It's been a while...  Yes, I'm still here.  Somehow I made it through my busy July--four births--in only two pieces.  In a strange turn of events, one of my mamas went a week over and went in for induction just shortly after I found out another mama (due the next day) was in pretty rip-roarin' labor. 

I spent an entire day--one evening till the next--supporting the mother who spontaneously went into labor before it became apparent that medical intervention was necessary.  As a doula, it was a grueling day of work.  By the time I left the hospital, I was going on 38 hours of being awake with about two hours of sleep broken into half an hour here or there throughout my time there.  I was deeply encouraged by the awesome attitude of my doula mama and the teamwork of the staff at this facility.  They really went above and beyond what is the standard.  I left the birth weary through every atom of my body, but happy because I saw it as a huge victory for this particular family.

Early in the morning, after I'd been at birth A for about six hours, I received a call to head in for birth B.  It was an impossibility for me to interrupt care of the first mama, so I called on another amazing doula to attend the birth for me--though my family opted not to take advantage of her services.  Mama B gave birth to her sweet baby about four hours later while I was armpit-deep in a tub supporting Mama A.

I mourned the loss of family B's birth experience for several days before coming to grips with the fact that I had done all I could have done, given the circumstances.  True enough, when I was able to follow up with them, they had a good birth with great support from a hospital that does not always have the best reputation in the birth world.  I am thankful all was well, and that I was just the missing link that luckily didn't throw the whole thing off kilter.  It was an odd feeling to be feeling so badly about missing, for somehow failing, that birth when I wanted to feel so thankful for the birth I was able to attend.

So if you are a current client, a prospective client, another birth worker, or someone who stumbled across this blog because you were contacted by your long lost Nigerian relatives, please be aware that I have not yet discovered the way that allows me be in two places at one time or--better yet--clone myself (two of me?  That would be ahhhmazing!).  Until we have that technology, doula families, please accept my promise that I will do everything in my power to make it to your birth.  Should myself or my clone be unable to do so, I will send a back-up, someone I would trust with the birth of my own children.

All along, I've been told that things generally work out when you are scheduling expectant clients (although babies, as it turns out, have a pretty bizarre concept of time and schedules--who knew?!).  I've also been told that you will be at the births you are supposed to be at.  I've yet to figure out which view is correct.  What I have learned from my July, I suppose, in terms of working in the birth field, is that one thing remains certain:  Nothing is certain.

Birth 1 of my two post-dates mamas took place this morning, a lovely (semi-quick) unmedicated VBAC that took place in a local hospital.  The mama was a rockstar, and the baby....  cute as a button.  A nice way to start the weekend!

In totally unrelated news, I think I've decided it's time to write my book.  Not because I have oodles of spare time, because I assure you it's especially untrue this month.  Those of you who know me well are aware that I have penned all manner of nonsense from practically the time I could hold a crayon in my meaty little paws.  Most recently, my love of writing culminated in the formation of "The Writing Group", where a few friends would pick a topic and submit a small piece every week or two.

It's true, this could be work-related exhaustion speaking, but whatever the impetus....  It's time.

I'm in a holding pattern, waiting for two babies whose "guess dates" have come and gone... with another one not due yet on my radar because she's already made an appearance at L&D.  In the meantime, I've been filling in my days with a mixture of helping at the horse rescue and floating in the pool with da boyz.  

Not much at all to say, but I did want to say hi.  What are you all up to? 

Spent the late evening/early morning with Minnie and Mouse, Sand Stone Farm's newest inhabitants. 

They are looking better every day, but still need round-the-clock care.  The smaller one, Minnie, usually needs a hand getting up on her feet after she lays down (a two-person job).  The bad news is that her skin is very sensitive to even gentle brushing, but the good news is that she is feeling better enough to protest.

Please consider how you may help the rescue in the care of their horses by ordering from my Arbonne site--I will donate all of the proceeds from SSFRE supporters and you will get amazing natural health and beauty products--or by visiting their Chip-In site. 

Thank you for your kindness and consideration.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to help in the care of two starving fillies that were brought in over the weekend by Carolyn Sanders and volunteers at Sand Stone Farm Rescue Efforts.

In all of my years with horses, I've never seen, first-hand, anything like the condition that these horses are in.  There is nothing but hollows and jutting bones where there should be muscle and padding, sores and bald patches where there should be soft skin and glossy hair.  I sat next to the head of the worse of the two fillies for about half an hour while I waited for an extra pair of hands who would be able to help me stand her up gently so she could stretch her legs and get some much-needed nourishment.

Minnie and Mouse, the two starved fillies, are just two of the 10-or-so horses currently in care of SSFRE.  They are receiving excellent, round-the-clock care by Carolyn and volunteers, but they are in constant need of financial and physical help.

If you are interested in helping, there is a Chip-In site set up for donations.

