Catching up

My blog has been totally neglected the past few weeks..sorry.

I had the best time at my graduate school orientation. I spent the week meeting new people, making new friends and learning about this journey I am embarking on. It was so overwhelming at times but I really felt confirmed during that week that I am on the right path and that midwifery is truly my calling.
I have to say that the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing has it all together!! It is an incredible program, operated by incredible women, and I am very excited and proud to be a part of that school and will be a part of its rich history.
Of course, by the end of the week I was incredibly homesick and really missing my boys. Baseball season is about to be in full swing and with all three of the boys playing ball it is going to be one busy spring! I love to watch my boys play ball, because they love it so much and they are good little ball players.

I worked two shifts last week and taught an all-day Lamaze class on Saturday. I was in charge on Tuesday night and triage was hopping. It seemed everyone kept coming in with SROM, so most of them were keepers. We did have one girl who came in not in labor and not ruptured. She had called her physicians answering service and told them she was having pressure so they sent her to triage. We got her gowned and on the fetal monitor and began asking her history. It turns out she was not having contractions, nor was her water broke so definitely not in labor. She had been to the doctor a few days before and her physician had done a vaginal exam and told her that the baby had 'moved down' and was 'much lower' than at her last check. Evidently, after this visit she told either a friend or family member what the physician had said and this well-meaning person told her she needed to go to the hospital because she could--"suffocate her baby if it stayed that low for to long" Needless to say, there was a lot of education going on before discharging this gal to home.
My last Lamaze series class had five couples in it. One of the couples gave birth after the second week of class so that left us with four. One couple had a scheduled primary c/s for macrosomia at 38+5 weeks because mom was gestational diabetic, I wasn't really surprised knowing how persuasive this particular physician can be but I really did think they would at least attempt an induction first. Anyway, the baby was 8#2oz--not really macrosomic in my book.
Another couple gave birth with epidural anesthesia but had a great experience, baby was 8#14oz. The interesting thing about this couple is the mom said they were going to try again in two years and she said she would call me when she got pregnant because she thinks she would like to really try and go natural next time. That is really neat because she never had any intention of even attempting a natural delivery this time.
The last two couples to birth both had spontaneous, natural labor and birth experiences. Both of these moms called me afterwards to tell me their birth stories. They both were so overjoyed at their experiences and the fact that they were able to go into labor on their own and work through the process of childbirth without any drugs. Just to hear the pride and joy in their voices when they expressed how glad they are they gave their babies the best start possible. One of the moms expressed how incredible it was to feel the baby come out of her body and how she is so glad she did not dull that experience with numbing medication. Those types of stories keep me teaching! BTW, one of those babies weighed 7#12oz and the other was 8#14oz!

It's a busy week coming up. I am scheduled to work; Tues, Thur and Sat. night. and my boys have a ball tournament next weekend so I'll be busy working the concession stands in between watching their games.

Classes for school do not officially start until the first week in April but I should have access to the readings and assignments week after next so that I can hopefully get a head start on things. Fortunately I have a friend who is just ahead of me in the program and I am getting my books for these first classes from her on Tuesday, that will help save a few bucks.

Be sure and check out some of the blogs on my blogroll, there are some very interesting conversations happening surrounding midwifery. Unfortunately, I just don't have the brain cells these days to get into all of that. I do have very strong opinions about the topics that are popping up, but right now I am just going to prepare my mind for some higher learning and focus on being a good student, sumptuous wife, and rockin' mom.