Thursday, January 11, 2007

Preggo Shout-Out: Marjorie Westmoreland

During the wedding festivities last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting Timothy's great Aunt Irma, his second cousin Marjorie, and her lovely family - the Westmorelands. Marjorie and her husband David have three beautiful children - little Marjorie, Julia, and Wells - and will be welcoming a fourth addition to their family in July.

Marjorie was very excited to hear that we had chosen a nurse midwife to deliver our baby, as she had used one for her last two deliveries and would be doing the same for this upcoming birth. Since the midwife concept was pretty foreign to me, I was really happy to hear from someone who not only had used a midwife, but had great experiences and was eager to advocate for their use. Marjorie offered some sound advice and encouragement, of which I am very appreciative.
Thanks Marjorie! Good luck with the remainder of your pregnancy!!

2 comments:

Joy said...

okay, Wells? What a FABULOUS name, and such a cute child.

Joy

Marjorie W. said...

Thanks for the compliment on Wells' name. He's named after his great-grandfather who was named for his mother's maiden name. Brief history on that.

Sarah, right back at you! The first baby is the most amazing because, well, it's the first.

I didn't get a chance to tell you about my favorite pregnancy books and am hoping you haven't already started reading my least favorite.

Our family's second bible is "The Baby Book" by Dr. William Sears. He's the one who encouraged me to try wearing Marjorie in a sling and to co-sleep with her (we were nursing) so I wouldn't lose my mind getting up every hour to feed. He's smart, witty, experienced, and yet progressive and, dare I say it, brave as heck.

My least favorite is the "What To Expect When You're Expecting. That book scared me to pieces -- too medical and acts like pregnancy is a disease to be cured. Ugh.

I threw my copy in the trash at 5 mos. into the first pregnancy and stuck with Dr. Sears.

Another interesting book is "The Art of Midwifery" by Ina May Gaskin. This is a really "crunchy" look at midwife-assisted birth but it was written originally in the seventies, I think, and offers a real cultural flashback. She's still around and has delivered a zillion babies in her time. I got my copy used on eBay when I was planning Baby 2's birth at home. A fun read if you have any spare time.

Any time you want to talk babies, birth, midwifery, etc. just give me a holler. These are some of my favorite subjects and I'm always happy to share what I've learned over the past seven years.

I'm so glad you decided to use a midwife. Most first-time moms don't go this route and I only wish I'd had the good sense to do it the first time myself.

Take care and keep us posted.

Love,
Marjorie