It upsets me but it's the way my life is going now.  I have had to get a part time job.  I start nursing school next semester and judging the complaining I hear day in and day out, I am going to need 100% of my time to study and can't miss class.  As of December I am no longer taking on clients as contracted clients.  I will however do "On Call" and if I attend your birth I will only charge my deposit of 200$. 

 I am building up my site to list other doulas and trying to add postpartum doulas.  Pray for me as I give up something I truly love.  Boo!!

Today Joanne Santana taught us about the stages of labor and how to determine baby's position. 

I seem to get a lot of OP babies, so I was happy to learn that squatting was indeed a good way to help baby out but that you must help mom control the speed so that she does not tear.

Our 2nd class of the day we palpated fanny the dummy doll.  This was an experience.  When it was my turn I got my baby completely upside down.  Honestly it didn't feel like a real belly to me lol.  Anyways my baby was breech when I thought baby was ROA.

The 3rd class we got to practice on real mommas.  I measured fundal height, checked fetal heart tones and guessed baby's position.

Ina May showed up for dinner.  It was a nice surprise because there were rumors that something was amiss. 

The first class we had was on what to expect from a midwife assistant.  This is where we got to see what a typical midwifes bag contained.  We learned about labor support and comfort measures.

Midwife assistants are expected to be compassionate, reliable, and not pushy or loud.  We are expected to represent the midwife we work for.

This is where we learned a few tricks of the trade like intradermal water blocks (my friend Lisa has done this) to confuse the pain receptors.  We also talked about Blue Cohosh to enhance labor, Shepard’s purse to stop bleeding and borage oil to soften the cervix.  The most famous thing we learned in that class was the Twatcicle.  A Twatcicle is a ice pad with arnica gel applied.  It really helps heal the perineum.

We also practiced taking vitals on each other, like blood pressure, heart rate and respiration.

We also spent the majority of the day learning how to sterilize our midwifes equipment and all about sterile field. 

The Farm, where do I start?  I can't find my note book right this second so I will try and go from complete memory

Day 1 or should I say Day 0.  I was so excited I showed up a day early thinking I was late.  That night they had a BBQ Vegan style and I met Donna and Dani. 

Dani- When I first met Danni I thought she was beautiful.  Positive energy just radiate from her.  Totally a free spirit. 

Donna-  I liked her right away, she was just as nervous as I was.  We were both excited and wowed by the farm.

This was the night I learned to carry my flash light and that my cell phone was a lost cause.  The crickets and frogs were amazing and sang me to sleep and for the first time in years I saw lightening bugs.  I was so giddy and ready to meet the rest of the ladies the next day.

Check back later for Day 1 :-)