Back from Ocracoke

We just got back from a weekend camping trip to Ocracoke Island with our friends Glynis and Mike and their daughters Arija and Lydia. We left Saturday morning and drove around to the Hatteras ferry, then a quick ride over to the island. Then we headed to the campsite to set up our tents among the PLETHORA of tiny cacti and sand spurs. Who could imagine that such a beautiful beach could have a campground so incredibly full of painful pricklies!!?? It was quickly deermined that being shoeless was a definate no no.

We fired up the grill and had a nice lunch. Afterwards, we took the kids down to the beach. When we had taken all the sun we could stand, we headed back to the campsite to grill cheeseburgers for supper.

Sunday morning we awoke to rain...which was weird because the forecast for the weekend was supposed to be mid 70's and sunny with a 10% chance of rain. Ah well...that's odds for ya. We had a quick breakfast of bagels and cream cheese, cereal and milk and granola bars and then everyone changed clothes and headed to the beach. The kids all burried PG in the sand and then, after a few restful minutes as a mermaid (LOL) a rogue wave came and nearly drown him. It was hillarious...I don't think I've ever seen him move that fast! It looked like he had 4 arms and legs! We headed back and PG took a cold shower, then we grilled up polish sausages with onions and peppers for lunch.

After we had eaten, Ian and the girls were running around camp playing hide and seek, and poor Ian decided that the backside of the grill was a good place to hide his eyes to count, since he was "it". Unfortunately, the grill was still VERY hot and he burned both of the outside edges of his arms. It happened so fast that I couldn't stop him. I grabbed him up and Glynis dipped some paper towels in the melty ice water in our cooler and I wrapped those around his arms. PG took a look at his arms and decided that it wasn't really bad enough to warrent a trip to the medical center, so he jumped on Mike's bike and rode up to the ranger station and came back with gause and aloe ointment. I got a good look at his arms...the right one had a second degree burn maybe 4 inches long and 2 inches wide, the left arm was a first degree burn maybe half that size. I put some ointment on the bad burn and started wrapping it with gause and Ian laid his head in my lap and fell asleep.

I held him and let him sleep in my lap for an hour or so and then we decided to head into town. We stopped first at the ponys and let the kids see them. Then we headed into Ocracoke Village and hit a couple of stores, and then went on to Howard's Pub for supper. Oh my, their crab dip is AMAZING! We went back to camp and waited for the sun to go down, and then headed back out onto the beach armed with flashlights. We spent the next hour or more chasing ghost crabs around. Ian was petrified of them to begin with, but we finally cornered one and waited until it burried itself in the sand, and then I rubbed the back of its shell. Once Ian saw that, he got up the courage to rub it himself and that was the end of his fear. He was so enthusiastic! He was finding crabs and chasing them all over. Zollie still wasn't sure about them, so he had to be held the whole time, but we still had a blast.

Monday morning we had scrambled eggs, toast with jelly, and sausage for breakfast. DELICIOUS! Then it was time to pack up camp. We headed to the ferry dock to see if we could catch the ferry back to Swan Quarter, and after much hullabaloo, we got onboard and started the 2.5 hour journy back.

The miracle of the whole trip is that Ian has consistantly said that his arms don't hurt. I've been able to touch them, put medicine on them, rewrap them, and he says they aren't painful! The only explaination for that is that God has taken away his pain. I've never seen a healing miracle in person before, but this definately is one! He should be in LOTS of pain...his burns are really nasty. But he hasn't been, and for that I praise God!

You're a what?

I've quickly found out how few people in my sphere know what a doula is. When I say that I'm a doula, or that I'm getting certified as a doula, very rarely do I see someone's eyes light up with recognition (and when I do, it tickles me pink!). More often, the response is a furrowed brow with their head cocked to one side, asking me "A what?" or "You said you do what, again?" Or, as my pastor said..."A doula? Is that anything like a diva?"

Having answered the question as many times as I have, I've generally found it easier to just go with the short answer.

The short answer is: a labor assistant.

The long answer...the REAL answer...is so much more. Part childbirth educator, part massage therapist, part mother to the mother, part medicalese translator, part councelor, part therapist, part lactation consultant, part waitress...these are just some of the roles of a doula. We support. We encourage. We empower a woman to not only decide what type of birth she wants, but help her to take responsibility for her choices so that she can take all the credit for the outcome instead of handing it over to her midwife or doctor. After all, she is the one doing all the work!

