Summer!

Ah summer!  It's been beautiful.  I've been on summer break officially for a week.  I finished up my finals last Tuesday and ever since I have just been completely vegetating.  For an entire week, I did nothing but catch up on episodes of The Colony, drinking coffee, and reading absolutely trashy novels.  I have a wonderful new doula client, so I am also prepping to get started on prenatal appointments with her.  And the weather has been perfect!  If you could write a script for a glorious summer break, this would be how it would be written.

Technically, classes do not start for another two and a half weeks.  But luck of all luck, Karen Strange is in town next week to present her Midwifery Management of Neonatal Resuscitation workshop.  I am so utterly thrilled about that.  Not only will I get my Neonatal Resuscitation Provider certification, but through a workshop that is touted as one of the best around.  Incredibly exciting.  Of course, the day after the workshop, my little family is headed off on vacation, but I honestly don't really care all that much!  I'll just have to pack early.  It's just such a wonderful opportunity!

End of the semester

I've been plugging along all summer now and there are officially only two weeks left in the semester.  I don't think I have been this proud of myself in quite some time.  Just finishing up one more project and taking one more final and I will have a couple of weeks off.  Summer break! We'll be off to Chicago for a week of family vacation.  I just have to get to there from here. 

I took three classes this semester, and have As in the two classes that are graded and a complete in the classes that was pass/fail.  I've worked very hard and studied very hard.  I often feel like I'm  paving a new path for myself and this time I'm doing it the right way.  I took the time to dig up the sod and smooth down the ground. I'm laying a foundation before I try to pour the cement. 

When I initially started this blog, I thought I would use it like every student midwife blog, but I'm finding that it is becoming much more about my journey than I originally planned.  I'm not posting many articles or essays about birth.  I'm not using it for birth activism.  Perhaps I should try to incorporate more of that.

Still not an apprentice

*sigh* I got the email this morning that the midwife went with someone else.  So, I'm still without an apprenticeship.  And completely and totally sad. 

There are all the arguments; "this was obviously not meant to be", "it wasn't the right apprenticeship for you," "it wasn't the right time".  And I agree.  Those things are probably true.  In fact, I know they are true.

But for today, I am just sad. 

A lesson in patience

Thus far along my path to becoming a midwife, I have found that most things are a lesson in patience.  There was the waiting until The Boy was old enough for me to start my education.  There was the waiting for the right time to enroll in a program.  There was the waiting to find out if I was accepted to Midwives College of Utah.  And now there is the waiting to find out if I am going to be apprenticing with the midwife I met with at the beginning of June.  It's all about patience.

Thankfully, it is a lesson that I am learning to handle fairly well.  Though I definitely have a lot of anticipation, it is a fun anticipation and I'm trying to learn to enjoy it.  The only concern I have is that there is one more apprenticeship at the new birth center that has opened up in our area that I would like to apply for if this one doesn't come through.  And I'm worried that the timing is not going to work out right and I will end up without either one. I want to work with the solo practice midwife, but would learn a lot from either. 

But I will just keep soaking up the lessons I am learning.  God knows that birth doesn't come when it is most convenient to us either!

In other news....

Have I told you about my A average this semester?  Yes, I know.

I rock.

Detoxification and midterms

In my journey to become a midwife....heck, at this point, to become a student midwife, I have been thinking so much about my own physical health and the things that I need to do to prepare myself to be strong and able to serve women in the best possible way.  And I've come to the realization that I have been treating my body like a toxic dumping ground for the last 15 years.  High fructose corn syrups, processed flours, unnatural additives and preservatives, chemical laden junk have been flooding my body.  It's gotta change.  But I really have no idea how to begin.  So, I guess I just have to start. 

I've been pounding water over the last few days trying to give myself a good base to work with.  I have no idea really what I'm going to do or how I'm going to do it.  I just know at my core that I need to start giving my body a solid foundation to work from, instead of working so hard to sabotage myself. 

3 weeks down....So many to go.

The last few weeks have been so full of so much LIFE!  I fall into bed almost every single night, exhausted and overwhelmed, but so very fulfilled. This last week, I spend the majority of my time doing NON-midwifery things, because it was time for me to celebrate my anniversary with my wonderful and amazing partner. We had a fabulous week, including the most amazing fondue dinner and a weekend of nothing but sloth and gluttony.

But now it is back to reality, and studying microbiology and refreshing my brain on APA formatting. I know it's not that big of a deal, but I'm managing to maintain an A in all two courses after 3 weeks, and the third one hasn't had any assignments, so I guess that counts as an A, too. (Or I'm going to pretend it does, at least.)

And I've LEARNED something*.  It's a small thing and I'm sure I already knew it somewhere or had I really thought it out it would have come to me, but reading it in black and white really solidified it for me.

I was looking over my course plan for the next year and I'm a bit disappointed because I realized that I don't have any courses that  are directly related to midwifery until January when I get to take Well-Woman Care. I'm really going to do something about that.  I've been looking into a skills workshop in September.  It's in Massachusetts, but they offer on site camping. So, really if I can transport out there....But then again, there is also the fall MCU conference in October.....

I'll have to put it out there and start dreaming of Fall weather and workshops/conferences.....


*Dehydration=cells transferring water from external to internal via osmosis to try to reach homeostasis