class 1 fall 2007

I just finished class one, and it went really well.

I have five couples-- three due in December, one due in February and one due in March.

One couple took a class with another (former) teacher in our area; the woman was once really tight with that teacher, who happened to threaten to take my home and destroy my life. Can you see why I would be a bit suspicious, while still trying to remain professional? I am doing what I tend to do and trusting that she has only good intentions.

I even started and finished on time. Amazingness. I usually run over in class 1, but I talked really fast (it's a gift) and kept chit-chat to a non-existent level.

I heard from a student from my previous class; she ended up birthing via cesarean after hours and hours of labor with not much progress. I feel so sad for her because, well, she is so sad. Sometimes I have students who have a cesarean birth, and they are at peace with the birth. She is not at peace with it; she is greatly disappointed. Her baby is also not able to nurse because the meds mom is on is making baby lethargic. She's pumping and dumping and feeding the baby soy formula for the time being; she is keeping the baby skin-to-skin, which will hopefully help them both.

I did refer her to ICAN for support.

I have to call another student tomorrow because she, too, is disappointed that she didn't get the homebirth she envisioned. She transferred to hospital and opted to have an epidural. Her email sounded sad, so I really need to talk to her and reassure her that it's okay.

I don't go in for this make moms feel like shit because they chose drugs or had a cesarean. My students are exceptional consumers, and if they choose to take meds or to have a cesarean, I know it was likely done after much consideration of benefits vs risks.

Well, I am off to watch Big Bang Theory now (just testing to see if I get more comments from production company/network promoters.) I hear that Sara Gilbert is on the episode tonight. Did you know that Sara Gilbert's (and Melissa Gilbert's) brother was Willy from Little House on the Prairie? He, like, disappeared off the face of the earth, I heard years ago. I watched Little House for years and years and only within the last five years did I know that Willie and Half-Pint were sibs in real life.