PSA: The Importance of Educating Yourself on Essentials Oils

Friends don't let friends buy crappy oils!

Did you know that the essential oil industry is expected to double in the next few years. That it is expected to reach a $50 billion industry by 2020. What does this mean? It means that if you aren't currently using oils, it is likely that you will be in the next 5 years.

Consumers are demanding healthier products (and rightly so!) and they are FINALLY seeing all of the benefits of essential oils! That’s why they keep purchasing them. So why *wouldn't* companies give them what they want?? I get it! I truly do! But what companies like the one below DON'T understand is that putting a $9.99 bottle of essential oil in someone's hand is NOT fulfilling the need they are asking to be met. It's doing more harm than good.

How do you get a $9.99 bottle of essential oil?

🚫Buy plants from farmers on the CHEAP. Which begs the question: how do you get cheap plants? Just ask your local farmer: Spray them with chemicals to keep bugs off and weeds away so you don't have to pay people to tend the fields (exactly why I love our local organic farmers!! It is a labor of love!!)

🚫Use flash heat distillation (the process where you get the oils out of the plants) to speed up the time it takes to get the oils out of the plants vs slow, low heat steam distillation. Time = money. The faster you can distill the oil from the plant, the quicker you can get onto the next batch. But heating the plant material to distill the oil out faster means the therapeutic qualities of the oil will be heated out of the oil. So, basically, you're getting something that might smell really nice but basically do nothing for your health and wellness.

🚫 Put additives into the oil to fill the bottle up. One bottle of Young Living Rose Oil requires something like 22 POUNDS of petals!!! That's a TON of rose petals! And that's why Rose Oil is one of our most expensive oils. Unfortunately other companies take Rose Oil and then add a bunch of additives and synthetics to the bottle so they can sell it for a really cheap price. And since none of the labeling for essential oils are regulated, those companies can still put "100% pure" or "100% natural" on the label as long as there is something in the bottle that is 100% pure or natural.

👩‍🔬Many of the other oil companies don't realize that essential oil distillation is a science, and without the science, you can actually harm the heck out of people's bodies....or they just plain don't care and are only out to make a buck.

🗣 This is your Public Service Announcement for the day. Don't waste your money or risk your health. Young Living is the ONLY essential oil company that owns its own farms and partners with trusted growers. Their business is not based off of brokering with oil dealers (yes, say that again. It’s as ridiculous as it sounds) They are the only ones that control the process from the SEED TO SEAL on the bottle. They are the only company with over 24 years of experience with essential oils. They don't really have competitors because literally no one else comes *close* to this sort of knowledge when producing oils.

And just for full disclosure, I started using oils I bought from the health food store because I thought that there wasn't any difference. But once I started using Young Living oils, I saw dramatic effects in my health and well-being.

So, when you are ready for oils, save yourself the time, frustration, and energy. Young Living is the best stuff on the planet. Truly, friends don't let friends do ridiculous things like pay $9.99 for a bottle of essential oil (regardless of the scent!).

Pretty much every store is now selling essential oils. But don't be fooled--get only the best for yourself and your family. Remember that any oil that you use topically or in a diffuser is going to go into your body and into your bloodstream. Do you want to buy a cheap oil to save a few bucks and put who-knows-what onto your skin and into your bloodstream? Or do you want to know with 100% confidence that there are NO toxins, additives, synthetics, pesticide by-products, etc in your oils?

I choose the latter and hope you do too because there IS a difference!

If you're ready to give the real thing a try, click here.

#frienddontletfriendsbuybadoils
#alloilsareNOTcreatedequal #seedtoseal
#YOUNGLIVING🌿✌🏽
#helloessentials

New Moon Essential Oil Recommendations

Today is a New Moon 🌚...and you know what that means? It's time to get your intentions ready to manifest! 👊

I've partnered up with best-selling Hay House author, Yasmin Boland of Moonology and wrote up some New Moon essential oil recommendations.

Check them out here: http://www.moonology.com/love-essential-oils-2/

She also has some really insightful information about the New Moon on her blog as well as free downloadable worksheet to help you make the most out of the last New Moon of 2017.

