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The bumper sticker on our doulas car reads "Doulas, Dont Give Birth without One!" Being married to a doula I thought I knew what doulas were all about. My preconception and reality turned out to be a little different.

As far as fathers go I consider myself pretty hip. In the know and down with the "In" crowd. I eat organic food, I have long hair and a beard. I try to buy local and build "Green". I even like bluegrass music. When my wife and I decided to try for a baby last winter we naturally decided we wanted a home birth.

After we conceived the ball really got rolling. We interviewed Midwives (there are many local, excellent and capable people to choose from), read books, took classes , did prenatal yoga and rearranged the house to accommodate one more person.

Being a small business owner (and male for that matter) I thought things were well in hand. The decision to hire a doula in addition to our two wonderful midwives, Amy Hendrickson and Sudy Storm, came as a surprise to me. I assumed that being a doula herself my wife wouldn't need the "birth support" that a doula provides she would be her own doula and I would help. I am very glad she insisted on hiring one. It turned out that "birth support" included helping me!

The day before the birth turned out very differently than I intended it to. I had been working very hard for weeks to get my home building project in a spot where I could leave it for a little while to have time to bond with my new baby. The frantic pace I set actually wore me out and I caught a cold. For the first time in years I called in sick, but my number one guy at work assured me that things were in hand and I should get some rest, that I wouldn't want to be sick when the baby came. At 12:30 my wife's water broke.

The midwives came to our house immediately to check on baby and mother. Things looked good and I found out that it could still take weeks for my wife to go into labor. Feeling sick and tired I was relieved to hear that. At 2 a.m. Saturday morning my wife woke me up. She had had a very painful and long lasting contraction and wanted me to fill up the birth tub. I was flabber gasted. Emily called Wendy Scharp (our doula) and I called Sudy. I didn't know what else to do. Emily's contractions were 5 minutes apart and lasting for 2 and a half minutes each. I thought she could have the baby at any minute. Sudy re-assured me that this was just the beginning, but offered to come over if we wanted. At that time Emily told me that our doula was coming over and we could call Sudy back later if we needed her.

When Wendy arrived at around 3am I was completely wiped out. She told me to go to bed and she would stay with Emily until it was time to call the mid wives over. I got up at 7am and the labor was progressing just fine. Emily's mother had arrived from out of town to help out and Wendy was coaching her through the contractions. At 9:30 the mid wives came over and the baby was delivered at 5:44 p.m. that evening a healthy 7lb 6oz baby girl with no complications for the mother or child. During the 25+ hour labor I found myself reminded to eat. I was given medicines for my cold, was made to take a nap, I was reassured that Emily's symptoms were normal and appropriate and was able to spend time with Emily as she labored as her partner and not as a coach or boss.

"Birth Support" does not begin to describe what our Doula did for us. The midwives are completely appreciative of Wendy's help and hard work. She has even helped us with breast feeding as part of her professional service.

Doulas: Don't Give Birth Without One!

-Shastan Shannon

Tags: Birth Midwife Doula

My night at the 27^th annual
JPR wine tasting,

The tallest edifice in Ashland beckoned us across town on the rain soaked asphalt
streets like a gigantic holiday light house. Our umbrella sails propelling us
towards the majestic Ashland Springs Hotel for Jefferson Public Radios 27^th
annual wine tasting event. I was excited. I had kept the tickets safe in my
bedroom cabinet for a month. Checking on them now and again to make sure they
hadn’t been stolen by cat burglars in the middle of the night.

I like wine. I’m kind of an amateur aficionado.
My family has been in California and Oregon for over 140 years, time enough to
watch the Napa valley bloom into one of the biggest wine producing areas in the
Unites States. Not that we had anything to do with that endeavor, but close
enough to savor the fruits of the entrepreneurial spirit of those early
vintners. My uncle encouraged my wine edification and introduced me to wines I’d
never heard of, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Muscat, Riesling and
more. I was encouraged to try any and all wine that passed my plate without
refusing a sample. I found I didn’t need to stick to any kind of preconceived notion
as to what was good and acceptable, but to find what I liked and to understand
that from one bottle of wine to another, year to year the flavors could be as
different as apples and oranges. At almost thirty years of age I have a better
idea of what I prefer, but I am still excited to taste and explore; red or
white, it matters not.

