First ER visit, exercise and stuff...

So, Aidan broke his foot last Saturday. it was so upsetting. He slipped on a big sized coloring book and fractured the third bone in the top part of his foot. The Meta-something (the doc;s handwriting is of course not legible). We see the Orthopedic on Monday...
He's hobbling around now and thinks he should be able to run around outside. 4 year olds... what are ya gonna do.

Plus, I can't believe he's 4. Oh my god. I was looking at him this morning, while he was sleeping and remembered him so small and new. And then I looked over at a naked ciaran dragging up my shirt to get at 'his' be-be's. The kid is crazy. And i think he's the reincarnation of Naked Man... a superhero invented by my brother Christopher back in the diz-ay. He could be bare ass naked all day and be perfectly happy. and it's be ok with me... if he stopped peeing on the floor.

I'm aggravated. I can't find my Rockin' Body dvd. The one with the hard care abs work out on it (I love it! No crunches!!!) Of course when I want to get serious... a little person steals the dvd. awesome.

I'm going to get serious into a cakje today. I've got an army helmet request on deck. I'm a little nervous about cutting the shape... no do-overs. Wish me luck....

RuPaul's Drag Race!

Oh My God! RuPaul's Drag Race!!? How the hell did I miss this show! %$#&! I'm watching the last episode!

I mean, come on... RuPaul. Queens. A Top Model sort of competition for Drag Queens. I would have watched this religiously from the get go! It's so great! Give me a Drag Queen show ANY DAY. :D (I wonder if they still do the competition on Fire Island? That was amazing... those girls made me feel like a guy, that's how gorgeous they were)

I have to see if there are episodes of this online... or reruns. Something. This is too greatto miss out on!

Something tells me I'm due for a visit to Lucky Cheng's. I need me a Dinner and Drag show something 'fierce'!

Here's a question....

Why is it that the first pancake or two always comes out crappy? It never fails. It doesn't cook right, doesn't rise right. They are always always lame. But then after a few tries... third one always is 'right.'
Am I the only one with the pancake problem?

Doula for the Doula

Sometimes as doulas, I think we actually need doulas too. Not in the same way as a mother in labor would, but often I think those of us who do this kind of work need support. Especially when we attend births that are difficult for various reasons.

The last few days I've found myself supporting one of my partners through a rough client situation. Its hard to stand by and watch people make decisions you don't understand or agree with. Yes, its not our job as doulas to decide how births should go for our clients. We 'simply provide information and then support choices.'

That's easy to say sometimes.

My partner watched her client pretty much force out a baby that was not ready to be born. An attempted induction (because her OB was going on vacation as of today) with Cervidil on Wednesday morning failed. It did not ripen her cervix or start labor. An second induction attempt with Pitocin failed. Her labor stopped after they took her off it. With her waters still intact, this woman had every chance to go home and let her baby come whenher baby wasready... to breathe on his or her own. Her doula, my partner, told her 'your baby is not ready to come yet'. I'm hearing her baby saying 'Mommy... I'm fine in here. I need to stay in a bit longer. Can you let me?"

But mom would not go home.

Mom and Dad asked my partner, who'd been to the hospital three times now with this couple what the risks were of Cytotec. This is a drug approved by the FDA to use in treating ulcers. It is not, I repeat... NOT intended or approved for the use of labor induction. It says so right on the label. But OB"s are using this pill, inserted directly into the vagina (which means that once it is administered it cannot be stopped in the way that Cervidil or Pitocin can if mom or baby is in trouble) to force babies to be born. Or at least to attempt the forcing. Cytotec's risks include ' maternal or fetal death, uterine rupture, and severe vaginal bleeding and shock.'

"Cytotec® is a drug that was not tested in the laboratory to determine its safety before doctors starting using it as an agent to induce labor, and its manufacturer recommends against its use in inducing labor. Instead, it was and is tested in real life labor and delivery, and unwitting mothers are the guinea pigs. In some cases, Cytotec® imposes risks that far outweigh the benefits of a delivery that takes place at a convenient time."

My partner referred this couple to the resources to make an informed choice about the usage of this drug. They were shocked and said 'no!' They chose the Pitocin route instead, along with its many risks.

Fast forward a bunch of hours. Mom won't go home. My partner does not know what to do to support this family. She's not in labor. We support women in labor.

Telling them, the couple, to talk and figure out what they are going to do, my partner leaves the room with some other family members. The couple talks. Dad comes out and informs my partner that 'She wants to try the Cytotec.'

I'm on the phone, as I've been with my partner on and off of a few days now, and I'm calling it. This will be a cesarean section... an unnececarean ... by the time the sun is up.

At 2 am they were told that the baby was not handling the induction attempt, and was in distress. She was sectioned at 5 am. What hopsital lets a baby 'in distess' wait till 5 am to be sectioned? None, because there was no distress. But now we have a primip mom with a primary cesarean section and a baby who wasn't ready to be born.

It's awesome being a doula. But let's face it. It's hard being a doula too. My partner did her job as best as she could. She supplied them information and they made their choices. She never supported her in labor... because she was never really in labor. But Mom accepted an induction because her doctor had a vacation, and because she just wanted that baby out, and you often get what you get when you make the choices you do. She didn't want a section, but she got one.

Me? I'm glad my partner called me. I'm glad she let me let her talk and vent and throw out questions (when there weren't any answers) and debrief her experience with me. Gods know I've needed to do the same a few times.

I can't imagine being a 'lone doula'. I appreciate my partners and doula sisters more than I can say. Sometimes they are the only ones who understand and the only ones that can relate.

First post...

I'm totally going on a whim. In my adventures of wandering the internet (you'd be amazed at the places i end up) I have spent the morning reading a few blogs. The blogs happen to be written by L &D nurses or some OB that calls himself a Midwife with A Knife (sounds frightening to me). And while I've been telling myself in the back of my mind that I should maybe start a blog, today I have just gone and done it. Why not? Gods knows there's tons of crap I need to either vent about, question, talk about... etc etc...

SO ... here we go.

While this blog isn't going to be exclusively about pregnancy and birth, it may have a lot of spotlight. I'm neck deep in reading about this subject as I am a CLD - Certified Labor Doula and currently finishing my training in Childbirth Education. And you know, the more I see, the more I read, the more I know... I feel the pull to study Midwifery. A long time ago my mom did this lady's hair... she was very very psychic. She told my mom that I'd be a doctor when i grew up...
Maybe I'm not done growing up yet. Of course, I'm not going to be an MD... but a CPM - Certified Professional Midwife could come across as 'doctor-ish' to a psychic, no?

Since I've dubbed this place my 'cauldon', lots of things may come to be written about here. My kids, being a mother, life, my spirituality, magic (not the rabbit in the hat kind) ... those things.

I'm looking forward to this....