Full Plate.

Last week was supposed to be spring break. Ha! Instead I got to witness 3 lovely babies greet their parents: two on land, one a gorgeous lotus birth in the water. And there was a decent coupla minute shoulder dystocia thrown into the mix for good measure. All's well that ends well however.

Along the same vein... I now find myself immersed in Midwifery Care 6 - Complications. The behemoth of midwifery care courses. Aaaalllll the juicy, nasty, mean and awful stuff, some of which we've already seen in practicum, but now we truly get to immerse ourselves in it. Not that there's much to celebrate in complications, but it's kinda where the rubber meets the road. As many practitioners would agree, there are many, many birth which we probably don't need to even be there, let alone 'do' anything. But on those rare occasions when the shit hits the fan, you best know how to manage it properly.

After a valiant fight, my sister baby midwife Tiff, will not be joining my class back at school this quarter. Instead this year she will build up her coffers, and engage fully in the struggle for home midwifery services in her home state of Nevada, before returning to join in with our (then) junior class next year.

I received a call late last night from last quarter's instructor who informed me that she thinks I should try to publish my final paper from her course (on supporting the postpartum adjustment of parents with an impaired/disabled newborn). She is showing it to instructor midwife colleagues for their feedback and then we shop it to journals. Anxious and excited all at once. A most unexpected honor.

State midwifery association VBAC guidelines are written, submitted for membership comment and are set to launch at their conference on the 18th. It's a fabulous document (full disclosure - I helped write it) which I think will serve women and their midwives well.

Siegfried the puppy is settling in, and we're surviving the hours our newest 'baby' keeps. Up at 6am most days for walks outside. The new invisible fence was delivered yesterday, and will be installed shortly in time to begin training him in 3 months or so. In the interim we continue to figure out which food his tummy best accepts and try to stop the chickens from beating him up. Big, tough bird dog he is not.

It looks like I'll have a practice to join upon graduation which is rare, delightful, and madly exciting.

I apologize for not posting a whole lot... I have a lot going on.