Hello! I am officially half way through my pregnancy!!! I am so sorry that I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, it has been crazy around the Friedly house! Today the hubby and I started our last project before the baby comes-putting in hard wood floors in our condo. I have always wanted to do this since we bought the place 5 years ago, but we just never had the money nor the time nor the will power. Now that in 4 1/2 months we will be super poor, we decided to just do it! Although, I haven'...
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It's a BOY!!!!!! So much for waiting haahaaahaa!!!! Oh well, everyone is so excited and also happy that we caved and found out the sex of the baby so they can start buying us clothes :)
The doc appointment went very well, the baby looks very healthy and is growing right on schedule, as am I. The doctor said that I should expect to gain about 1 pound per week from here on out, as the baby is going to start accumulating fat as well-right now he is just skin and bones! The only thing that the doc...
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I realized today just how lonley I feel now that I am pregnant. I feel like I have no one to share my pregnancy with. Levi has been really great about things, but seeing as how he is the bread winner of the family, he's not home during most of the day. My mom lives in Michigan and I call her pretty much everyday but has been really busy lately with friends. My sister lives in Florida and I can't ever seem to get her on the phone to talk and I haven't seen any other of my family members-aunts,...
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Well, it has been 2 weeks since my last post- I am so sorry! Life has been busy. Levi had 4 days off this past weekend (which he never has) and we just hung out. I am almost 17 weeks pregnant!!! yay!!!
How am I feeling? Well, I think that I am starting to feel pregnant. It's getting to the point that I feel very uncomfortable after about 2 hours of sitting (which makes class and the bus ride home a little difficult) and I feel as if my legs aren't getting enough circulation. Our midwife said t...

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Well, it's official- I am an emotional rollar coaster! I have cried 4 times so far today-and Levi has been very patient about it but I think that it was taking a toll on him today, because I just couldn't stop. He held me for a while, which helped but as soon as he'd let go, I start to cry again! It's very weird, as I almost just feel sad and depressed. And that's been going on for about a week now.
My taste buds are also off- everything that I eat is so bland I can harly swallow it! My weird...
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Oh my, do I feel worn out! My body is completely changing and it's a weird feeling. I entered into my second trimester on Monday, so I am a little over 13 weeks pregnant today as I write this. My appetite has gone way down, as my morning sickness has gone way down. I was eating quite often during my first trimester to try and keep from feeling natious. My stomach is starting to stretch and is getting hard! Man it feels weird! I am worried about stretch marks though (as I am sure all women are...
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Hello All! Well not much has happened this week, just getting a little bigger. I am still not at the point where I am showing, but I think that I am. My eating has actually gone down a little bit, I think that's in part to not taking my prenatal vitamins, haven't had to eat to not be nautious :) I am very excited though, 2 more days and I will be 12 weeks pregnant! So exciting! I am so looking forward to being able to go to the gym (not feeling utterly exhausted and sick all the time) and act...
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Levi and I had our first doctor's appointment on Monday and we heard the heart beat for the first time!!! We also got our first ultrasound pictures!!! So exciting!!! The ultrasound was done internally-very weird, but once I saw the baby I could hardly tell. The doctor says that the baby has a very strong heartbeat-171 beats per minute and that he is growing right on schedule! It is 3.5 cm long. Actually, 2 days early, so the baby is now due on my birthday-very cool, and yet a little weird. If...
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Hello! Man a lot has happened this week! Levi and I have made a decision about our birth plans. Although it is very important to me to have a natural home birth, I really just don't think that we can make it work financially. So, after having a long talk with a fellow doula (thanks Ana!), I feel comfortable birthing at the hospital, and that I can have the natural childbirth that I want (well, maybe not exactly, but close). We have decided to birth at Presbyterian St. Luke's downtown, and the...
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we had a pretty good weekend-levi has been working a lot, so I have been spending a lot of time by myself, which has been nice, but I get lonely and pretty lazy. Pregnancy exhaustionhas been very weird-I will have one productive day and get a lot of things done, and then will need to sleep for the rest of the week. I also have been feeling very sick at night time, right around 10:30 (which of course is when levi gets home from work). So I have been bringing a piece of whole wheat bread to bed...
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Hello to all of my followers and supporters! I would like to first apologize for dropping the ball on the birthing the future blog- I can be unreliable with blogs. But here is a blog that I most certainly will keep up with-pregnancy! That's right, after 6 years of marraige to a very patient man, we are expecting our first baby! So exciting!
We found out about 4 weeks ago, and I am about 8 weeks along-my baby is the size of a lima bean :) I am due January 12th, 2010. We are going to try very h...
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Well, I made it! The drive down to Durango, CO was so beautiful! I saw soooo many animals! From deer, horses, cows and buffaloes! There were very furry :) I met with Suzanne and 3 other ladies (all from the east coast) for a brief intro, and group processing. We engaged in silent interaction in Suzanne's art studio which I found interesting, and yet, very uncomfortable. I had to look into people's eyes and have them look at me. I was very aware of myself and felt extremely insucure. Birth was...
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This article is sooooo amazing! The picture just makes me stand back in awe of how amazing and intimate birth actually is!!
I just wish that everyone still looked at birth that way, as an intimate, personal, NATURAL experience! Enjoy the article, I retrived it off of the Orgasmic Birth Facebook Fan Page (which, if you aren't a fan of, become one and if you haven't seen the movie Orgasmic Birth, SEE IT)! Talk to you soon, I have to blog about my 3rd internship birth which happened yesterday, bu...
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Good news to everyone who endulges in the trap of Facebook, Intimate Birth is now a fan page on Facebook! Locate it on Facebook, and become a fan! Thanks again to all of you who follow this blog, and for all of your support!
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Oh my gosh! This birth was amazing, and it happened in an amazing hospital! This mama delivered at Boulder Community Foothills Hospital. It was her second birth, however, it was her first birth of actually feeling labor. Her first birth, she was induced and had an epiderol right away. She made it through the entire labor (when true contractions began, the labor lasted for a little over 2 hours) without any pain meds, and she was so happy that she could do it! Due to confidentiality reasons, I...
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Well, so far in my internship I have shadwoed 2 births: the first was so fast, that I walked in as the mama was pushing. The ssecond birth, well, was so fast that I missed it! The doula that I was shadowing, called me at approximately 2:45 am, telling me that things are progressing and that I should start heading to their home. Not 5 minutes later, I get a call saying from the doula informing me that they are going to be having the baby at any moment in their car! Well thankfully, they made i...
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Yesterday I had my first birth at the birth center yesterday and it was such a positive experience! The mama was such a champ! Her entire family was there to support her, and she delievered a healthy baby boy. When he was born, the entire family broke out into tears (even the nurse and midwives!) I might have shed a few tears myself :) For any expectant mothers out there, the birth center (Mountain Midwifery Center) is an amazing and safe place to give birth. It's peaceful and intimate. It ha...
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So, yesterday morning at 3:45am I attended my first birth as a doula intern. It had to be, for my record's sake, the shortest birth I have been a part of. The doula called me around 3:05am and told me that the couple was speeding to the hospital from Castle Rock, as she was fearing that she was going to give birth at any moment. The doula arrived to the hospital at 3:30am and I arrived at 3:35am.I walked into the labor and delivery room, only to find the mom standing beside the bed, moaning a...

