Monday 14 May 2012

Escaping babies and fresh new faces

It's been a great week :)

I have met the latest Auburn Community centre group of HypnoBirthing mums and companions! I am so excited to see 6 out of the 7 mums are FIRST time birthers! This is excellent news, sometimes I feel like women won't be able to know the importance and advantage of HypnoBirthing until they have learned their lesson the hard way - but this group has proved me totally wrong!

and (contrary to my x husband opinion) - I LOVE being wrong! Especially if my being wrong means positive things for others! (well... maybe I didn't like being wrong with him! lol)

ha ha

As for 'escaping babies' , some of these mums are birthing in such a relaxed manner - they are not even making it to the hospital!

Kept on eye on my business facebook page to see birth updates,

https://www.facebook.com/Decisivefocus

I am so happy for the babies of my local area, they are increasingly having gentler, more loving beginnings into this world!

http://www.decisivefocus.com/hypnobirthing-calm/

~ Natalie xo






Monday 16 April 2012

Opps, you arn't pregnant - sorry!

What was I thinking, I jumped in front of a woman on the footpath, stuck my arm out to block her progress and asked : "Hi, so are you pregnant or have you recently had a baby?"

Of course she looked embarrassed and said "yes I've had one", but her body language and expression told me that she hadn't had one RECENTLY.

Should I carry gym flyers with me too?

Promoting a course for pregnant women is not easy, I was so embarrassed that where my hand was holding Fox's hand went all wet and sweaty!

A doctors surgery tried to get me to book a medical appointment just to talk to a doctor?

A pharmacist told me she was trying to keep an open mind "but she didn't think many people in Berala would be interested in HypnoBirthing".

A physiotherapy place had lots of pulled blue curtains and goodness knows what was happening there! Fox felt an odd energy in the place too...

I chatted to a young Chinese couple at Auburn fruit shop, you certainly could not tell she was pregnant, I was only lucky enough to be near by when friends congratulated them and she pulled up her shirt to reveal maternity pants (covering a slight raised curve on her abdomen), they seemed very keen to attend :)

And so another day has passed! Tomorrow I do the library and council buildings route,

I might have called it 'Motivation Monday' (except that all of this happened in one hour and the rest of the time I was eating, TV watching and sleeping , lol)

Nat xo









Saturday 14 April 2012

Feeling alone

It might be the coming of winter weather...

It might be the loneliness of sitting at a computer surrounded by 'social media' yet essentially isolated from human contact...

It might be the daunting task of bringing a new thing (HypnoBirthing) to a new area...

It might even be finding out that the amazing co-parent team I thought I was a part of was just a fantasy! haha, we so often fantasize don't we!
Whatever the factors ...  I have indeed, at moments, been feeling ALONE.

and with the alone feeling there has been lack of motivation :(

And SO I write this blog to publically declare a new phase, yes, I am about to embark on a highly motivated period of time in my life!

And my principal goal is to ensure a FULL class for the upcoming Auburn Council HypnoBirthing Program starting Saturday May 12th, 2012.

With 2 people booked, that leaves room for 6 more :)

And so the promotion begins,

Lots of love to my two followers Linda and Laura :)

Natalie xo

http://www.decisivefocus.com/



Thursday 29 March 2012

Dragon lady revisted :(

Today Fox and I were driving in our old haunt (the suburb and hospital will be kept anonymous to protect them).. lets just say I was on Canterbury Road...

I was doing the usual "soon we will be near the place where you were born.... here it comes, this building coming up is the hospital where you were born..."

Suddenly I thought, why not go in?

Just minutes later and Fox and I were inside the hospital corridors and standing at the birth unit counter. I felt puzzled. My birth had been a haze of fear and tension (I did not have the knowledge of HypnoBirthing then), my memory couldn't work out what door led to what rooms, I just wanted to be able to point to a room and say "that is where you were born".

That's when I knew I would have to ask a question at the counter.

But at the counter I had already identified .. da da da ... THE DRAGON LADY!...

You see, when you check in at this hospital, you do not get met with a "Hi, welcome, congratulations on your pregnancy.. "

No, you get a snide, belittling lecture about 'something' and a distasteful look or two. You get treated like a fool and like a bother.

I was treated like that again today!!

As I peaked through the back of her office and meekly suggested that it would have been nice to pop my head and point out a birth room, I was told you could "only do that if you are giving birth".(and she snarled)

I didn't bother to let her know that at other hospitals - where staff are caring, nice and helpful - women and even children, are able to be invited for a quick look into the birthing unit, for one valid reason or another.

Instead I just walked away realising how much that unhappy, mean, bully affected my birthing experience. I remembered the first time I ever entered the hospital. I had announced happily to her that "I was pregnant " and she paid me out for attending the hospital so early in my pregnancy. I  received extremely inaccurate information about HypnoBirthing from the midwives at that same hospital and it actually deterred me from utilising the excellent method.

As we drove away I told Fox that "next time we will sneak in the other side of the hospital corridors and have a peak at the room where we had our first ever breastfeeding experience".