My date for the evening (my next
door neighbor) was wonderfully bundled against the night air and was just as
excited for this classy event as I had been. People gathered in front of the
stately hotel, shaking off umbrellas and smiling pleasantly. Everyone was
resplendent in their finery. A current of black wool jackets and high heels
floated us into the lobby of the hotel where we molted our jackets and hats before
a grand roaring fire place. Our tickets (not quite golden) plopped into a
wicker basket supported by a grinning JPR volunteer and we were presented with
the instruments of our enterprise, a wine glass and hors devours plate. We
grinned at each other; a little overwhelmed by the number of people this event
had attracted. We proceeded upstairs to the mezzanine and encountered our first
tasting bar.

24 wineries were present representing the best
of Southern Oregon’s vineyards. Tasting bars were setup around two main
ballrooms on different floors. Interspersed between the tasting bars local restaurants
brought the best of their hors devours and sweet treats to help cleanse the
palate of the sampling gentry. Chocolates, sushi, coffee, local cheeses,
olives, breads, vegetables, tapas and more were available to sample, all
included in the ticket price. Live music filtered through the bustle of people politely
bumping into each other. The “Rouge Suspects” and “Back Porch Swing” kept
people swinging and swaying into cul-de-sacs of culinary delights. A serpentine
setup of tables displayed many gifts and donations provided for JPR’s silent
auction by over 83 local companies. The hotel’s efficient staff kept water
bottles stocked and on hand for any overzealous Tasters.

All in all the turn out to this
local annual event was incredible. The support that JPR engenders is touching and
the creativity and vitality of Southern Oregon’s entrepreneurs is inspiring.
The vineyards are producing fine vintages of the varietals that grow well in
Oregon’s diverse climate. I was very happy to note that a couple of vineyards
are even producing fine “Port” wines of which I am especially fond of. I will
have my tickets to JPR’s 28^th annual tasting as soon as they are available. See you there!

The cold, windy fall air quickly ushers my wife and I through the doors of the Ashland Bistro Café (a.k.a. Ashland Bakery Café). Inside we shake off the chill and are promptly seated at a table on the edge of a quaint high ceilinged dining area. Chocolate colored wooden chairs surround khaki colored tables, complementing the trim and décor of the dining area and tying everything together in a way that feels classy and casual. The room buzzes with big band/jazz beats reminiscent of vaudeville and on one side an industrial fridge does its best to keep the pastries and more cool, just in sight of the dining populace. Smartly dressed wait staff move to and fro from the kitchen in the back to the dinging area with confidence and competence, smiling at new arrivals that have to wait a few minutes for tables to open up. We hardly have our jackets off before a basket of warm French bread is delivered with oil and balsamic vinegar on the side. I take up the wine menu first and am impressed to note a variety of vintages from around the Rouge Valley, Oregon, California, France and Italy. The menu also has a good variety of domestic, imported and local beers. The dinner menu is complete without being overwhelming, there are choices for my vegetarian wife and choice can be a rare virtue for vegetarians. As for myself I’m a sucker for pork (“cause pork chops taste good…”). I scan the menu and decide on the apple sauce smothered center cut pork chop with garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed asparagus. My wife chooses the fresh pasta primavera from the very complete pasta menu. Dinner includes your choice of a variety of tasty soups (including a vegan soup) or several types of salad and a myriad of dressings. I fill up on bread while we wait for salad and eye the desserts. The glass pastry case is painfully close to us and is loaded with croissants, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, muffins, chocolate mousse, cheese cakes, coconut cream pie and more. Large salads are brought promptly with crunchy fresh lettuce and freshly grated cheeses for me and a beautiful mixed salad with vinaigrette for Emily. Try as I might I can never quite get my drinking glass below half full before a server comes around and fills it up again. It’s not long before the main course arrives with a done, but not dry, chop and a colorful pasta menagerie for Emily. The portions are modest and artfully presented, but even still I can’t quite polish off my plate thanks to all the bread and salad I stuffed myself with. Our dinners are wrapped up by our expert waitress while we decide on desert. We decide to take it easy with the desert and Emily has an artfully dipped chocolate macaroon and I have a double Americano with a touch of cream and sugar to help keep me warm and energized on the cold windy walk home. All in all, ABC is a pleasant little venue that will fit into most peoples’ dinning out budgets with enough class to make it feel like you should have paid more. Or just stop in for a baked confection masterpiece and a hot cup of organic espresso! Ashland Bistro Café is located at 38 E. Main St. just south of the plaza, next to Lithia Park. You can also find them on the web at http://www.ashlandbakerycafe.com .