Suturing! Anne Frye! Chickens! Oh My!

In which I pretend this chicken is a perineum


And then I cut an episiotomy on it


And then I put it back together and feed it to the dogs.


I pray that I never have to suture anyone -- at least, not for several years -- because I really had no idea what I was doing. I know I say that frequently on here, but really, this time I meant it! I did note that when we watched a video about repairing tears, Anne Frye (of Holistic Midwifery fame) pronounced ischial the proper way (is-kee-al) rather than the commonly accepted "ish-ee-al." I smirked at Leigh when we saw that, because when I first told her how ischial is supposed to be said, she didn't believe me. (Google it. You'll see.)

I've been out of town for the last week, at Outer Banks with my family and my extended family. It was a beautiful trip except that on the next-to-last day I fell down the stairs and broke two bones in my big toe. That sucks. It hurts, it's hard to walk, and it bled for a long time. I didn't go in the ocean after that happened. Oh, well. We plan to go back next year too, and I will not carry laundry downstairs again on narrow, creaky stairs. These stairs were really narrow and really creaky. I had a feeling someone would get hurt on them, I just didn't imagine it would be me.

While I was gone, one of Leigh's clients had her baby. I'm so bummed I missed it! Unfortunately her birth was not quite what she had planned. I'm still learning about complications, and I'm struck with the unfairness ofl ife. A not-particularly-healthy mom can have an easy birth, and a very healthy mom can end up with a medical condition. But, of course, like Forrest Gump says, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get."

This week I have three interviews with potential clients. Two are Wednesday, back-to-back, after a vet appointment for Maizey, and after a prenatal appointment with Leigh and one of her clients. Yeah, it's going to be one of those days. I just had another interview tonight. I can never tell how it goes, except when it goes exceptionally badly. Luckily there's a million women in Charlotte who want to hire doulas; unluckily there are a zillion doulas here who want to get hired. I hate competing against my friends, but at least I feel good knowing that if I don't get hired, it's usually because someone I know and like did get hired.

I did do some studying while I was on vacation; there's actually a picture of me, in a bikini, no less, diligently reading my boyfriend, Marsden Wagner. I will post it when I upload the pics from my computer (which I've been saying I will do since we got home on Saturday). Marsden and I spend a lot of time together lately. I'm reading his books and articles. After him, I'm moving on to a relationship with Jan Tritten, the editor of Midwifery Today. Then Henci Goer, whose book, The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, set me on my path toward midwifery. I have three years of midwifery and I don't think I'm going to be monogamous with anyone during that time.