Int'l Doula Month - Giveaway #7

Emily, the owner of Lullaby Slings, has a shop full of Mei Tai, Ring, and doll slings. In addition, she has burp clothes and baby scale slings and has donated a beautiful Midwifery Baby Scale Sling/Hammock for our Doula Month Giveaway. This prize would be perfect for a doula who is aspiring to be a midwife, a midwife apprentice, or a doula who attends homebirths on a regular basis!

Weigh those babies in style! This mini sling (approximately 22" x 42") is made of soft flannel, double seamed to strong aluminum rings. It can be used with standard midwifery spring scales.

This sling is made of flannel printed with baby jungle animals and can be seen in picture on her etsy store!

Emily, like so many SBO's, started their business based on a need or personal experience. I enjoyed reading her answers to my interview questions and hope that you enjoy learning more about her as well!

My name is Emily, and I'm 28 years old. My husband and I have been married for seven years, and in that time we've been blessed with three little boys (ages 5, 3, and 1). Before starting a family I was a high school choral conductor, and I keep my toes in that world through volunteer directing of student and alumni groups. I enjoy reading, gardening, sewing, and creating messes in the kitchen. Giving birth to my children has given me a great interest in childbirth education and birth advocacy. I am almost finished with my training for doula certification, and am loving serving women through their labors and births.

My first son was a challenging baby. He needed to be held nearly constantly, often even while sleeping. Babywearing was a life saver for me! I used a variety of different carriers and eventually decided to start sewing my own versions of my favorites. I realized that I could help other moms by sewing slings when a friend of mine asked if she could buy the one I was wearing! It gives me great joy to create beautiful slings, especially knowing how much ease they can bring to a new mother's life.

...I don't remember where the quote originally comes from, but I love the idea that a doula is the person who is there to "mother the mother". Childbearing is such hard work, so intense, so beautiful, and so full of emotions. I think that a doula is there to walk alongside the mother, loving her, assisting her as she needs and wants, while she finds her path through labor.

In general, I think that birth practices currently standard in the U.S. make it very difficult for a mother to have a simple, self-directed, and safe birth. This is particularly true in hospitals, where standard "protocol" is one-size-fits-all, often regardless of the specific needs or wishes of the mother. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule (and I am glad of it!) but generally it is hard to be a woman in labor in a U.S. hospital.

I am grateful that (in most states) we have the choice for homebirth available to us. I am also grateful for the doulas who work to help women who choose hospital births (for many and varied reasons) to have a better experience there.

In the future, I hope to see more midwifery, more home births, more free-standing birth centers, and far fewer cesareans. (I can dream, right?) :)

What makes your heart skip a beat, hold your breath, or sigh with happiness:

Jonathan's freckles, Thomas' smile, and Josiah's sweetness when he lays his head on my shoulder before bedtime.

If you had to choose one item that you sell, what is your favorite and why:

A batik ring sling. I love the batik fabrics and ring slings are what started me on this endeavor in the first place. They're easy, versatile, and the one thing that I tell all new mothers they absolutely MUST have for the baby. :)

Emily invites everyone to visit her at Laundry and Lullabies - a blog that chronicles the adventures of parenting little boys, with a variety of notes on birth, nutrition, faith, gardening, and frugality thrown in for good measure!

Thanks again Emily!

RULES FOR ENTERING:

Remember, EACH OF THESE count as one entry. You have to complete the first entry to be able to be able to have the other entries counted. To have them counted as one entry each, they must each be fulfilled with their own, separate, comment. Be sure that your comment contains your email either in the body of the message, or through your profile.

• For your initial entry, you must visit her etsy store, then come back and let me know which is your favorite item and why in a comment.
  
• For an additional entry, post a link to this giveaway on your FB OR create your own blog post regarding this giveaway, with a link to this post, then comment with a link back to your blog post/FB post.. Then, copy and paste a link to that in a comment here on my blog.
  
• For an additional entry, visit her blog, then let me know which post you enjoyed and why in a comment here on my blog.
  
• If you took advantage of the Early Bird Entries, you can add any/all of your Early Bird entries to this giveaway by commenting with the words "EB Entry".
  

Entries will be closed on May 29th, at midnight, and the drawing will occur on May 31st, at noon.

Happy entering!!!