What's the big difference with essential oil companies?

Who thinks all oils are the same? 

Who thinks Young Living oils are too expensive? 

I certainly did when I first started using oils. I bought cheap oils at Whole Foods, Sprouts and made my own thieves oil because I thought they were all the same. I even took them internally since ya know--the label said 100% pure and natural (and said do not take internally--whoops).

Well, come to find out, you really are getting what you pay for! Young Living's Seed to Seal guarantee is what makes this company different.

Learn about our Seed to Seal Guarantee by clicking HERE

Next, watch this video of the Young Living Tansy harvest. Yes, that is the owner of the company, D. Gary Young driving the tractors! Notice the cleanliness of the fields, distillery machinery? Notice that the harvested plant goes right from the field to the distilling machinery? Notice that the distillery machinery is made of medical grade stainless steel? Notice that the lab is taking samples of each batch to test to ensure that they're getting what they want out of the plant? They actually test each batch numerous times throughout the entire distillation process to ensure it's only the highest quality and purity. Notice that they also store the distilled oil in a medical grade stainless steel container?

I encourage you to see where other companies get their oils. Oh, that's right--no one else owns their own farms so they can't show you! Hmmmm...isn't that interesting?

IF you're lucky enough to find a company that says they source their own oils, how do they ensure that the farms are testing the dirt for RoundUp residue which is a possible cause of cancer? Are they testing for other pesticides and herbicides in the dirt? Are they ensuring there are no GMOs in their plants? What do they use as a pesticide? Young Living uses essential oils, neem oil and other natural pesticide remedies. What are they distilling their plants in? Is it medical grade stainless steel or an aluminum drum? I don't know about you, but I don't want the oils that are going onto my skin and into my body to have any by-products from aluminum! What are they storing the distilled oils in? Plastic jugs or stainless steel? I, for sure, don't want BPA leaching into my oils! You only know that is in your oils if you can follow it back to its source and follow it's progress from seed to bottle.

Here are some questions that you can ask essential oil companies to ensure you're using the most pure oils for your family:

Some other things to think about: Other companies say they get their oils from farm indigenous areas. Well, here's a question for ya---are you eating all of your food from indigenous areas? People are so concerned about their food these days--organic, certified organic, etc. Well, it's pretty rare to find food that is truly indigenous. Does it really matter where the plant is grown if they're not paying attention to the rest of the process?

Young Living has farms all over the world and is acquiring more farms as we speak! Young Living tests how the plants are growing in different areas of the world and only grows plants in areas where they do well. All of our future planned farms will have the same pristine, clean, process you saw in our video. Anyone can walk off the street and go visit any of our farms--do it--you'll walk away even more impressed.

Here's an example, just an example (sorry, I couldn't help myself & make a Cypress Hill reference)....Young Living couldn't find an excellent source of black spruce--the one ingredient in our much coveted Valor that led to it being out of stock for what seemed like forever. You know what they did? Well, first thing they did...well, I should say DIDN'T do, is accept less-than-excellent black spruce from multiple farms that offered it. They almost had a farm that tested "good" or "acceptable" but there were just a few constituents of the oil that didn't meet with Young Living's stringent standards so you know what Young Living did? You think they restocked Valor and made a crap ton of money because customers were getting angry and impatient that it had been out of stock and were waiting (not so patiently) to buy it? NO! They continued to search and kept Valor out of stock (except thank goodness in our Premium Starter Kits). And then when they couldn't find it, Young Living decided to BUY A FARM! You read that right---they BOUGHT A FARM!?!?!  Who does that?!? It's a beautiful farm up in Northern Canada that has acres and acres of high quality black spruce trees and enough room to plant more so that we will have a continuous supply of black spruce. They are currently building a distillery, a spa, an RV park and a visitor's center on the land. I mean, that's insane! No other oil company would do that! 