I found a neat video on YouTube that was done by a group in Wilmington. I think it accurately shows why every woman deserves a doula. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDHkDBx-9EQ

Moving right along

I'm moving right along with my class. I've finished the Doula Skills module now and begun to work on my Reflective Practice paper. I still need to finish the draft for that and turn it in, and then turn in the final paper, do one more book review, and do the Physiology module. And attend my two births, of course! It looks like I might actually get everything finished up within my timeline! I'm so excited!

I also ordered a number of marketing items this past weekend. I'm checking the mailbox every day...I should have my very own buisness cards soon!

In other news, last night I decided to walk down the street to Lost and Found and attend their Wednesday night service. I didn't even realize a church met there...I thought it was just an after school program. But I saw on their sign that they have Sunday morning and Wednesday night services and, since AWANA is over for the year, I had a free Wednesday evening to check them out. Apparently on Wed nights they have a Bible study. Everyone there was very welcoming and nice (one woman even knew what a doula was!). I had been hoping there would be some praise and worship music, but I guess that is only on Sunday mornings. That's really the one thing I don't like about Farmville Presbyterian...the music. I really prefer contemporary worship music. But Pastor Rocky and all the people there are just so great...I guess I can get my music elsewhere if I have to. I'm hoping to get some new guitar strings soon so maybe I can start singing praise and worship with the kids as part of our schoolday. Anyway, I think I'm going to keep trying to go to Lost and Found on Wednesday nights. Last night was very refreshing.

Prayer requests today would include continued prayer for S and D as they get ready to welcome Elizabeth into their family, and for me to know what I need to do to help support them through labor and birth.

I want to praise God for providing me with time to work on my class and ask Him to continue to give me the drive to get all my work done.

Soon, now!

I'm so excited! My first client is due any day now! Officially, baby Elizabeth is due to be born next week. S.'s first child was born a couple of days after her due date, and she's said she feels like this baby will wait that long, too. I read on her FaceBook page today that she feels like the baby has dropped, so maybe it will be soon!

I had a second prenatal appointment with S. and her husband D. this past week. This time I got to go without the kids. I took my birth ball (thank you Glynis for letting me borrow it!) and all of my goodies...teas, oils, candals. I'm really looking forward to this birth! I have been nervous about it for a while for a number of reasons...firstly, because the hospital S. has chosen isn't known for being very supportive of natural birth or breastfeeding and secondly because her first labor was only 7 hours, so I've been concerned that, with the long drive I'll have to make, I might miss a lot of her labor or even the birth. I think I've found peace about it, though. I'm just trusting that God will work everything out.

I'm also trying to focus on some things I've learned in my doula class: that I am not responsible for the birth choices my clients make...they are. My job is not to convince her to stand up to pushy doctors or make birth choices that line up with what I would do in her situation. My job is to support her in her choices and empower her to mke her own choices. I also feel that God will work out the timing as well. If I don't make it to her birth, then I wasn't supposed to be there. If S. and D. are meant to enjoy the birth of their daughter alone, then I won't make it there on time.

The class is going well so far. I've finished the Communications module, other than a paper I need to write. I've also finished a little bit of Physiology, though I've decided to stop that and skip to Doula Skills and hope to get through that before my clients give birth because I feel like the Doula Skills knowledge will be more important in the short term as I feel I have a pretty good grasp of the physiology.

Another exciting thing is that Crystal broke down and had an ultrasound...and I was right! She's having another girl! Natillee Grace should be here mid June. Her 3D u/s pic is adorable! She looks just like her big sister. I absolutely can not wait to attend her birth! It will be my first homebirth! I'm reeeeeally excited to be a part of that!

I'm also hoping to get in touch pretty soon with some teen pregnancy organizations to see if I could work with some of their pregnant teens. I think there are programs through the highschools as well as the crisis pregnancy center. Though I'm nervous about the number of hospital births that would bring in (I really feel that homebirth would be my comfort zone area) I also know that God is calling me to work with that population. My big concern is with the scheduling ...having to leave the kids at a moment's notice as well as what being on call so much will mean for vacation plans and such...but I feel that if God has called me to this, He will work things out. There's no point in wasting energy worrying about tomorrow, right?

In other news (well, related news, at least), I met a young woman the other day while buying some items who could be a potential client. I wish I had had buisness cards with me! But I'm hoping I can go back to the store and drop off some flyers for Blessed Birth as well as for LLL with her. My goal is to get 2 customers by the end of the year. I think I can do that. I'm also hoping I can get this class finished by the time Crystal has Natillee. We'll see about that...I guess I need to buckle down and get working on my paper!

Well, it's late and I'm sleepy...off to bed for me!