Also, I am donating all proceeds (35%) from orders made directly through my Arbonne website from SSFRE supporters.   You can treat yourself and your loved ones to premium natural, vegan skincare, make-up, and nutritional products and know you'll be making a difference in the lives of these fillies and the othes who depend on SSFRE.

Please consider how you can help, whether financially or giving of your time.  Thank you.

I was at a friend's birthday party last night (happy birthday, Maria!), and my blog came up--ever-so-briefly--in conversation I was having with the birthday girl.  Pretty sure I blushed.  It's not that I'm embarassed about my blog.  Really.  Sometimes I even enjoy reading the random things I think about, even though I've decided that I don't love making sure my verb tenses are correct.  Ever.

This blog was never really intended to inform anyone on anything of monumental significance.  If you are looking for me to list pros and cons of different birth interventions, etc. ad nauseum,  it's probably not going to happen in the near future.  That's not because I think you guys don't care about those things, because obviously you do or you wouldn't be looking at doula websites.  However, I simply don't see the need to re-invent the wheel.  Five minutes on the Internet will likely net you (yes, "net" you) oodles of sources for the information you're looking for--written waaaaay better than I could. 

I write to sometimes to let you know of things happening in my business, but mostly I write to write.  The things I talk about don't always encompass birth or doula issues, obviously, though I make a concerted effort to do that here as much as possible.  Mostly, this is my outlet and a way to let you get to know me a little bit better if you haven't already met me.

Do I always say the right thing?  Ha.  Absolutely not.  But I hope you'll take what I (or anyone) say with a grain of salt, knowing that I mean well even if my tone of voice says otherwise. 

As you were.

It's been how long since my last post?!!  That's just craziness.  I'd chalk it up to being busy, which has actually been true the last week or so, but probably it's mostly because I haven't had much to say as of late.  Try to at least pretend like you're surprised at that....

It was my (and my husband's, actually) birthday last week, which was pretty uneventful.  I had a prenatal appointment with one of my lovely clients, and then I went home and....  Nothin'.  In theory, it sounds fun to share a birth week with your spouse, but what it really boils down to is paying for license tabs instead of birthday presents.  Hahaha.  Sigh.  It was a rough week for us in some other uninteresting (to you) but annoying (to us) ways, so we are planning a birthday do-over soon.  Goodness knows, we need it.

While my neck has been healing, I have taken a hiatus from riding the horses--not because it felt bad, but just because I decided I would be really, really mad if I happened to fall off a horse and rip my neck open.  That would be unpleasant, probably.  I was given the okay to swim last week but the crazy weather combined with work schedules made that a little problematic for me.  However, I broke the ban on both of those things yesterday when I rode, took a swim with 3/4 boys, then proceeded to be five minutes late for wherever I was supposed to be next.  Oops.  Good thing that person loves me and only glared for a minute before moving on.

Friday night, my friend (also co-worker, midwifery student, and sister doula) Kristin Lacy invited a couple of us to hear her step-daughter and her band play at the Crofoot Ballroom.  They were amazing!  And last night I attended a lovely concert at DTE (Yep, still Pine Knob to me, but....) with my husband, my parents, and a friend and her family.  It was gorgeous outside, the music was fantastic, and the company was aight, too.  I have to get these carefree summer days packed in before babies decide it's time to turn my calendar upside down--which should be any day now.

A week ago we had our first meeting of the Doulas Share Peer Support Group, which was an idea that popped in my mind after hearing for so long about local midwives getting together to exchange ideas, information, and offer support in light of certain cases they had recently experienced.  Ten doulas attended, and we had a great night meeting a lot of new (or new-to-each-other) faces and I am expecting this to be a great tool for seasoned doulas, aspiring doulas, and everyone in between.  Please contact me for details if you would like to be included in this in the future.

Not much to catch y'all up with at the moment, but I'll post if it comes to mind!  While you're waiting, fill me in on YOUR happenings!

Yesterday I went in for super-minor outpatient surgery under local anesthesia to remove a cyst from my neck.   By all means, I should be fine and carrying on with my day.  They told me I could drive myself to and from the surgery, no problem.  I'm pretty glad that I didn't listen because I'm still really hesitant to turn my head.  Bending over or raising my hands over shoulder-level.... yeah, not cool.  Picking up Mr. Chubs?  Ha. 

After the surgery I spent most of my time laying down watching movies and being a bump on a log.  Today I went to visit my mom, who said she'd help with the baby so I didn't have to worry about lifting him.  I proceeded to take an hour-long nap on her couch while the baby played with cars and watched Thomas the Tank Engine.  Wow.  Guess I was tired!

Right now, I'm thanking my lucky stars that I accidentally decided to schedule this surgery before my July families start heading into their birthing times.  This would be so, so miserable if I couldn't exert myself at all out of fear of popping stitches.  Eek! 

Here's to healing!