No other oil company invests in its own farms and its own distilleries to ensure the highest quality product. Other oil companies don't run out of stock (Young Living currently has quite a list of out of stock oils)--that's because they're willing to buy and use whatever quality oil just to make a buck. Young Living doesn't compromise on quality or purity and is willing to be out of stock for a time rather than put an inferior product on the market. The good thing is that they have almost 200+ oils to choose from so even with quite a few out of stock, there are other oils that can do similar things. I'm proud to be a part of this company and every time I hear stuff like this, every time I go visit a farm (seen three so far as of this original post but seven by the time I updated this post) and see the entire process, I am even more impressed.

I could go on and on, but now that you've learned about the differences, which one do you want to use?

Our team, Hello Essentials, offers extensive resources to help get you started. We all have one thing in common--we love our oils! 

Contact me HERE to learn more about how to get oils OR how to build a business so you can have a life you don't need a vacation from!

Carol Yeh-Garner

Royal Crown Diamond Independent Distributor #1533467

www.carolyehgarner.com

#younglivingessentialoils #helloessentials

Who wants to get healthier?

Anyone, anyone? Bueller, Bueller?

Ok, almost everyone wants to be healthier, right? We all want to make sure that we are doing what we can to live a healthy life and a long life, right? I know I want to be healthy for a really long time. That doesn't necessarily mean I want to just "live" a long time--I want to be healthy, vital & vibrant as I age!

Well, what if I told you that you could spend approximately $1 per day & it could support your desire to improve your health? Sounds too good to be true, right? Yeah....totally get it.

But here's the thing--there's a superfood drink that Young Living makes that really does that! For reals!

Check this out:

Ummmm...I'm totally NOT going to be eating 814 blueberries, 59 broccoli florets or 93 apples in one sitting! I probably eat two servings of fruits & veggies  per day if I'm being completely honest with you. Well, let's go with one serving of fruits OR veggies per day since I AM being totally honest with you!

But since I've added Ningxia Red to my morning routine, I have felt like I have way more energy (even though there's no caffeine in it!). And I can feel okay about the fact that I'm only eating 1-2 servings of  fruits & veggies since I know that I'm giving my body something really healthy by drinking 2 oz of Ningxia Red per day. The stats above are for ONE ounce of Ningxia Red per day so if I'm doing TWO ounces, then I'm doubling the amount of yummy goodness I'm giving my body!

Here's some interesting information for all of you who like to read nutrition labels:

Ningxia Red is made of superfruits. It contains:

Ningxia wolfberries

Blueberries

Cherries

Aronia berries

Grapefruit seed extract

Pomegranates

Plums

Lemon, Orange, Tangerine and Yuzu essential oils

It is not another goji berry in a bottle – it's the Ferrari's of goji berries! It is a powerful superfruit cocktail! And you only need 1 – 2 shots of 30 ml per day.


Ningxia Red Contains:
*18 Amino Acids 
* 21 Trace minerals
* 6 essential fatty acids 
* Vitamin B1, B2, B6
*Vitamin E 
*Vitamin C: 180 mg per serving

Ningxia Red is an amazing source of vitamins and minerals – calcium, magnesium, chromium, potassium, copper, zinc, beta-carotene and manganese.

These are all essential nutrients which can help support normal cardiovascular function, normal eye health, normal cell growth, and healthy liver function.*

So, have I peaked your interest? Want to learn even more?

Well, we are starting a 30 Day Challenge on Facebook on September 10th where you'll all learn more about what just 1-2 ounces of NingXia Red can do for you. We'll watch some educational videos, share recipes and hear from all of you about what improvements you've noticed.

To your health!

What kind of air freshener do you use?

It always makes me cringe a little when I see those plug in air fresheners in homes, offices, or even worse....school classrooms. They always give me a headache! The aroma is too strong for me! 

I wonder if people realize they are inhaling toxic chemicals? 

Here's proof that those other air fresheners are harmful to your health!

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5378

"A study of 14 common household air fresheners has found that most of the surveyed products contain chemicals that can aggravate asthma and affect reproductive development."

Hmmmm....that's not good for anyone!

The article also states that "Independent lab testing confirmed the presence of phthalates, or hormone-disrupting chemicals that may pose a particular health risk to babies and young children, in 12 of the 14 products---including those marked "all natural". None of the products had these chemicals listed on their labels."

