As I sit here thinking of what to say for my first blog post all I can think about is how this isn't my first blog post. Goodness, Ive written so many blog posts and started quite a few blogs over the years. And all of them have amounted into nothing. I'm not sad about it. It has just never been the right time. And while I have high hopes for this one being tied to my business, time will tell if I can keep this one going as well. But there is something different about this one...
Really the reason I am starting yet another blog is because this one is connected with my new business. Well I don't know if you can call it a new business but at the very least the new direction my business is going in. If you are reading this I'm assuming its because somehow you have been directed to my new website therefore you have seen that I am doing birth videography now. And since this is the first post I figured I might as well tell you how I even got here to this point in my life where I am doing quite possibly my most favorite thing in the whole world...attending births!
When I was 8, my stepmom had a still born son at 8 months in her pregnancy. It was devastating. Like most young girls I adored babies and I couldn't wait to have another little brother. But that day we wouldn't be bringing any babies home. I remember looking in the nursery at all the sweet babies and feeling so sorry for my family that none of those babies were ours. It was comforting however to see all those babies, and I decided right then and there that I wanted to be a baby doctor because I wanted to make sure no other babies died.
That vision of my life really stuck with me. My plans in high school were to become an obgyn and so when I was able to join a medical program that would allow me to rotate around a hospital to follow different health professionals I jumped at the opportunity, especially when I learned there was a Labor and Delivery rotation! On my first day on L&D I walked right into a birth, my very first birth. It was exhilarating and revealing. This was the very first time I got to witness my beloved profession in action. But the OB wasn't even in the room. Right before the baby came out the OB walks in, suits up, catches the baby, hands it off, signs some paperwork and then leaves. It was a whirlwind of action and before I knew it she was gone.
Shocked I watched as the nurse lovingly took care of the newborn baby and mama as she settled into her new role. I was quickly convinced that I was moving towards the wrong profession. From then I decided that what I really wanted to be was a L&D nurse. So that became my focus.
About a year later, my mom and I stumbled across a documentary about women giving birth unassisted at home. The whole thing was shocking but the big revelation for me was that you could birth at home! What??? The thought had never even occurred to me. I had heard of midwives but only in a birth center. This opened my eyes to the world of homebirth and oh boy what a journey that was! At 17 years old when my friends were watching whatever hit show was on TV while I was on the computer watching every birth video I could find on the young YouTube. I'm fairly certain for a couple of years I had seen every single birth video there was.
I was already highly interested in birth, but this became an even bigger passion. I began reading books, blogs, articles, watching documentaries. I poured myself into learning all that I could. And that led me to my desire to become a midwife. After all I had learned I couldn't work in a hospital anymore. I loved that they are there for emergencies, but I wanted to work with low risk moms who wanted to avoid unnecessary interventions.
As a single young woman, I prepared for a midwifery school in the Philippines. I had applied and was accepted up to a point when on a plane ride home from visiting family, I heard the Lord ask me if I could give up the midwifery school. That was it, no explanation of why. I said yes, of course, but I was so confused. Here I felt God had led me to this point and now he wanted me to give it back to him.
A week later my now husband asked me to date him and 6 months later we were married! God asked me to trade in one desire so he could fulfill another. And after our honeymoon we came home with a new little family member growing inside of me. I was going to be a mom! We sought out the best midwife and I gave birth at home to my beautiful daughter. My focus changed dramatically from when I was seeking to be a midwife but my passion didn't go away.
I still watched birth videos all the time! I have had 4 more wonderful kiddos since then and all the while I still tried to learn and research as much as I can. I had deep conversations with my midwife all about birth. She guided me to being my own midwife and helped me figure out any issues that came up in my own pregnancies. My last birth we delivered my daughter unassisted on purpose (we had an accidental unassisted with my 2nd) and I loved being fully in control of her birth.
I have been a doula for a few friends over the years and I was a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist for a number of years as well. Always trying to stay close to the birth industry. My husband and I even discussed multiple times if it was the right time for me to start pursuing midwifery again. But being home with my kids and homeschooling them is too important to us and it has been possible to do both at the same time.
Wow, that's a lot of words... so I am going to put a pause on the story and tell the rest in another post. If you have read this far, you are either my mom or have too much time on your hands ha!
Justine is a birth videographer and photographer serving the Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado County. areas. Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Granite Bay, Folsom, Sacramento, Orangevale, Placerville, Antelope, etc
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