First Prenatal

In an effort to get me to stop desperately flipping between all the cable news channels for some sort of ... something this past weekend, Louis announced that we should get our emergency/earthquake kit together. My attention piqued, we gathered up all the stuff we could find around the house - flashlights, batteries, old blankets, gauze, gloves, Jesus candles, etc - then made a list of what we needed and we headed to Target to spend a gift card on the rest.

A few hours later, our kit was all packed up and I felt much less obsessed with worry about the end of the world. I'm so glad he thought of that project.

Later that day, I realized that if, in fact, we were going to be struck with either a massive Bay Area earthquake or fallout from Japan's nuclear disaster, I did not want to die while still holding on to Amazon.com gift cards. So, I placed an order for a bunch of books, some personal, some work related. I should start receiving them soon. And now, I felt much better about the world.

I'm still watching CNN a little bit each day, but now I'm actually so busy with work that I don't have time to worry. Tonight, I'll be doing my very first prenatal exam for my midwifery client. I am so nervous! It's like my first day at a new job. I'm even nervous about what I should wear.

Over the past few days, I managed to pull together quite an impressive looking chart, complete with my very own versions of informed consent forms, a client contract, financial agreement, a list of local resources, a list of lending library items, and other chart forms. I didn't fully appreciate until now exactly how much work goes into midwifery even before ever meeting with a client! I can't actually afford to buy a pack of charts from Staples yet, so I emptied out an old chart I must have taken home at some point during my apprenticeship. I also put together a bunch of samples, brochures, booklets, and other cool free things to offer to her.

Part of why I think I'm so nervous is because my client wants to become a midwife herself someday, and I want to really show her that I have my act together. I can't believe I'm actually doing this! I know once I'm there I'll be totally cool and confident, but right now, I'm a total wreck.