WHAT?!? They can have harmful chemicals NOT on the label?!? Even on the ones that say "all natural"?!? Say it isn't so!

I love that when I diffuse my essential oils in my home in not only smells amazing, but I'm helping to purify the air naturally and the therapeutic properties of the oils benefits my whole family.

And by diffusing essential oils, I'm affecting the limbic system and creating a calmer mind and body!

When you order a Premium Starter kit, you get a diffuser for FREE! 

Getting the Premium Starter Kit gives you the benefits of being a wholesale member for an entire year with NO monthly minimums, NO pressure to sell, and NO cheesy sale pitches from me! You'll get 11 of the most popular oils, some sample sachets, a FREE diffuser and a membership to my secret Facebook group called The Apothecary Society--a place where you can learn about essential oil uses in a no-sales talk environment.

Contact Carol Yeh-Garner via her website at www.carolyehgarner.com for more info or go to this link to buy your kit now: Carol's Young Living Sign Up Link

Carol Yeh-Garner (Platinum member #1533467) is an Independent Distributor for Young Living Essential Oils & belongs to the Lemon Dropper team. She is not a doctor and does not claim to be one on TV. She does not give medical advise. If you have a medical issue, please seek medical attention.

START OF SUMMER GIVEAWAY!

So, we've still got one more week before summer officially started, but I've already got summer on my mind! The nice people at Santa Cruz Organic® generously gave me a sample of their organic lemonade & organic mango lemonade to try. If you know me, I'm kind of stickler for organic stuff. I do my best to have my family use as many organic foods, beverages & products as possible. My kids loved the original lemonade & the mango lemonade was super yummy too. I can imagine a hot summer day with some mango lemonade and vodka being a really refreshing drink! But I can also imagine the kids really enjoying a cold glass of lemonade too. ;) When Santa Cruz Organic® offered to do a giveaway for my readers so they could try these delicious, yummy organic drinks, I said yes! Free stuff is another thing I love!

Here's some information about the products:

Summer fun pairs perfectly with these lemonades: enjoy them at picnics, backyard barbecues or make them the star of your favorite recipe.

Santa Cruz Organic® Lemonades and Limeades are made with Certified USDA Organic fruit juice and are a great addition to any summer activity. 

·         No artificial preservatives or ingredients

·         Certified USDA Organic

·         Flavors include Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, Raspberry Lemonade, Peach Lemonade, Mango Lemonade, Cherry Lemonade and Limeade 

Reader Giveaway:

Santa Cruz Organic® wants to give my readers a fun way to celebrate summer, so they’re offering a giveaway! Two (2) randomly selected winners (U.S. only, please) will receive two Santa Cruz Organic® Lemonade Beverages!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Katrina's Birth Story (AKA "Our Unplanned Homebirth" or "HypnoBirthing Really Works!"

Alanna & Mike took my Tuesday night HypnoBirthing classes in Encinitas (North County San Diego, CA) to prepare for their second birth. They had taken another birthing class for their first birth, but weren't happy with the outcome and decided that they wanted to learn more to be even more prepared for their second birth.

Alanna's story:

On Monday and Tuesday (Feb 10 & 11) I started having some mild cramping sensations in my lower abdomen, almost like pre-menstrual cramps. They were infrequent and mainly only started in the afternoon through evening and went away by morning. They weren't uncomfortable at all but I practiced my slow breathing through them just to start preparing for labor, which I assumed was probably a few days away.

On Tuesday (11th) the cramping was becoming a little more intense and by that night I figured we were probably getting close to the start of labor. I researched prodromal labor (false labor), sat on my birth ball for a bit and drank some red raspberry leaf tea in hopes that my cramping would turn into labor surges rather than disappear again in the morning. I was convinced that this was going to drag out over several days.

