Birth Plan Sample

Birth Plan

In order to allow my obstetrician, nurses, doula and partner to be able to help me achieve the type of empowering birth experience that I wish to have, I have listed the following guidelines that are of most importance to me:

*to have my partner and doula with me at all times.

*to be able to walk around during labor.

*to drink during labor; no IV unless I am physically unable to take nourishment by mouth.

*a natural birth with no drugs, NO OFFERS please.

*spontaneous exhale pushing, I do not want sustained pushing that is directed by the nurses or obstetrician.

*to choose my delivery position.

*no episiotomy, I would rather tear.Please allow my doula to perform perineal massage.

*my baby to be handed directly to me.

*no shot of pitocin after delivery; I will sign a medical release form.

*the umbilical cord to be clamped only after it has stopped pulsing.

*no shot of vitamin K or eye ointment for my baby; I will sign a medical release form.

*to breastfeed. Please do not give my baby sugar water, formula or a pacifier.

*rooming in with my baby.

Thank You!

Favorite Books - in progress

1. Anna Kerinina - Tolstoy
2. The Yearling - Rowlings
3. Beloved
3. The Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan
4. Handmaid's Tale
5. Henry and June - Nin
6. Inanna - Kramer
7. The Witches Bible Compleat
8. Material World / Hungry Planet
9. Spiritual Midwifery
10. The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
11. The Color Purple
12. The Talisman - Stephen King

Tabitha's List!:
1. The Handmaid's Tale
2. The Bluest Eye
3. Jane Eyre
4. Middlesex
5. Comet in Moominland
6. Slaughterhouse Five
7. Alices Adventures in Wonderland
8.Still Life With Woodpecker
9.The Perks of Being a Wallflower
10. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

Bellydance for Birth - one day workshops announced!

April 12, 2008 1-3 pm
Body, Mind, & Spirit Studio,305 North Third St.
Suite #223, Burlington, IA
sponsor: Tribal Attitude www.tribalattitude.org/workshops.html


May 18, 2008 2-5pm
Arts a la Carte, Iowa City, IA
www.artsalacarteic.org
sponsor: Anna Partenheimer, CPM -babycatcher220@yahoo.com



A three hour workshop combining natural childbirth education and bellydance.
You will learn to:

-increase your chances of a natural birth and avoid cesarean section
-choose your healthcare provider
-hire a doula
-write a birth plan
-practice bellydance moves that benefit pregnancy, birth and postpartum
-be a stronger, sexier woman and make new friends!

Price: $40.00

A henna party with birth videos follows (potluck?)

Please dress comfortably and bring floor pillows if desired. You can bring your own henna or you can buy a tube for $5.00.

This workshop is suitable for pregnant women, doulas, childbirth educators, midwives and dance instructors.

Call for booking info- Salome: 563-732-3094 manyhandshouse@gmail.com

Melanie Moore is a certified Professional Midwife and Qualified Examiner with the North American Registry of Midwives. She is an ALACE certified doula and childbirth educator. She has published several articles in publications including 'Midwifery Today' and 'The Compleat Mother'. She also produced the movie 'Waterborn".
Melanie has given birth to six children, the first born by cesarean, the rest born at home, Three were born in water, and her youngest was an unassisted outdoor water birth. Her powerful birth experiences led her to believe that all women deserve to give birth with knowledge, power, dignity and joy.
Melanie has been dancing her entire life, with a strong background in classical ballet. She began bellydancing during her second pregnancy. She enjoys performing as Salome with the folkloric troupe Rakset al-Nehri and American Tribal Style with troupe unda as well as teaching ATS. She looks foward to recieving her ATS certification this fall.

Bellydance for Birth!

I am going to teach a prenatal bellydance class!

unda Spring Schedule

American Tribal Style Bellydance Classes

New! Bellydance for Birth!

Wednesdays, March 19 - April 23
6-7 Bellydance for Birth
7-8 Mixed level ATS
8-9 Advanced level ( teacher invitation only)

Dance Centers of Iowa
323 Cedar St.
Wilton, IA 52778

Contact Salome (563)732-3094

Melanie

"A woman without a belly is like a night without stars"

-Arabic idiom

people.tribe.net/midwifemelanie
people.tribe.net/tribalbellydance
www.flickr.com/photos/manyhandshouse
www.myspace.com/salometribalbellydance

Happy Imbolg!

Winter is half over!!!!

Knitting for Chris

I began on Imbolg, 2008. Let's saee how long this takes!
I am knitting with Dale of Norway Heilo 100% wool.

Kathy on Noro

It's not that I don't like (love) noro...it is just that I have issues with it.