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In her book "Diary of a Midwife: The Power of Positive Childbearing", van Olphen-Fehr talks about her experiences as an L & D nurse in the hospital system, as well as her experiences as a midwife. The stories that she tells and the insights that she gives are amazing to those pursuing careers in childbirth professions, and even to women every where. I am not quite finished with the book yet, but would like to highlight a few things that she mentioned in her book that really spoke to me and co...
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I was offered an internship with the organization With Women with their doulas, as well as a position on their on-call doula program with Lutheran Hospital! So exciting and such a great opportunity for me and look forward to the experience. I also have completed everything required to apply for certification through CAPPA, so wish me luck! Hopefully soon I can officially say that I am a certified labor doula. Gosh, that has a good ring to it huh?
The birth field is full of unknowns and there a...

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As of yesterday, I am offiicially a college graduate! It was an amazing experience and I was surrounded by the support of my family, friends and wonderful husband. He has supported me through my entire college career and is more supportive of my future plans of graduate school and chasing that midwifery degree! So thank you to everyone for your support (and that includes my clients who believe in me!) I could not have done this without you! Please keep your eyes out for upcoming posts. Now th...
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After attending a training at Mountain Midwifery Center, I was inspired to become a midwife. As a doula, I cannot change the medical system when it comes to birth if I am not in the system! Childbirth is such a natural and beautiful thing, that I want to more a part of it-even though I am learning that the best doula is the one that intervenes the least, I want to bare witness to the miracle of childbirth on a more personal level. Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone that has been suppo...
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While reading the book "Special Women", I realized what I would like to do with this "business" that I am starting. I would like to put my focus on providing services to low income women and pregnant teenagers. Please, spread the news...this is exciting. :)

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I recently had the pleasure of having sat in on a lecture on birth and the media, and the effect it can have on the perception of birth; especially for new mothers. As a doula, or even care providers, why should we care? Because it can be wrong! The media is extremely powerful in shaping one's viewpoint, and women get their ideas of what they want for their birth from the media. The lecture covered as far back as the early 1950's, utilizing "I Love Lucy" as an example of how birth was portray...

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This year's CAPPA conference was in Scottsdale, AZ and it was amazing. I met other labor and post partum doulas as well as labor and delivery nurses that are passionate about changing the image of the "Americanized" birth. The conference was 3 days long, though I was only able to stay for 2, as I had to get back to Denver for my husband's 10 year high school reunion.



On the first day of the conference, I was able to travel to Tempe Arizona, home to Arizona State University, and I loved it! It...
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My name is Aubrey Anne Friedly and I am greatful to have the ability to share my birth experiences with you. I assure you that any birth information that is shared on this blog will be at the consent of a client. Otherwise, the content of my blogs will be of my thoughts, opinions and personal expereicne. I look fprward to sharing this part of myself with everyone that looks at this page. Please keep a look out for a blog about my experience at the CAPPA conference!

Aubrey  

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