Sometime between midnight and 1:00 AM on Wednesday morning (12th) I woke up with what I could tell were real uterine surges. I could actually feel everything tightening up and starting to push my baby down. I started listening to my Rainbow Relaxation and HypnoBirthing music playlist on my headphones and slowly breathed through each surge. Mike had fallen asleep in Sammy's room so he had no idea anything was going on. I figured I'd have a long time to go so I didn't want to wake him and bother him yet. One of us might as well get a good night's sleep! Around 3:30 AM I decided I should probably start timing the surges just to be sure that we didn't need to get ready for the hospital yet. I timed them for about an hour but they were all over the place - no rhythm or pattern to them at all. I went back to bed and continued my breathing and relaxation. Around 5:30 AM I noticed Mike was back in our bed and he realized that I was having real contractions. I assured him that nothing serious was happening yet and that we'd see if everything slowed down again in the morning as they had the two days before.

Around 7:30 AM on Wednesday 912th) I got up for the day. I had a cup of coffee, sat at my computer, and took care of some essential business, just in case. I let our friends know that there was a good chance we'd need them to watch Sammy that day. Then I hopped in the bathtub around 8:00 AM where I soaked for about an hour while listening to a podcast about "How to Know if You are in Real Labor" (I decided that it was still practice labor since my surges were still irregular) and then listened to my relaxation music. Getting in the tub slowed down my contractions for a while but eventually they became pretty consistently 5-7 minutes apart.

Mike was still home that morning and was getting Sammy ready for the day while preparing to go out and run some errands. I figured that since my surges were still pretty far apart (real labor would start when they were 4 minutes apart) he had plenty of time to go out and do some things before we had to go to the hospital. I was planning to call my aunt, who was going to be our birth companion at the hospital, and let her know that we would most likely be going to the hospital that afternoon. 

I sat up in the tub and started draining the water when a really strong surge hit me. I breathed through it and continued my process of getting dried and dressed. I did my best to get my hospital bag ready but from that point on, I just kept having surge after surge. I couldn't even properly brush my teeth because they were coming so fast. I started timing them and realized they were consistently 2 minutes apart and about 1 minute each. I was afraid I wasn't going to have time to track them for an hour to see if they fit the 2-1-1 timeframe! It was at this point I realized there was probably no way in hell we were making the 45-60 minute drive to Balboa Hospital down in San Diego.

While Mike made me some eggs for breakfast (so I'd have energy for the day ahead), I sat in my chair and kept breathing through the surges and relaxing. I got about two bites of my eggs and then had another surge. That one was SO intense that I suddenly had a moment of panic and felt like I couldn't take it anymore. I yelled to Mike that I didn't think I could handle this anymore. He came in the room, told me to calm down and relax. (While he was seriously concerned that I was already losing it so early into the labor process!) I relaxed for a minute until the next surge hit. This time I yelled again that I didn't know how long I could do this. 

All of a sudden I felt the urge to push. I thought that it was still way early in my labor so I figured I must just have to poop. I rushed past Mike into the bathroom and told him so. He said "no, I don't think you do" but figured that this pressure was just a part of labor. I sat down on the toilet and started pushing and instantly realized that it was NOT poop pressure....my baby was ready to be born. Mike checked and at first didn't feel anything, but then I breathed down a little bit and he could feel her crowning. He made me scoot forward so he could see (and catch!) the baby. He handled it so calmly that it was easy for me to get back to my relaxed state. I remembered that I wasn't supposed to "push" and I just needed to bear down a bit with my breath whenever I had a surge. This is what I did, and I think it took about 4-5 breaths before my baby was fully born at 9:35 AM. She was still in her bag of waters, and thankfully we had seen this in a birthing video recently so Mike wasn't freaked out. He knew it was totally fine and once she came out he just broke it open and handed me our baby.

While I held her, Mike called 911 to ask for assistance. The EMT's showed up and helped transfer us to the hospital to deliver the placenta and make sure we were okay. It was pretty crazy and exciting! Meanwhile, Sammy was in the bathtub in the other bathroom, completely oblivious that her sister was being born. After the event, Mike went to get her so she could see her sister before we transferred to the hospital.

