Roundel of the Seasons
Sheila Waters

Catching Babies

I just finished a lovely book called Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent. Brilliant book! I am considering going into the field of midwifery and this book was great for me. In it she share beautiful birth stories and birth stories that are sad and tragic. The novel chronicles her journey from a nursing student to a privately practicing midwife.

I believe this book helped nudge me more toward a job in midwifery. Who knows how many other nudges I will need to take that first step though.

"From Publishers Weekly
It was in nursing school at Duke in the 1960s that Vincent found her calling: delivering or "catching" babies. She moved to California and became a midwife, specializing in home births; over the course of 40 years, she brought some 2,000 babies into the world. There's a predictable plot structure to most of the stories she recounts: the initial meetings with the pregnant woman, the last-minute phone call once labor speeds up, the coping with contractions, the appearance of the baby's head, the wet newborn, the oven-warmed blankets, the celebratory meal afterwards. Despite the repetition, Vincent's account is a page-turner. It's not just the risk that something might go wrong (meaning a nail-biting trip to the hospital for an emergency cesarean), and not just the quirkiness of home birth settings (which can involve jealously raging house pets or leaky houseboats), but something inherent in the magic of birth itself. What sustains Vincent and her readers is this sense of standing ringside at the greatest miracle on earth. A solid writer, Vincent doesn't preach the virtues of unmedicated birthing; she just lays consistent stories of women doing it Christian Science moms, Muslim moms, spiritualist moms, lesbian moms, teen moms and just plain ordinary moms. With the midwife's axiom "birth is normal till proven otherwise" as a guiding principle, all these women have a chance to make childbirth a crowning moment in their own lives. Male readers may find this female-centered narrative off-putting, and mainstream readers might raise eyebrows at the inclusion of children in the birthing process, but Vincent addresses these issues fairly directly herself. Agent, Felicia Eth. (Apr.)Forecast: With appendices guiding readers to more technical resources, Vincent's latest baby is bound to be popular with women's health and alternative medicine readers. A cover blurb by Anne Lamott could break it out further."

Nom Note Of The Day

I subscribe to Dr. Ben Kim's newsletter and this recipe was in today's issue and it looks to good not to share with everyone!

Healthy Sweet Cashew Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup raw organic cashews or raw organic cashew butter
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup raw organic honey

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a strong blender.

2. Blend until smooth. Add more water if needed.

Transfer sweet cashew cream to a glass jar, cap the jar with a lid, and chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours before using. Sweet cashew cream will stay fresh in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Please note: If you prefer a thick cream, use less water and pause the blender to give the ingredients a good mix/swirl one or more times.

I haven't tried it yet but it looks so good! And I do have all that raw honey we bought the other day! Time to get cooking!

May your body be blessed.
May you realize that your body is a faithful and beautiful friend of your soul.
May you recognize the your senses are sacred thresholds.
May you realize that holiness is mindful gazing, mindful feeling, mindful listening, and mindful touching.
May your senses always enable you to celebrate the universe and the mystery and possibilities in your presence here.
May Eros bless you.
May your senses gather you and bring you home.

-Celtic blessing