Noro is like one of those bad boy lovers you secretly lust after
because they look oh so good on the shelf. They are a little rough to
the touch but you are willing to overlook that because it makes such
good eye candy. So you take the leap: you buy it; you find a lucious
pattern to make so that you can truly make this bad boy your own. It
knits up ok: a little flaky, not very strong (looks CAN be
deceiving). In short, it has committment issues. Once you 'tie the
knot' it starts to wear thin...literally. After wearing it for a
while, it completely changes character and now you are stuck with a
once-beautiful but now ugly pilled up worn out piece of crap that you
simply CAN'T bring yourself to toss out because you remember how you
onced loved it so and it cost you a lot of money. You now think
longingly about all those really nice (but no so pretty) sturdy wools
you passed up to get this Noro stuff. Oh how fickle we are! Will we
never learn that beauty really IS only skin deep???? But no...you
want the Noro anyway. So be it! You are young...you will learn...the
hard way. And why not? You should enjoy your youth. Me? I am
sticking with merino. If I need a fling, I will seek out the alpaca.
I pray to god that I never find myself sinking to the depths of Lion
brand though...pray for me. Pray hard

Homeschool Lessons

"It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty." Albert Einstein


When I began homeschooling (17 years ago) I was sure I would create geniuses. Geography and spelling bee champions. College graduates by the age of 18. Now I realize I am raising normal people. People free from the pressures of school and society. This has been a great revelation for me.
I have also learned two other important lessons that I want to pass on; the need to deflect negative comments from others and to relax.
Do not let the negative comments of othersbring you down. Remember that when people are critical it is because they feel threatened - if homeschooling is best, then their kids are getting second or third best. Just reassure these folks that you are doing what is best for YOUR family. Then surround yourself with supportivefriends, like your local homeschool group.
We sometimes want to keep up with the Jones'. When little 10 year old Tommy next door can rattle off the names of all the U.S. Presidents, we want that too! "What if my kid gets left behind?" Remember, you homeschool so that your children DON'T have to endure forced learning. It's OK! My children played in the snow for 4 hours today. Now that's education!
Play is THE most important work in a child's life. (Play does not include television, video games or the internet.) I would never interrupt imaginative play for a lesson or teaching moment.
Which leads me to: relax! What good is stressing about teaching colors and shapes to a preschooler? Have you ever met any adult who didn't know their colors? They are learned, like walking and talking, in the context of life.
Reading is similar.So many parents are making themselves crazy and overly stressing their children with this. My children have all shown an interest in reading around age 9, then learn quickly and easily, going on to pass their peers in both reading skills and love of literature.
So maybe my kids aren't totally normal.They are beautiful, super confident and free thinking.And it has nothing to do withany curriculum I stick to, and everything to do with allowing them to develop in their own way and time.



Recommended Resources:

Growing Without Schooling and John Holt
www.holtgws.com/

Home Education Magazine
www.homeedmag.com/

Sudbury education
www.sudburynetwork.org/

Waldorf education
www.steinercollege.org/waldorf.html
www.christopherushomeschool.org/in...htm

Oak Meadow Curriculum
www.oakmeadow.com/

Evolution's End by Joseph Chilton Pierce
(available at amazon.com)

The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewllyn
www.gracellewellyn.com/

2008 Many Hands House Letter

Dear Friends,
2007 has been a crazy year for us. Our hardships included a five day power outage, a stolen car, a legal battle, and health insurance appeals.
But whenever I think life has got the best of me, my families strength would burst through. We bought a generator and the legal battle came to a close. We traveled to Chicago and met Rachel Brice, to Minneapolis to see old friends and the May Day parade, to PSG and Sacred Harvest Festival, Indianapolis, Wisconsin, and the Maquoketa Caves for spelunking. And my children grew and blossomed.
Tabitha is 17 and a senior! Last year she did fantastic on her ACTs, joined the workforce, caucused for Obama, bellydanced and took a train to visit her boyfriend in Missouri.
Rowan is 15 and homeschooling. He performed in the Wilton play, Funny People Inc., and won best actor. His band, formerly known as Zombie Gunslinger, practiced often and got their first gig! Rowan joined in the Iowa City Zombie March and went to Indianapolis with his Dad.
Rhiannon is 11 and got her first haircut! She sent 12" to locks of love. She loves dancing and performed as a polichinelle in the Adlers Nutcracker ballet. She is enjoying making crafts to sell on Etsy.
Archer is 9. He takes homeschool art classes and was great performing with the Eulenspeigal Puppet Theater . Chris and I are working hard at appealing his health iunsurance to allow for his surgery at Harvard scheduled for February.
Morgan Finn is 7 and a fantastic artist. He participates in homeschool club was in the puppet show, marched in Davenports Halloween parade and met Barak Obama.
Wolfie is 1 and has brought so much joy to us this year. He has learned to walk, loves Carl books and has honed his skill at bending us all to his will.
Christopher continues to teach Spanish at Moline High School. He also performs with the Shakespear Company, the Prenzie Players. Watch for him as Petrucchio in The Taming of the Schrew this March. He also wrote a role paying game called Psi Run that he presented at a gaming conference in Indianapolis.
As for me, I am glad that my personal midwifery legal woes are over, but I know there's a big fight ahead for the Iowa Midwives Association in getting legislation passed this year. Although I am not attending births for now., I did become certified as a North American Registrey of Midwives Qualified Examiner.
I have been enjoying teaching bellydance classes in Wilton and have formed the tribe unda and hosted my first hafla. I fill my free time with knitting.
Thank you all for showing us so much love and support in 2007. I am forever humbled and hope to repay it in some way. I also hope for us and you a peaceful, uneventful, family centered 2008.
Please keep in touch.
Love, Melanie

Lyra Hat

I am a huge Golden Compass fan. You can only imagine my delight when the movie was filled with handknits. I paid little attention to the script, just wrote patterns in my head. Here is Lyra's hat from the end of the movie. Next project, the red hat when she is with Mrs. Coulter....