Feeling slightly less totally incompetent

The title is my roundabout way of saying I actually feel slightly MORE competent lately. Which is a relief. I can't point out anything concrete, but I just feel like some clinical things are starting to click in my mind. Maybe it's that checking fundal height is finally getting a little easier -- for some reason, I have a really hard time finding the exact spot on the pubic bone to start measuring. I used to be off by up to five centimeters. Now I'm getting a little more accurate.

I have also long proclaimed that I know nothing about midwifery, but as I'm delving deeper into AAMI, I can say that though I may be an idiot currently, I'm going to be a freaking genius by the time I graduate from AAMI. The coursework is all copyrighted so I can't say much, but suffice it to mention that the sheer volume of readingis enormous. And that's not to mention notes, papers, reviews, commentaries, and critiques.

For those (my three readers!) who are considering midwifery school, I recommend AAMI. Just looking at the small bit of curriculum I have now, I'm going to get a very thorough education. It takes a while to get used to AAMI-isms, but once you start drinking the Kool-Aid, it makes more sense. Plus the other students are very supportive and will share how they are balancing everything -- life, apprenticeship, education. The most difficult part is probably the money, which unfortunately is not something we have a lot of. Just this last week my oldest dog, Deuce, had an emergency vet appointment and treatment (she's fine now), and Dustin accidentally broke one side of the double-paned window next to our front door. Babysitting costs is what really kills me, although I appreciate the situation I have: a woman and her 5 daughters babysit the kids. The daughters were all homeschooled and are all (except one) married with kids and live close by. So I almost always have coverage, and I don't have to drive far, and next year when we're homeschooling, they will understand that and not think it's weird that 6yos are home during the day. It has really worked out nicely. The daughters are all into natural birth, so hopefully one of them will use the birth center in the future!

Last night I went to a Mother's Blessing ceremony for my friend and fellow doula and midwifery student, Brooke. This is her third pregnancy in four years; she is ridiculously fertile and has very fast labors. I didn't know her before her last Mother's Blessing, but apparently everyone gave her candles which she never even had time to light during the labor. It was less than two hours. We all joked that if she doesn't get a chance to use the candles with this labor, she can save it for the next one. HA. Soon she will be tandem nursing three children. Go Brooke!