Big Birth Junkie

Melissa Hemphill is a BIRTHFIT Coach Director, and Air Force Officer, Biology Instructor, CrossFit Coach, Mind Body Nutrition Coach, wife, and mom to 3 children (with a 4th born on 1/14/19). She shares with us the stories of her conceptions, births and insightful musings around birth while being in the military.

_________For more information to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth or our guest: @coachbirthfit__________Check out BIRTHFIT for safe, strong and educational videos on pregnancy and postpartum fitness.

This episode is also sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes.

This is the first time that Amy has shared her birth journey and is doing so in front of a live audience in Miami. Amy teaches yoga and prepared for a homebirth that led to a hospital transport and a cesarean section.

Please stick around for the BONUS: Behind the Scenes (we recorded this bit after the live episode) where we talk in detail about the discussion that is not happening - but needs to happen - about how strong ab muscles (dancers, pilates, yoginis) can hinder the cardinal movements of the baby and could possibly lead to a surgical birth.

_________For more information to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth or our guest: @miamy to follow along with her parenting journey and see where she is teaching yoga in Miami and on retreats.__________This episode is also sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes.

For more information to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth or our guest: @HelloMyTribe__________This episode is sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes.

A man, a woman, a white picket fence and 2.3 children is the fantasy that I was raised on and has been long gone in many cultures for a while. Families come in all shapes and sizes and this family is one of my favorites. Hudson has 2 moms and 2 dads: Cara his biological mommy, Jim his biological daddy, Dawn his Momma, and Paul his, well, his Paul!

This is a story of conception (and it is quite the interesting one because Jim is HIV positive), birth, communication, mutual respect, family and lots and lots of love for one boy (who is not so little anymore).

Welcome to 2019 and welcome to the new definition of family.

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For more information to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth or our guests: Cara at @holliblu and Jim's blog ComingCleanDad.This episode is sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes.

Jenny Silva is a local doula who holds within her in the ancient wisdom passed down to her by her ancestors. It was an honor to share sacred space (or what I like to call ceremony) with her and her mother, Maria Silva, inside the Judy Chicago Birth Stories exhibition in Pasadena, CA in September of 2018.

In this episode we go deep into quite a few places around childbirth. We talk about Jenny's 4 births and her mother, Maria's 11 births. They share with us some of their traditional wisdom around herbs (but they don't give away all the secrets :), frustrations with hospital care, the wisdom of the ancestor and the ultimate lesson: Birth is not an illness, the body always tells us what it needs.

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For more information to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth or our guest: @doulajennysilva

__________This episode is sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes.

Also, thank you to our sponsor BEB Organic, a natural, vegan certified, NICU approved line of 5 baby products that do what they say (and I use on my face too!). To get your free gift with purchase go to their website BEB Organic and add "WEEKENDER SET" to your cart and use the code: BBJ at checkout to get the weekender set for free!

After embracing an unplanned pregnancy Arista Ilona moved forward preparing for her dream homebirth. After she transported to a hospital she had an unexpected c-section. Leading up to motherhood, Arista Ilona endured years of emotional trauma, a lack of self-love, judgment, and depression. Her birthing journey transformed into a profound healing journey in which she shares her wisdom as a mother, mentor and post partum doula.

_________For more information on me or todays guest, to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth and our guest: @aristailona or aristailona.com

__________Thank you to our sponsor BEB Organic, a natural, vegan certified, NICU approved line of 5 baby products that do what they say (and I use on my face too!). To get your free gift with purchase go to their website BEB Organic and add "WEEKENDER SET" to your cart and use the code:BBJ at checkout to get the weekender set for free!

This episode is also sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes.

This is a special podacst for me because you really get a peak into my world and listen to what happens when a group of doulas and birth junkies get together to listen to a birth story and share wisdom. In sharing the stories of both of Sam's kids we delve into a lot of wisdom around water breaking, the fear of going past 42 weeks, homebirthing, doula support, what happen when a birth goes REALLY fast and some real truths about the post partum period.

A big heartfelt thankyou to my doula posse - Karla @douladoula, Sufi @sufiertur, Katherine @dareallalucedoula, Lindsey @doulabliss, Sam @Samhgg and of course my birth junkie family for life - @carriagehousebirth. Love ya ladies!!! xxx

_________For more information to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth or our guest: @Samhugg or Carriage House Birth

__________This episode is sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes.

And check out Carriage House Birth for all things birth in NYC and LA - doula trainings, doula agency, and childbirth ed classes.

This is a story of renewed faith. It is about believing in one's body and asking for support.

Despite being told by traditional OBs that there was only a 13% chance of having a homebirth after her first cesarean, Jennica chose to invest in herself financially, mentally, physically and emotionally to make make sure she had what she needed to safely birth her second child (who, BTW, was 9 pounds 12 oz at birth!) at home.

In this podcast, we will not only hear mom's perspective, but we also hear from dad.

If you know of someone who is considering an HBAC (especially if the partner is unsure) please do pass on this podcast.

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For more information to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth or our guest: @jennicarenee__________This episode is sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes.

Lauren Archer, who you may know as the vagina behind the policy changes for IG and FB around showing vaginal births, shares her journey into becoming a mother that has quite a few twists and turns before she learns the ultimate lesson, "Your body won't give you anything you can't handle."

_________For more information to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth or our guest: @loveofalittleone

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Thank you to our sponsor BEB Organic, a natural, vegan certified, NICU approved line of 5 baby products that do what they say (and I use on my face too!). To get your free gift with purchase go to their website BEB Organic and add "WEEKENDER SET" to your cart and use the code:BBJ at checkout to get the weekender set for free!

This episode is sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes.

Today we are talking with We are going to talk with one half of the podcast & blog The Mother Loving Future and GraceFull Mama Amber Lestrange. We recorded this podcast live at an event with did with Hatch Collection and covered a lot of ground. We chat about her "sexy" conception for her first child, her home waterbirth at her Venice cottage, her view on her postpartum journey and what she would change, and her current health challenges - she has had two miscarriages and one an ectopic pregnancy. Amber has been on an amazing journey to reclaiming her health as she prepares to conceive her second child. There is a lot of great wisdom here that might be helpful for you or a friend.

_________For more information to go: GraceFull or follow us: @gracefullbirth or our guest: @themotherlovingfuture or @lestrange_land __________A BIG thank you to Hatch Collection for sponsoring the live taping of this podcast. If you are pregnant, in the postpartum period or just looking for super comfy and stylish clothing, check out Hatch Collection.

This episode is also sponsored by GraceFull where you can find BBJ's host Elizabeth's free ebook Birth Planning: All the Questions to Ask and all kinds of educational videos including Childbirth Education, Advanced Doula Trainings and Lactation Support. Go to GraceFull to download the ebook for free.If you live in Los Angeles, check out GraceFull's midwives for home births, water birth, and our accredited birthing center. We also have a full wellness facility with NDs, Chiropractic, Therapy, Massage, Lactation and lots of amazing classes. __________