Time flies

Beginning week 4.... today was another day of prenatals, another LONG day. It seems every week is a long day of back to back prenatals. Sometimes it's hard to be "on" all that time. What's really hard though is being the apprentice and keeping my mouth shut. Anyone who knows me knows I like to talk and that I have a pretty good knowledge base. Even Janessa has commented that I'm fairly knowledgeable. None the less these are her clients so regardless of what I know or what I think I know I really need to keep my mouth shut unless asked to comment. I don't always do well with this. I have a tendency to interrupt, or when I think a person is searching for a word I give it to them, but I do it a lot, so it's more like consistent, casual interruptions than anything helpful. I also have to really think about how I word things. Like today Joy asked if I thought this lump was head or butt, I felt it, felt at the pelvis and thought that it was probably butt. Well Janessa came over and felt and said that was head. My response "You think that's head?!" it sounded a bit condescending I think, or like I was questioning her findings rather than questioning what brought her to that conclusion. There is a way to ask why someone thinks something in a way that doesn't suggest they are wrong and I think I failed at asking that way.

On a personal note I've accomplished NOTHING the whole time I've been here! I've been pretty busy with Janessa and it seems I've had no time to do any of the things on my list. I had a huge list of projects like handouts on protein and GBS that I wanted to do and it seems I'm getting back to my hotel in time to eat and go to bed. I'm missing my kids and husband something awful! I feel like the tears are just waiting to spill over. I can't wait to see them!

Week One

So it's been a week since I came to Arkansas. It's been good, but difficult. I feel like I'm running constantly. I've done two full days of prenatals, and this last Monday was FULL!! We weren't done until 8pm! I have one birth, which I caught!! wahoo! This was a mama that is known to go really fast, it was her fifth, and my hotel just happened to be really close to her. I managed to make it there with 10 minutes to spare! When I got there mama was in the tub and doing really well, hardly looked like she was in labor. It was just about 5 minutes after I got there that she started to grunt at the top of contractions. Baby had a a nuchal cord wrapped twice, one of those wraps was really tight. So tight that I actually thought it was baby chub, and the baby somersaulted out. Thankfully he screamed right away and was pink within the minute. It all went really well and Janessa was there before the placenta could deliver and mom was up and running around as soon as the placenta was out. You'd never guess she had just had a baby!

Last time on the babylady memoirs....

okay so it's been a year and a half since I last posted, so lets recap....

I stopped posting essentially because the midwives I was working with had a loss. It was pretty traumatic and because it wasn't my birth or my client I didn't know how much I should post or how to handle it. The whole thing really shook me and the midwife I was with...

The pregnancy went well until the last trimester and then it got a little rough. Just hard to walk and generally painful but for the first time I didn't have any real preterm labor stuff!! I have a theory on that... Generally speaking once a woman has had preterm labor for an "unknown" reason she's likely to have it again in subsequent pregnancies. Some theorize that there is a slight bacterial infection. Well I've had preterm labor since my second child. After the birth of my first child I had an abnormal pap, they found abnormal cell growth on my cervix at my 6wk check up. I have always been pretty sure that those "abnormal cells" came from the hospital but anyway... so I had a DNC 4 months prior to this pregnancy, which really strips the entire surface of the uterus. I don't know, it could be a coincedence but I don't think so. I need to do more research, like the list isn't already a mile long! LOL

We decided to let CJ go live with his father in WI. It's been rough for me and his siblings, but all in all I think it's been good for him. He's been gone since last January.

So baby boy Gavin was born 3/10/09 on his sisters birthday. She was very happy to have him share her birthday. The birth went mostly well, he got a little stuck. There was a full minute (not too long, but longer than my others) between head and shoulders and I had to push with all my might to get his shoulders and the rest of his body out, as well as assume a funky one leg up one leg down lean to the right kinda position. He was also a little slow to start, but not enough to warrant anything more than a brisk rub down. We had a little problem nursing at first, but got his frenulum cut and was very careful how I latched him on and it went great from there.

I took what was supposed to be a break from the apprenticeship in Oct. I thought I'd return when the baby was about 6m but after some reflection I decided it just wasn't a good fit for me. I just don't think her teaching style works well with my learning style.
So now I'm working with a midwife in Arkansas. She was a friend's midwife, and that friend ended up training with her and a year and a half later is a CPM!

Nathan is home full time now, a huge blessing and what's allowing me to do this. We're all moving to Arkansas!! More on that later... So you're pretty much up to speed, not alot happens in my life I guess :)