Mike’s story:

First let me say “I am the man”! Whoo. That aside, I went to sleep the night before labor with my daughter Sam aound 11, woke up around 2 and crawled into our bed. Alanna was awake and said she was feeling some tremors and I asked if we should get the birthing party started. She said the contractions weren't that strong or consistent yet so I went to sleep. I woke around 7:30 and Alanna was in the rocker recliner in the baby’s room covered in a blanket with her eyes closed and headphones on. She looked asleep. I knew that was part of the hypno-birthing deal so I took a pic when she wasn’t looking and went to my daily routine. After some coffee and some email checking I asked Alanna if she thought I should stay home from work. She said it wasn’t necessary but it would be nice to have someone around the house to help with Sam while she was in the pre-labor stage. While Alanna took a bath it slowly crept into my mind that this was going to be the day so I cleaned, had breakfast with Sam and then put her in the tub. When Alanna got out of the tub she said her contractions were coming hard and fast. I mentioned that maybe they slowed in the tub and now her body is catching up to make up for lost momentum. She agreed and I made some her eggs and an english muffin. 

Sitting in the baby chair again she started eating her breakfast. I went to the kitchen to clean up and I heard her scream, “Miiiiike, I don’t think I can do this anymore!”. I thought Whaaat? We didn’t even get to the hospital yet! Why did we take hypo-birthing lessons for the past month and a half if we’re going to just jump to freak out mode off the bat? I went into her room and reassured her and did some light massage on her legs. Then the next contraction came. She said “I have to poop” and she pushed me out of the way and started walking towards the bathroom. I said “You know you don’t need to poop”. My thinking was based on an anecdote provided by our birthing teacher. Wrong! We went into the bathroom and she said “I think the baby is coming. I feel like I have to push.” I said “The baby’s not coming”. So I told her to lean back and I looked. As I inspected I started to say “See, nothing is coming… Oh yea there’s something there”. I felt to see what it was and since it was so close to crowning I waited to see what it was. At first I thought it was just the bag of water that was coming out on it’s own before the birth actually started. Never saw that before but hey she wasn’t about to have a baby in the bathroom right? Then as I watched I saw hair under the shiny sack. Oh shit! I told her “Okay, were having a baby”. She started to tense and I reassured her that we can do this together. The baby was coming fast with every contraction so I grabbed my shower towel off the wall behind me and got my head together for the next couple rounds of contractions. I held Alanna’s butt up as she leaned back as to not drop the baby in the toilet. After 3-4 contractions the head came out. She was still in the bag of water. I think if I hadn’t seen this in one of the birthing movies we saw I would have freaked out. I knew she was still attached by the cord and that’s what was important, she didn’t need to breathe yet. Another couple of surges and she was out near her shoulders. I then used my finger nails to pop the bag between her head and shoulder. POP! Like a balloon. Another 2 contractions and out she came. She was as beautiful as a new born baby could be. Alanna said “Give her to me” so I did. We got the cord from around her neck and she sneezed and breathed in a couple times. 

I didn’t know what exactly to do at that point. I knew I should cut the cord after it stopped pulsing but I was kind of bewildered so I thought I’d call the pros. I then called 911 and they sent the EMT’s. While waiting for them we got Alanna's shirt off so the baby was skin to skin and the 911 person instructed me to tie a shoe lace around the umbilical cord and knot it. This is where my brain should have thought “I can do this, I saw Crab Man do this on My Name is Earl with some coupon scissors and some chip clips”, but I just followed the person's directions instead. The EMT’s showed up and I heard “Daddy, What’s going on?”, oh man Sammy is still in the tub. I told her to get out and dry herself while I did finally get the chance to cut the cord. I have a crappy iPhone pic that no one will see because my wife is buck naked in the shot, but I do have it. I got Sam dressed and told her she gets to see her baby sister. She looked dumbfounded. I don’t assume to know what a 3 1/2 year old is thinking when she hears that but it seemed to be surprise and excitement. I made room in our bedroom, now with 5 guys and a gurney and Sam got to see her baby sister. She said  “Ooohh, she’s so cute!”. As they moved Alanna and the baby together to the gurney Sam kept saying “Hi baby” and “She’s so cute” and making a happy little squealing sounds. They took Alanna and the now pinker Katrina to the Ambulance, we gave them Alanna’s hospital bag and they were off. Sammy and I followed to the not planned Tri-City hospital.

