About
Hello! I am Linda. I established Bun in the Oven Birthing in 2013 and have loved every minute of it ever since.
My backstory and how I came to Hypnobirthing
“My birth was romantic and amazing”. “Seriously?! Really?!” a 3 month pregnant me replied feeling both relief and trepidation at her words. Could birth BE romantic?! And AMAZING? Really?!! These words seemed so far removed from everything I had ever heard or seen in relation to birth.
This was how my friend described her birth back in 2010. She was the first person I knew to have used Hypnobirthing and these were the words which spurred me to seek out a Hypnobirthing course for myself.
Back in the depths of 2010 / 11 Hypnobirthing was still relatively unheard of and pretty ‘niche’. Friends and family had no idea what it was or how it could help so I found myself in unchartered territory. I found a teacher and my reluctant and somewhat sceptical husband and I undertook the course. It transformed us. It transformed me. I went from an unprepared, nervous, total novice in the world of birth to feeling utterly different about my birth. I felt prepared, I felt confident. I felt EXCITED. And the best part? So did my husband. We were in this together and that felt amazing.
We went on to have a homebirth, in water. It was empowering and life changing and all together pretty awesome.
At this point I was a History teacher (a job I really enjoyed) and I went back to this after having George (Hypnobaby #1). Then Poppy came along (Hypnobaby #2) and I started to consider my options. Poppy’s birth really was amazing. I knew so many people whose births had not been. Perhaps in my own small way I could change this? I decided to put my teaching skills to good use and retrained as a Hypnobirthing teacher and by the time Poppy was 6 months old Bun in the Oven Birthing had also been born. I was going to combine my new passion for positive birth with my love of baking (for I was going to bake for every class and client) and hopefully make a big difference.
Fast forward eight years ….. hundreds of couples later, thousands of eggs, grams of sugar and flour and who knows how much chocolate (brownies have remained a firm favourite with my couples) I can hand on heart say I love what I do and I can see the difference I have been privileged enough to make.
Hypnobaby #3 has been born (aka Arthur) and although his birth was more challenging it was still overwhelmingly positive.
I feel blessed. I feel excited. I can sense a shift in the culture of birth and I want to keep it moving forward. Birth CAN be positive and I want to help as many people as possible to make it so.
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Some fun facts about me:
I own way too many pairs of dungarees (borderline obsessed) and love red lipstick.
I used to bake birthday cakes for my friends when we were at school. I would even bring candles and matches and light them in the lunch hall.
I was once a bin man for 6 months. I genuinely really enjoyed it.
Back in my days as a secondary school teacher I once used the term ‘mass debate’ when teaching a group of 13-year-old boys. Big mistake ...
I sometimes think I was born in the wrong decade. I would have been right at home in the 1940's.
I sing in a band.
I have an amazing family. Three crazy rascal children, a neglected and long-suffering husband who is ALWAYS having to wash up after my baking. Three awesome sisters who are huge fun and offer brilliant advice. Amazing supportive parents and in-laws who often rescue me from childcare dilemmas. I reward all my supporters in cake! And lots of it!
Running is my go-to mechanism when I need headspace. I love exploring the countryside around my house.