2024 - Year in Review
As we close out 2024, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on an incredible year filled with growth, change, and meaningful connections:
26 boys - 31 girls (58 babies - 56 of those babies had prenatal/postpartum care with Kristy; 2 were doula clients only). Additional families seen for craniosacral therapy only are not included in this count.
14/58 of our clients had hospital births but none were emergency transfers: Some clients transferred due to risks at the end of pregnancy; a few transferred in labor for various reasons: mainly thick meconium, extensive bleeding in labor (partial placental abruption), and high blood pressure. I called EMT twice this year - for a hemorrhage under control before they arrived and for newborn breathing/resuscitation. The EMT evaluated and the clients stayed home in both cases. I am proud of our safety measures.
2 - first-time moms asked for a transfer in labor for pain management - one received pain management; the other had her baby too quickly within minutes of walking into the hospital.
0 - planned homebirth clients ended with a cesarean.
0 - full prenatal care clients ended up in a cesarean.
1 - cesarean in our practice. She was a doula/birth-only client. It ended up being a meconium aspirant birth and baby was taken to Hershey and needed extensive care. All are well now.
1 - set of twins at home!
4 - All successful VBACs! 4 VBACs total.
January: 3 boys - 1 girl
Kimberly, Female, 7lbs 10oz
Ezra, Male, 7lbs 15oz. Transferred Hospital
Benjamin, Male, 9lbs 2oz, Planned Hospital
Kellan, Male, 9lbs 15oz
February: 1 boy - 3 girls
Addison, Male, 8lbs 2oz
Grace, Female, 8lbs 1oz
Vanessa, Female, 8lbs 4.5oz
Naomi, Female, 8lbs 1oz
March: 3 boys - 2 girls
Avery, Male, 8lbs 7oz
Benton, Male, 9lbs 8oz
Naomi, Female, 8lbs 1oz
Roman, Male, 8lbs 3oz
Katy, Female, 7lbs 7ozs, Planned Hospital
March Miscarriages: 2 Babies
April: 3 boys - 1 girl
Marina, Female, 7lbs 13.9oz, Transferred Hospital
Noah, Male, 6lbs 14oz
Decker, Male, 10lbs 1oz
Joseph, Male, 7lbs 1oz, Transferred Hospital
April Miscarriages: 1 Baby
May: 2 boys - 2 girls
Viviane, Female, 9lbs 1oz
Kathryn, Female, 7lbs 10oz
Silas, Male, 9lbs 11oz
Dawson, Male, 8lbs 9oz, Planned Hospital
June: 2 boys - 6 girls
Rose, Female, 6lbs 14oz
Makai, Male, 9lbs 2oz
Adeline, Female, 8lbs 7oz
Alice, Female, 6lbs 14oz
Tatum, Male, 6lbs 9oz
Katy, Female, 4lbs 15oz
Kari, Female, 5lbs 15oz
Monica, Female, 8lbs 10oz
June Miscarriages: 1 Baby
July: 2 boys - 5 girls
Summer, Female, 9lbs 3oz
Camila, Female, 6lbs 1oz
Sawyer, Male, 7lbs 12oz
Thea, Female, 7lbs 11oz
Genevieve, Female, Planned Hospital
Raya, 9lbs 1oz, Female, Transferred Hospital
John, Male, 9lbs 12oz
August: 2 boys - 3 girls
Francis, Male, 8lbs 2oz
Kaylie, Female, 6lbs 12oz
Florence, Female, 8lbs 11oz
Eden, Female, 8lbs 7oz
Thomas, Male, 7lbs 4oz
September: 3 boys - 2 girls
Stella, Female, 6lbs 6.7oz, Planned Hospital
Hank, Male, 8lbs
James, Male, 6lbs
Aurora, Female, Planned Hospital
Wesley, Male, 7lbs 14oz
September Miscarriages: 2 Babies
October: 1 boys - 1 girl
Jordana, Female, 8lbs
Baby boy, Male, 8lbs, Transferred Hospital
November: 1 boy - 3 girls
Valencia, Female, 8lbs 10oz
Charlotte, Female, 8lbs 8oz
Vete, Male, Planned Hospital, 9 lbs 6oz
Vienna, Female, 7lbs 7oz
December: 1 boy - 3 girls
Nora, Female, 8lbs 11oz, Transferred Hospital.
Marleigh, Female, 9lbs 13oz
Elias - Planned Hospital
Unknown - Planned Hospital
Vienna, Female, 7lbs 4oz
2024 was a lot of change - all for the better. This isn’t really anything new, however, as change and improvement have been commonplace in this career and calling as I strive to find work/life balance in a time-demanding, enriching, and all-encompassing career calling. Being a midwife isn’t something that I can turn on/off. It is a core component of who I am - I like to help others and can respond to the needs of others very well. I become so invested in the lives of my clients and we become more like friends. One of my main skills is remaining calm in almost any situation and helping families make autonomous decisions. Being good at this job has very much put me in demand as a midwife and I am immensely thankful to all the families who have entrusted their well-being to me and my team. Overall, it was a very good year for my clients and team.
