The Business of Being Born
a doctumentary film from executive producer Ricki Lake and director Abby Epstein

Pete and I were recently a part of the previewing of this new movie at UNC Charlotte. (You can view the movie trailer above by clicking play.) Doctors, midwives, doulas, and childbirth educators were invited along with the rest of the public. It will be in theaters January 9th and it is a movie everyone should watch to become more aware of the birth practices in the United States. The statistic that is the hardest to ignore is the fact that the United States ranks thirty-first in maternal and infant mortality and morbidity rates.

"Every single European nation has better maternal and infant outcomes than the United States. The majority of the industrialized nations that have good statistics have one thing in common that the United States lacks--- midwives, and lots of them, who see birth has normal and natural and are the gatekeepers for all pregnant women." Gentle Birth Choices; Harper, R.N.

"Birth: it’s a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies. The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal. Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?"
quoted from www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com

Uncle Jonathan, Aunt Rosie, and cousin Ian

"No more pictures, please"

Avery, 17 months old
]

The Davis family very EARLY on Christmas morning :-)

Christmas 2007

Cousin Micah, 5 years old

Cousin Jonah, 3 years old

I've been thinking a lot about how amazing it is that our God came to us as a helpless baby born in the most humble of places. A King. Our Savior. I wonder what Mary felt and was thinking as she brought Jesus into the world.

"Here with Us" by Joy Williams

"It's still a mystery to me
That the hands of God can be so small
How tiny fingers reaching in the night
Were the very hands that measured the sky

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Heaven's love reaching down to save the world
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Son of God, servant King
Here with us,
You're here with us

It's still a mystery to me
How His infant eyes have see the dawn of time
How His ears have heard an angel symphony
But Mary still had to rock her saviour to sleep

You're here with us

Jesus the Christ, Born in Bethlehem
A baby born to save
To save the souls of man

You're here with us."

Do you ever wonder where all your stuff comes from and where it all goes? This 20 minute, interactive movie, The Story of Stuff, explains it all in a very thought-provoking manner. We found it from viewing one of our friend's blogs. You can watch this movie in 4 minute segments or all it once.

Pete and I both felt much more content with the things we have after viewing this! But that is only one of the many thoughts we had after watching.

And in the words of our friend Ben, "If you can't stand listening to some 'tree-hugger' talk about 'the environment' then this video is definitely not for you... Oh wait, yes it is. You live on this planet too."

It's been sooooo nice to be on the east coast and get to spend more
time with my sisters! Rosie is now a mommy too and Jonathan, her and baby
Ian came down the other weekend and we went to the pumpkin patch!

Strike a pose!

So serious...

Kyla, Avery and cousin Ian

I'm feeling and getting better little by little everyone, thanks for praying for me!

Avery update

Avery is doing much better. She is still itching and her eczema is pinkish red, but she no longer has inflamed blisters on her skin. She doesn't cry all the time anymore...she is doing a lot better and we're hoping it will only keep improving.

Her improvement really began 1 day after the Naturopath started her on a homeopathic treatment for eczema. We are so happy that it is working!!

Please do keep praying for her. We know God is healing her but she is still not back to her regular self completely. Also, please continue to pray for her weight gain. She is negative for Celiac Disease! That's great!! Another praise is we have been giving her goat's milk to drink and she is tolerating it very well. So no allergies to goat's milk and it is full of fat and protein, so that's something to be really thankful for!

Avery's Eczema

Just a little update on Avery. She was just tested today for Celiac Disease and the test results will come back in about a week. We have her seeing a pediatritian right now and also an ND (Naturopath). She was put on probiotics and fish oil by the naturopath and her eczema went from very bad to almost completely gone! We were so excited! Then yesterday, all of a sudden her skin broke out in the worst eczema I have ever seen in my life on her little body. She is miserable and itching. She cries 90% of the day. I talked to her ND and she told me she is experiencing a die-off reaction which is a good sign that the probiotics are working. She said her intestines are ridding themselves of the toxins and its being excreted through her skin. So she will get better soon and the eczema will dissappear again. I hope so...I hope that's all it is. Please pray for her and mommy and daddy too as we are very stressed from her almost non-stop crying. Her MD said she will get a referral to see an allergist and a dermatologist.

Such precision!

Happy girls, playing before bed :-)

Battling Avery's Eczema

Some of you may know that Avery has pretty bad eczema that we have been trying to keep under control for many months. It's all over her legs and small splotches on her arms as well. She has known food allergies to dairy, peanuts, almonds, and egg whites that we found out about after a blood test. Even with eliminating those foods, her eczema still has not improved much. We are now experimenting with eliminating wheat. She has only been wheat-free so far for 24 hours, but we are already seeing a marked improvement in her eczema. We are hoping and praying we might have found what is triggering her itchy skin. Please pray with us that we will find out the source of her eczema and she can have normal skin again. Please also pray for Mom's creativity in the kitchen as this is a hard diet to work with! I am thankful that God has given me the dietetics background so I understand what to do in cases like this, but it is still challenging trying to cook for the whole family and an allergic child.

Holding Cousin Ian Mayer for the first time!!



Isn't he so cute!!

"Of course I can walk, Daddy, I'm just waiting
for the perfect audience."

My sister, Rosie with baby Ian, Kyla
and Avery

Happy Harvest Time!!


Walking through our neighborhood, Kyla loves looking at all the decorations...she asked if we could have
some scarecrows in our yard.

Now they are her best friends!

Music Makes You MOVE!!!

Thanks to the grandparents, the girls are taking a Music Together class here in Charlotte once a week. They LOVE it!! Both girls really come alive like I've never really seen at music class. Today, Avery took her very first 6 steps in a row during a dancing time at class. I couldn't believe it! She was soooo proud of herself and I wish I had captured it on camera!

The progression of Avery...
I was scrolling through some pictures of Avery this evening and I was struck by how much she has changed over the past few months. I thought you might like to see. -Pete