He smiled happily.

Nat :)


Thursday 22 March 2012

Channel 10 News stole my passion!!!

(now that I have sneakingly grabbed your attention, I can mention that this is tongue in cheek only!)

For 6 months I have focused on one single and humble passion :

"to ensure that all my local people;

1. Know about HypnoBirthing, and
2. Know it has some good value and is an option for their birth preparation"

Now, with one foul swoop, my passion has been stolen from me!

The news is out!

(you have watched the video clip this blog refers to? http://ten.com.au/news.htm?movideo_m=170888 )

But does this leave me passionless and defeated?

NO I say! Now I realise my passion is to ensure that people continue to hear about it, again and again, until it becomes an even better understood option and an option that will be UTILISED!

But first, I really must debunk a myth from the news report... I really don't think it is very realistic to think that when HypnoBirthing women birth "they look like they are asleep", I would have to share my personal opinion on this one, I would have to say that -

They look like women BIRTHING!!!

(no big surprises there),

Good on you channel ten for stealing my passion AND for being typically unrealistic as all good media is :)

Accuracies in the article? Surprisingly quite a few! Women really do birth calm and relaxed for the most part, many women really do find birth can be surprisingly enjoyable and YES, men do really sit around on beanbags seemingly sleeping (well they are supposed to be 'visualising' - but their lives are pretty stressful looking after their pregnant partners so they sometimes take a nap!).

Thanks for reading my blog :)

Natalie Joy Meade

More info at:

http://www.decisivefocus.com/











Thursday 15 March 2012

Energies of the cosmos?!?!

For any of you that believe in fate, divine intervention or 'cosmic energies' you will be nodding knowingly at this weird incident...

About 2 yrs after the birth of my son (Fox) my old security boss rang me and begged me to work as a security at the airport, they needed women to scan women with the increased security levels we experienced a few years ago.

I was tempted (security work can have its ways of paying well and there are tons of hours, plus - it is fun work), yet at the same time I felt worried that the work would consume me.
I decided to accept and do a few weeks work ... I went to read out my license details to get a bit of paper work to ensure they were up to new standards when I was shocked to find it had expired.  I went to the police site search engine and checked the license number to make sure,  it told me "this security number is unlicensed". It had expired ages ago! I realised I must have gotten a five year DRIVER license and confused them. I had to tell my old boss and say no to his offer.
I felt a little sad not being able to do security, it was always a cool job I treated almost as a hobbie! Over the years have contemplated getting a license and doing a couple of shifts for fun and amusement.

TODAY I saw a little blue card peeping over the top of a flap in my diary case, I pulled it out and thought "that's a pretty bad picture", next my eyes read "Security Industry License" "Mar 12", then "expiry date 14 mar 2012".

I have been licensed for 5 years! it expired 2 days ago and popped up out of no-where.

I can safely say that IF I had of done some security work, I would never have followed my dreams and passions to become a Hypnotherapist or HypnoBirthing Practitioner, I would have been run off my feet and too limited for time and energy to achieve ANYTHING!

I am sooooo glad that license went missing :)

(though I kind of feel sad too)

I guess life is all about letting go and then reaching out for something new.

In this case I had no choice about letting go, but I am glad it happened.

Natalie :)


http://www.decisivefocus.com/hypnobirthing-calm/








Friday 24 February 2012

All places full!

Well it took a bit of hard work (8 weeks of panic, stress and exhaustion - not to mention being verbally abused (and nearly physically assaulted) for flyer dropping on a car owned by a mad woman),

But all the hard work has paid off,

My Auburn Course is full :)

I also have approval (by enthusiastic invitation) to continue providing HypnoBirthing as a council course in Auburn LGA for the entire year :)

Thank you to all my wonderful support team xox

Monday 20 February 2012

My first mum birthed a baby!

"Hi Natalie

After a beautiful, gentle and completely natural water birth we welcomed baby -------  into the world in the wee hours of Wed morning. 

The most valuable thing I took from your course was a sense of empowerment and a trust in my body that it was prepared and knew exactly what to do.  Because of this I had the birth that I wanted and I birthed in a way that I was comfortable with.  I was able to gently push/breath -------  out in an active birthing position (squatting) when my body was ready and 'caught' him myself.  I had only a tiny internal graze that required no stitches and was able to bond with my baby straight away.

Thank you Natalie and best wishes to ------- and ------- on your birth journeys.

-----------"

Thursday 9 February 2012

Awareness in the womb - from the 'mouth of babes'

Just finished driving Fox to Todds' place,

During the drive his grandma rang to say she wanted to go shopping with him. When I asked him about it he said he was tired, I suggested he consider agreeing with Grandma because she always does such nice things for him and it could be his chance to show appreciation.

Natalie: "I know you love your grandma alot"

Fox: "How do you know that?"

Natalie: "is it true?"

Fox: "No"

Natalie: "how much do you love your grandma then?"

Fox: "a little"

Natalie: "how much do you love your dad?"

