A shout-out for some sweet creativity...

This is a shameless post to thank some folks who are amazingly more creative than I am (thank goodness). As part of my clinical requirements, I need to have a certain number of "continuity" clients - ones that I follow throughout their prenatal course, welcome their baby, and then visit after the birth.

Now, the last part is the part that has bothered me ever since I found out about this requirement. Home visits themselves don't scare me; I've been doing them as a maternal/child health nurse; no sweat! But the thought of basically inviting myself into the homes of these mothers because I need to (not because it is specifically a part of their standard care regimen) - well, that seems awkward to me. The same part of me that feels like I've been imposing on them by being a student "outsider" all along doesn't want to intrude on their home as they are adjusting to new parenthood; I tell all my new moms (as a nurse and as a SNM), "No visitors unless they bring meals or plan to do some housework or laundry for you!". New babies = not having to have a spotless house or put on makeup or entertain company. I worry that if I ask to come visit, that is exactly what these new mama's (and papa's) will feel obligated - consciously or not - to do.

I'm crossing my fingers, of course, that they won't feel this way, and honestly - I don't think it really will be so bad at all. I have a few couples in mind - they are lovely, and we have great rapport. (In fact, I think I will call one of them tomorrow morning to see if I can stop in and say hello!) Buuuuttt..... just to soothe my own silly self, I decided that bringing a little something - totally not indicated by the requirements (and not something that I will use as a a bribe when asking if I can stop by!) - to thank mama and babe both for letting me share in their intimate journey in the first place, and then for allowing me to have another peek into their precious first few days at home. So, I asked the freakishly fantastic folks on etsy.com (check out the "Alchemy" tab) to help me come up with the perfect, sweet little - but yet inexpensive, for my poor student budget! - somethings... here's what I found:

Thanks to Corrine & Kelly at Nesting Project (http://www.etsy.com/shop/Nestingproject) for designing these *spectacular* and funky onesies for 'my' babes, who will no doubt wear them with pride. Soon I will (hopefully) post pictures of the fuzzy, soft little beanies and cozy little earflap hats that a few other Etsians - JadedFlower (http://www.etsy.com/shop/jadedflower), I Crochet Creations (http://www.etsy.com/shop/elizabithroze), Precious Elaine (http://www.etsy.com/shop/preciouselaine), and My Friend Ginger (http://www.etsy.com/shop/MyFriendGinger) all were excellent to work with and made the sweetest little baby head-warmers you could imagine for me --- thank you to them! I will try to get some pics up!

On Blogging

This is a little off-topic, but worth the keystrokes. In the past week or so, I have been amazed at the wealth of perspectives out there via blogs and sites dedicated to birth and women's reproductive rights! (If you hadn't noticed, I've lagged a bit on this whole networking thing - it's about time that I caught up, eh?!) The whole blog-roll thing, where you can "add" your favorite blogs and see when they add a new post, right on your own page? Genius! And - even better - the blog rolls on those blogs, which lets you peek (and piggyback onto) at other awesome, relevant blogs, since oftentimes you have similar interests.

Yesterday, I was fascinated reading about anterior lips (really, they aren't so bad at all!) on Midwife Thinking's blog (read it here... please! http://midwifethinking.com/ I'm so glad I did, especially since we had a persistent, stubborn one last night - long story, I couldn't "help" with it, but... I so wanted to after reading this blog!)

I also was sucked into Stand and Deliver's blog. (It started off innocently enough with a journey into some relief measures for sinus troubles - hello, Neti pot!) but then I clicked on an older post - "Birth Around the World, My Alien Baby" is a title that kind of grabs your eye, I guess" (http://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2011/01/birth-around-world-my-alien-baby.html) and was hooked. A great birth story shared by one of Stand and Deliver's blog readers, it was the reader's own birth (her mother birthed her in Azerbaijan) and then the story of her own daughter (which, of course, didn't go exactly as planned). Beautiful writing, and a poignant message. Today's posting (http://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2011/01/birth-around-world-vbac-in-tajikistan.html) was similarly heart-hitting - another in her "Birth Around the World" series... I'm loving them, and the perspective they provide those of us just starting out and feeling like we are sheltered in the "same old, same old."

And, of course, there are the "thank god for you!" bloggers -- the ones that I know are right there with me. The student-midwives (or students in general), or new nurse-midwives, who are starting to feel their way through the paths of being "with woman". When so much rests in your hands, it's so comforting to know that there are others out there feeling the same things (a little anxiety, a bit of fear, much joy, love, excitement, trepidation, confusion, and all of the other feelings in the spectrum from here to there) on a daily - and hourly - basis. Life of a Student-Nurse Midwife, With Woman The First Year, Rainbows and Pony Rides, At Your Cervix, and all of the others that I hope to find as time goes on... this ones for us!