Blogging is that a word.  I don't know.  I am not much of a blogger but figure I better start putting something on here.
What is new with us at Loving Arms.  Mary Piazza, LM has joined our team and Emily Rizzo, LM is back from maternity leave.  

Dr. Jen Pishotta, Chiropractor with Transforming Lives Chiropractic is now working out of our office.  Give her a call at 352-234-3268.  She loves working with moms during their pregnancy and postpartum.  She even works on newborns, babies and children.  Check her out on Facebook or her website:  www.TransformLivesChiro.com 

Alison Miranda, IBCLC is also working at our office.   Any breastfeeding concerns, give her a call at 404-252-9332.  Check out her website:  www.AMLactationSupport.com

Moms Group is meeting every Friday from 9:00 - 11:00

If you need childbirth classes, even if you are not receiving care with us, call Tai Coicou at 561-633-8978.

Give us a call at 352-612-0657 and we would love to answer any of your questions.

​Karin

The following blog post is from 2015.  It had a lot of comments to delete (see previous post) so I copied the post and then deleted it and now I am posting it again.  I think I needed to hear this today.  Someone called me today and told me about the inappropriate comments on my blog.  You never know when and how God will speak to me.  Today it was through someone who took the time to read my blogs and the comments  Thank you.

2/2015
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 NIV


I was reading this scripture this morning and it made me think of a laboring woman, especially the last line.  When are we the weakest and when are we the strongest?  One of the most vulnerable times in a woman's life is when she is in labor and birthing her child.  It is also the time when she is the strongest she will ever be.  And what a time for needing the Lord.  He is there with us in our weakest moments.  Think about how incredibly strong we are with Christ by our side.  We make, develop and birth human beings.  Blows my mind.  And they call women the weaker sex.  I would much rather be the weaker sex with Christ by my side, then the strongest without Him.

So it was brought to my attention today that there were some strange comments to my blog.  I apologize to anyone who might have been offended.  I noticed this last year and I deleted alot of comments but I didn't change the settings so more comments were made.   I have now changed the settings to hopefully I have solved the issue.  As I said I am a midwife and am not a techie.  This does not mean that I want all the ads for someone to come and fix my website.  I like figuring things out for myself and if I want someone to take care of my website I would like to chose someone I know.  

I have seen so many posts on FB about how horrible 2016 was.  I have to admit it was one of my most challenging years.  It started out so well for me.  My business was growing, my family was growing (I was expecting 3 new grandbabies).  And then things went downhill.  I had unexpected changes in my business which affected choices I had to make.  But when I look back over the whole year I realize that I have grown so much and had many blessings in 2016.  I have 3 more beautiful, healthy grandchildren, I helped many families bring their children into the world, I have an incredible supportive staff and so much more.  I am careful in who I trust but I am trusting again.  I am learning (I hope) to communicate better.  I am learning what it means to be a grandmother of four (did I mention my beautiful grandbabies - all boys). I am learning what it means to lose a parent.  I have traveled across the country and seen the west coast.
So what am I going to do with this new knowledge and experiences.  I hope that I will take time to reflect, grieve and enjoy each one of them.  Will I rush through 2017?  I hope not. Even though it is just the first week of the new year I feel the month rushing by.  This is what happens when you make appointments for your clients 4 weeks in advance.  I feel as if January has already flown by.  I need to stop and be in the moment.  I know it is a cliche but if I don't next thing I know it will be summer and then fall and then winter again.
So my last thougtht for you is stand still, look around and treasure what you have at that moment.
Blessings to all. 

It is so hard to stay positive when all around us we experience negativity.  Whether you are deciding where you want to birth your child or where you want to eat lunch.  People are always quick to give us negative viewpoints.
God always has a positive answer.  We say it is impossible.  God says:  "What is impossible with man is possible with God".  Luke 18:27  But then someone will bring up the arguement, if all things are possible with God why didn't God _____________________________________.  You fill in the blank.  

We don't know the reasons but one thing that I have learned from life is that while I might not like the reason (and sometimes down right hate what has happened) or might not understand the reason, God always has a reason.  I have come to the conclusion that when something happens that I don't like, God is usually refining me in some way or preparing me for something better down the road.  If life was always wonderful, we would never grow.

What has this got to do with childbirth?  Everything.  If we can stay positive about being in labor and giving birth it can change your whole perspective on your experience.  Birth is part of life.  It is not something that needs to be managed or controlled.  It happens, if we will let go and let it happen.
(I fully understand that there are circumstances where interventions are necessary)

So I will leave you with some positive answers from God:
You say:                                             God says:
I'm too tired                                        I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)

Nobody really loves me                      I love you  (John 3:16 & John 3:34)

I can't go on                                       My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15

I can't figure things out                       I will direct your steps  (Proverbbs 3:5-6)

It's not worth it                                    It will be worth it   (Romans 8:28)

I can't do it                                         You can do all things  (Philippians 4:13)              

It has been a long standing dream of mine to open a birth center.  When the opportunity arose this fall for me to do just that you would think that I would have jumped at the chance.  I didn't - I prayed and made a list of hurdles that needed to be overcome.  God answered my prayers and took care of all the hurdles and our doors are now open.  

We want our birth center to be more than just a place where women give birth.  We want to reach out to the community and help women to become strong mothers and role models for their children.  We have so many dreams and ideas and I know as long as they are God centered He will help us achieve them.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement as we walk along this path.
Karin L. Pugh, LM