Fox "A lot, because we are both boys and I have known him my whole life"

Natalie "Yes, that's true!, he was there the first day, the day you were born!"

Fox: "No, I have known him my WHOLE LIFE! I have known him when I was growing in your stomach".

I am a HypnoBirthing practitioner, as part of the program I teach pre-natal bonding between parents and the growing child...Yet, even I still consider Fox's life began on his birthday!

That's a worry!

Nat xo

http://www.decisivefocus.com/hypnobirthing-calm/

Tuesday 7 February 2012

positive feedback :)

It might be a small client base , but it's a happy one!

My neighbour and her husband took me out to Korean to thank me :)

One of my Newington group spent all week raving about HypnoBirthing to her circles,

and another Newington group member thought I presented very well and didn't notice my jitters :)

Further, I  just had a lovely session with a new Lifeline TC who still remembered a roleplay I did 6
months ago!

Tomorrow I visit my business coach who is going to hopefully give me enough structure to earn
enough money to get my car serviced and buy my son a proper bed! (goodness knows I have no
idea what I am doing! lol)

I look forward to seeing my city client/friend and her beautiful growing child tomorrow lunch time :)

nat xo

http://www.decisivefocus.com/hypnobirthing-calm/



Saturday 4 February 2012

Swinging pendants and talk of poo


The mums and their support people had a lot of fun today using their "super powers" to swing pendants left and right, and round and round, while they consciously focused on holding their arms and hands perfectly still.

My six weeks of promoting the course (like a crazy person) let to one single Lidcome resisdent whom read about it in the local Auburn Review and two other mums through a connection at Ryde Midwifery care group - I am sooo glad I rushed out to Ryde hospital wednesday morning in the pouring rain - I am so glad I chose to risk running late for a client lunch...  I am so glad I ran a long distance in the rain to the point where I got a blister...

I love you blister!

I love you midwives at Ryde Hospital !

and one final thought of the day -

How on earth did my #HypnoBirthing class end up with  me discussing personal poo stage fright experiences?

oh well, here's to 'keeping it real'.

nat :)

http://www.decisivefocus.com/hypnobirthing-calm/

Monday 30 January 2012

Conversations with pregnant women...

I spoke to a very fit and beautiful Russian woman yesterday,

She told me that she had really wanted a natural birth, but at 42 weeks they insisted they have a Cesarean. Her next baby she also waited until 42 weeks and again was forced to have surgery.

This time she is pre-booked already.

She said, " back home is Russia they just leave the woman be and let her take as long as her body takes, I am very sad, I really, really wanted a natural birth".

She mentioned no measurement of amniotic fluid that was medically indicating that the child needed to be born or any other indication of ill health for mother or baby.

The phrase came to my mind late that day "question Cesarean".

I wonder how often we do?

Nat

http://www.decisivefocus.com/hypnobirthing-calm/

guessing if women are pregnant?

Dear Friends and Family,

Is it easy to promote a new thing (HypnoBirthing) to a new bunch of people (mainly immigrants) whom are growing new life (babies)???

Actually, I am finding it quite exhausting and challenging!

Being in a multicultural area has been really good and lovely, many people seem very open to new ideas (I guess you'd have to be after leaving your home country and struggling to learn a whole new country).

But physically reaching tens of thousands of people and identifying pregnant women? now that's been hard!

I  just spent 2 hours folding flyer's this morning, I distributed them to a couple of blocks of mailboxes and then they were all GONE!

Folding takes 2 hours, printing costs goodness knows how much - distribution takes 8 minutes?!

And now still remaining ...  at least 20 thousands streets that did NOT hear about HypnoBirthing!!

My goal : To promote a heavily discounted HypnoBirthing council program to 8 major suburbs of Sydney.

Equipment: Natalie

After fours weeks of promoting I have drummed up only one single booking for a course starting THIS Saturday (Newington community Centre), and four bookings for the Auburn course in 6 weeks.

The other day I was sure I had identified the tell tale bump on a pregnant woman, only on closer analysis I actually identified it as a buttocks - side on.

On Sunday Fox and I headed down to the wharf area near the Parramatta River. I was pushing Fox on his go cart and saw a pregnant women coming the other way, I got really excited and said "oh good, look there is a pregnant woman I can talk to". Sadly at that exact moment Fox got his ankle jammed under a wheel and basically ran over his own foot. Of course he cried loudly and I stopped to free him. We caused such a drama I decided not to promote my practitioner skills to the pregnant woman - she may well doubt my competency!

(Fox later explained that he had put his foot down to deliberately stop the car so that I could speak to the woman. Now my son is sacrificing his left leg in a bid to help me get course bookings?)

Equipment: Natalie + a 3 yr old

I did find one pregnant woman and spoke to her near the play area, she has her Cesarean already booked.

Finally we posted a few articles on boards (without permission) and luckily the ranger did not seem to notice.

I walked past him and saw he was busy booking a car illegally parked in a disabled spot.

Nat :)

http://www.decisivefocus.com/hypnobirthing-calm/