Doula | The Lone Rager

Showing posts with label Doula. Show all postsShowing posts with label Doula. Show all posts

Saturday, May 18, 2013

zombieland

Eating lunch with Charlie in the playhouse

I finally got some glorious sleep last night after three days of back-and-forthing to that marathon labor. It’s hard to explain sleep deprivation to someone who’s never missed the majority of three nights of sleep in a row, but anyone with kids knows what it is like. It’s kind of like being drunk, or maybe punch-drunk is a better way to explain it. You are walking and talking, but the higher functions of your brain have receded into the depths, leaving you to utter bookoo unfiltered sentences.

Take, for example, when I met the husband of a mutual friend yesterday. After the couple walked off, I turned to my other friend and said “I didn’t like his face.” I meant more his expression at the time, but whatevs. Same diff.

Snark abounds.

Functioning on a low amount of sleep also reminds me of what its like to have the winter blues, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, as it’s known to people who like to give stuff names. Unlike the time I cried when it snowed again, SAD is a more deceptive condition. I am depressed, but I couldn’t completely articulate why. I might cry, but rather than cry over the weather, I cry over completely unrelated and unimportant issues. Or I might laugh, but instead of laughing at jokes, I laugh at the shriveled piece of corn under the refrigerator. But mostly I experience an absence of feeling. For a person who is normally irrationally exuberant, the lack of emotions is an unsettling experience. But what were we talking about again?

ANYHOO, today promises to bring with it some good wholesome American fun. We are headed out to the town fair, and then in the afternoon I’m off to tea again with a lady friend. I’ll report back with pictures taken of both…probably with my new obsession, the iPhone.

We only have a week left here before the big month-long southbound excursion. I went ahead and scheduled our trip to start Memorial Day weekend, figuring the kids up here get out of school at the same time we did down South. I was forgetting that they don’t go back to school here until AFTER Labor Day–something about snow, the details escape me–so their school ends a whole week into June. Yikes! This little scheduling error means we are pulling Vivi out of pre-K a full two weeks early and missing graduation. I am not sure whether to count this as a missed opportunity or a big win. What are your thoughts on celebrating small milestones like that?at9:27 AM 4 comments: Email This BlogThis!Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to PinterestLabels:Doula,Parenting,School,Summer

Friday, January 04, 2013

…in which I pulled the Dora phone out of my purse and attempted to make a call on it

I really have nothing more to say on the above subject except what’s already written. But it sums up my day-to-day life well. A wee bit of irony makes the day more interesting, no?

I am supposed to be preparing answers for a four-page list of questions, somewhere around 50 (!!!), for my weekend-long childbirth educator class that begins tomorrow. But instead I’m on here giving you the gossip, for which I can only say I love you more than punctuality. And that’s saying a lot.

Monday, October 01, 2012

raison d’être

Charlie on her first morning of “stay and play” school.

October already? We have an action-packed month, including a move, some of my first doula clients, and getting in shape for my reunion row in a month. To give myself an outlet for discussing all that’s happening and to hold myself accountable in my desire to exercise every day, I’ve decided to join up with NaBloPoMo, that thing where you blog every day for a month. I hope you’ll read along!

If you know me well, you might know that today’s post title happens to be the name of one of my favorite beers. But I’m not writing about beer this time, I’m writing about my discovery in the last two years of what really matters to me. My reason for existence, my everything, my be all to end all.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

big pimpin’

Moving preparations continue. The kids are ‘helping.’

One of my doula clients is due tomorrow so am anxiously waiting to hear that it’s time for me to head out to support her birth. Finding back-up care has been an interesting process, and I’m so grateful to have gotten wonderful offers of support coming from friends (both of whom have their hands full with third babies). Luckily I’ve got a few babysitters who have always come through for me.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

my birth partners: great natural labor companions

Welcome to the June 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Embracing Your Birth Experience
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about at least one part of their birth experience that they can hold up and cherish.
***

I’ve written before about the births of both of my daughters (here and here), but those posts were about the run-down of events, so I appreciate the chance to highlight a favorite part of my natural birth experiences to share with you today. It will be no surprise to those of you who know my recent career move (I became a birth doula this year) that I attribute most of the success of my natural births to having great birth partners. I was lucky enough to have both my mom and my husband present at my births, and in addition to their excellent support, my births were guided by intelligent midwives.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

stuff is happening

Watching them play peacefully from inside the house. Two peas in an adorable pod, they are.

Seems like we’re due for me to give y’all a what-I’m-up-to brain dump. I mean, enough with the organization and the structured posts already, right? Things are going along swimmingly, that is if you don’t count the fact that I got a second nasty cold in two months (so much for my moronic “I haven’t been sick in two years!!” bragging, s’pose I had it coming), and the fact that it has been the dreariest of dreary weather for too long to count, and the fact that I am so disorganized right now that I missed Vivi’s last-day-of-school-sing-along. And then two of my friends called later to ask “What was up with you not being there?” And then a third friend emailed to say “We missed you at the sing-along!”

Nevermind all that. I can’t even. I might start crying.

Friday, March 30, 2012

the crock pot: play more, cook less

I have been looking for new crock pot recipes lately for many reasons. My minimalist approach to parenting makes me gravitate toward healthy meals that require less of my time in the kitchen–no small feat. Plus I know I’ll be running out on last-minute calls to my doula clients and don’t want to leave my family in the lurch. Finally, I have a crock pot, a wedding gift I was very excited to receive over seven years ago (thanks Corinne!), and I almost never use it due to lack of inspiration and knowledge.

Mommy, play? How could I say no to this face?

Thursday, March 15, 2012

the wisdom of the lady with the alligator purse

Vivi loves this book, The Lady with the Alligator Purse. Back in my day, I remember the song well (it starts “Miss Lucy had a baby. His name was Tiny Tim. She put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim”). I can’t remember if it was one that we sang on the playground (a la “Miss Mary Mack” and “Down by the Banks”) or if my grandma sang it to me while I played in the bathtub. She sang lots of cute songs to me. Either way, Vivi’s recent fondness for it is bringing back nice memories of being a child. There’s another post about reliving my childhood through my kids in all this rambling, but it’s not why I’m writing about that book today.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

my-doula oblongata

My birth doula training (doula= non-medical labor coach) took place this weekend, and it was wonderful. I also had a great day today full of calls, texts, and emails from friends and family asking me how it went. I feel so loved and supported. Thank you!

I want to share some of the best parts of the two-day training. But first I want to share this chubby angel…

Is he the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen or what? This little guy is the best four-month-old baby in the world; he tagged along with his still-breastfeeding mama to the training and basically slept, smiled, and ate the whole time. After being around him for a full weekend, all I can say is that Nate is lucky he is currently across several continents and a giant ocean. I was in full-on baby-crazed mode.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

a doula for youla

Hey there, creative readers! I could use your help. My plan to become a doula is moving full steam ahead, and the more I learn about the field, the more excited I become. The women in this profession are about as calm and empathic as it gets, so I feel more relaxed about paving a new career path than ever before, thanks in large part to their guidance.

Becoming a doula will be the easy part for me. The trouble is I do not have the entrepreneurial spirit. I’m an idea girl, to be sure, but somewhere along the way I tend to lose steam from the obstacles I encounter, and I haven’t figured out how to mount the hurtles. I wish I had it in me to take great risks, but as I often say about myself, at the end of the day I’m a paycheck gal.

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