Alanna was supposed to birth at Balboa hospital in Downtown San Diego. Why? It was free that’s why. But like Alanna said “She wasn’t getting to the car let alone a hospital 45 minutes away”. So we ended up at the Tri-City hospital 5 minutes away. The hospital was not a good experience. Unknown to me while asking for directions to the birth area I met our doctor on the way in and told her our story. Once to the front desk of the baby ward they told me Sam can’t be there because of flu season. Grrrr. 15 min later our friend Joy came and got Sam and took her home for the evening to have her first sleepover with her best friend Audrey. After not seeing my wife or baby for about 45 minutes I finally made it back to the room where Alanna and Kat were. I was super relieved that they were both healthy and happy. Alanna still didn’t birth the placenta yet and the doctor was somewhere else. The nurses wouldn’t let Alanna try to push it out without the doctor so we waited. This is where Alanna would tell the story best but to summarize, the doctor wanted to give an IV & give Pitocin. Alanna refused both. The doctor was kind of pissed, you could tell by her body language while she explained why it was smarter to do what she wanted us to do. We knew everything was going smoothly so again Alanna refused. Alanna passed the placenta naturally by pushing a couple times. She did need to get sewn up a little since the baby came so fast out of the gate. And that was the extent of the medical involvement. Some stitches and catching the placenta. 

I do not recommend Tri-City at all to anyone. Out of the 5 nurses we had 2 that were considerate to our wants, the doctor was pushy, and the building itself… all the furniture was just destroyed, the dust on the bathroom vents and window cills were so thick you couldn’t see the actual metal. The crown jewel was a couch in the birthing room so used that the sitting surfaces were discolored about 10 shades darker than the sides of it. The best thing about Tri-City was the exit door.

We’re now happy and healthy and doing what we do, but now with a new Kat. The experience of helping birth my daughter was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I tried to liken it to something else I’ve done before. It’s pretty impossible, I was excited yet super relaxed, anxious and focused. It was awesome. While our culture doesn’t support it and most dudes would pass, I think dads should have the opportunity to receive their baby and bring them into this world. I would do it again in a second.

Alanna's story:

To make the rest of the story short, everything went fine - baby Katrina and I are both perfectly fine and healthy (even after me being GBS+ and not getting any antibiotics!) with no complications whatsoever. I was a little annoyed that they kept trying to push an IV and medications even after I had a 100% natural home birth, but we just kept refusing everything, to the doctor's annoyance. Like Mike said, the hospital experience was not good at all. If I were to have another birth (which I am NOT planning!) I would totally do it all at home. The labor and birth at home were AMAZING and I can only imagine how much more peaceful and relaxing it would have been to just finish up everything else with a midwife at home. I have no regrets though - this birth experience was absolutely amazing. I will never forget any minute of it!

Side Note: I highly recommend HypnoBirthing to anyone interested in a natural, peaceful birth experience. I am convinced that my labor went so smooth and easy because I was totally relaxed the entire time. My relaxation allowed each contraction to be so effective that I didn't even realize anything was really happening yet! On my contraction timer I started by noting each surge as "Mild", then gradually started marking them as "Moderate". Toward the end a couple of them brought tears to my eyes but I never really considered any of them to be painful. It wasn't until the last two surges (where I yelled out to Mike) that I considered them "Severe". It was just amazing. No words can really describe how awed and amazed I am about this experience. I can hardly believe it, but I did it!

Not sleeping...just totally relaxed.

From 5-7 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart!

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WOW! Congratulations Alanna & Mike! I'm thrilled to hear that things went so well that you didn't even make it to the hospital...and yet, were still really prepared to handle anything that came your way! Mom, baby, mom's body (& dad) knew exactly what to do once the body is able to relax! So excited for you--thank you for sharing your story!

If you are interested in taking Carol Yeh-Garner's HypnoBirthing classes, please visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If her classes do not fit your schedule, feel free to contact her for other local practitioners. If you're outside of the San Diego area, you can visit www.hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

Thanks!