My team is invaluable to me and I want to talk about them a bit. Early in 2024, Lauryn had stepped back a bit to become a mother but as the year progressed, she has done an amazing job being mommy to Ezzie while also attending home and hospital births for clients. Being an experienced mother has allowed me to see Lauryn develop a deeper connection with her doula clients and a dedication to helping families make healthy choices. Lauryn is detail-oriented and anyone who works with her knows that she most loves discussing family choices, options and helping assess what matters most for each family.
Brittany, now with me for going on 4 years, is halfway through craniosacral training and a valued birth assistant and cherished friend. She is attending births as an assistant midwife and fills in at the office for me as such as needed. With the restructuring of office space, it changed my need for a full-time office assistant in a way that gave Brittany more personal time while maintaining her on-call schedule with me. We continue to rely on each other as friends and fellow midwives and I have loved watching Brittany find herself professionally over this past year as she began craniosacral training to work alongside me and independently. 2025 will be an exciting year to implement us both doing more craniosacral work in Mommy & Me team sessions and as we work for each baby together & independently.
Naomi is going into 2025 with the preparedness to be a primary midwife under supervision. Having worked directly with me for a few years now (since age 14), and having an eye for detail and also an innate wisdom with regard to all things midwifery, she can basically run the practice for and with me. Current clients will see a lot of Naomi over the next year as she steps into a role of primary midwife to help give me more personal time while managing the practice.
In 2024, I expanded a mentoring project to include a group of young women who are exploring midwifery roles. It is exciting to see a new generation of women start to find their place. Each generation will find what they will need to provide for each other and I support them as they walk this path. Clients may start to see some of these new faces around as I provide learning opportunities to this group of ladies. Teaching/mentoring is something that is very important in midwifery and we appreciate that our clients have welcomed students and apprentices to our team. It really is valuable for everyone.
I cannot fail to mention the growing Amish clinic as well. In 2023, I had to step back from serving the Amish community because of my own (10th) pregnancy and my inability to travel due to severe sciatica. In 2024, I began to see clients within my Amish community at a clinic space that was provided for me by the Amish community. That midwifery and Craniosacral therapy practice is continuing to grow. We are now there weekly running a full-time Midwifery clinic with back-to-back appointments on the days that we are in the clinic. The friendships and connections that I have made in this community have become treasures to me. Working with the Amish culture has helped me appreciate hardworking and honest families who help each other and make the world a better place.
Me - I have again started reading books that have nothing to do with midwifery or craniosacral or homeschooling. I have been knitting again. I love time in the sauna and I am embracing the fact that I am not a morning worker. I like to be Mom in the morning. So I will be transitioning my schedule to support this role for my family. My family consists of 10 children and 2 grandchildren - all homeschooled. I have quite a few adult children now, but I also have 6 minors who need a lot of time and attention. My grandchildren are key members of our family and I am vested in the lives of my people. I encourage families to be there for each other and I need to also be available for my own family as well. I am feeling an energy shift for myself as I am now closer to age 50 than 40 and long appt days with births (and my own nursing baby) overnight is something I feel a lot more. I don’t recover as quickly physically and need more downtime. I have had to make myself uninstall the charting system from my phone, turn on the do not disturb feature on the weekends and evenings, and put an assistant on first on-call status. These few changes have been huge for my mental well-being, family relationships, and physical health.
In May 2024, we moved the practice into the midwifery cottage. On a personal level, I very much appreciate my office being at home again. I see my family much more, enjoy meals at home, and am more fulfilled as a wife and mother. That makes me a better midwife, too. I took a family vacation in April/May. All the babies in April were born before I left. May babies all waited for me to come back - but still, one was born too quickly for me to drive from home to Lancaster. I also had off from mid-September to mid-October and took a long weekend away with my husband and our eldest adult son. I closed the office on 12/23/24 for the first time ever over Christmas/New Year and have been using this time to reset my schedule so as to give myself the increased downtime that I need for my own health and my family’s well-being.
I now have a full year of craniosacral certification experience. Adding this skill and understanding to my life and practice has changed who I am at the core of my being. It is the missing piece that I have been looking for and has allowed me to connect with clients and their babies in such a meaningful way. Being a midwife with craniosacral skills allows me to improve lives beyond just “catching” babies at home by addressing the connection between emotional/mental/neurological wellness and our physical bodies. Craniosacral therapy training has influenced how I approach literally everything in life personally and professionally.
I am immensely grateful to all of our clients, friends, and community who encourage us in what we do and support us along the way. I wish everyone a healthy and very happy 2025.
