light and stomach-friendly. Avoid foods and beverages that are sugary, fried, or carbonated. When it comes to choosing snacks to have on hand for labor, it is best to have a variety. Birth is a very primal, instinctual state, and we should listen to our body to determine the appropriate snacks. If you have a craving for something, eat it (within reason). The key is to choose small portions of easily digestible foods…
Our new Origins birth center has arrived and with a bang! Our first day in we welcomed a sweet waterborn baby boy. Little Noah was welcomed into the world in our eclectic vintage meets modern new birth room under gorgeous mood lighting in the beautiful round tub. His mommy had a truly supernatural birth. It was the perfect way for us to introduce the world to our new Origins home. Our amazing birth photographer team Birth Unscripted with NHance Photography elegantly captured the priceless moments for us. We feel so blessed to have such caring women apart of our Origins Birth & Wellness Collective. The first baby welcomed into our grand second birthing suite was a beautiful baby girl born peacefully into the water. Her mother demonstrated a perfect hypno-birth with her amazing doula Kathy O’Brien supporting her along with her chiropractor Pam Kendall and husband by her side. We’ve since been blessed to welcome several babies into the…
We are so pleased to announce the birth of our new Origins Birth and Wellness Collective center! We labored longed and hard for many hours, and with the amazing support of many people, our work has finally paid off. Starting from the moment you walk through our front doors you will see the craftsmanship of our Industrial Farmhouse décor. The meticulous attention to detail, like our custom French sliding barn doors, can been seen throughout our facility. You will be warmly welcomed in our reception area by our incredible Office Manager, Beth Dickerson, who is always excited to greet our expecting mommies and their precious babies. We offer a variety of supplements available to help promote health and wellness for the whole family. Next is our spacious class room that provides a number of educational classes provided by our amazing Birth Boot Camp childbirth educator Jillian Blakeman, Nutritionists Amy Gonzalez, and our chiropractors Justin Carmichael and Stephen Riner. Our east wing houses our beautiful prenatal and postpartum…