Well, we did it! The 1st year of Midwifery school is officially complete! The last couple weeks, none of us were sure we would make it across the finish line, but we did! It was a pretty intense finals week. Papers, presentations, finals galore. Somehow, we did and are ready to begin our 2nd year of schooling. I've decided midwifery school is a lot like labor. It feels like it flies by and time is standing still all at the same time. If you've ever experienced the labor time warp, you know exactly what I mean.
This last semester, I had the opportunity to have my first 4-handed catch (the midwife's 2 hands along with my 2 hands actually catching the baby together). I also managed all prenatal and PP visits and did pelvic exams, cultures and Paps. I got more and more comfortable with Leopold's Maneuver to determine a baby's position in the uterus. Blood draws now feel like 2nd nature. I am looking forward to learning the skill of putting in IVs. I am also looking forward to learning the skill of doing pelvic exams during labor and catching a baby by myself.
There have also been some big changes for me in school. The entire 1st year, I was precepting with a midwife at a busy birth center. By the end of my 1st year, I had 30 managed births and I only need 50 by the time I graduate. The week of my finals, I moved to a new midwife. This new midwife is a home birth midwife that has a much smaller, so less busy, practice. I will be going from 12 births a month and 2 clinic days a week to 2 births a month and 1 clinic day a week. I learned so much so quickly with my 1st preceptor and I am so thankful for the experience but I am looking forward to the slower pace and being home more with my family. This year, Morgan will be graduating from highschool and I am so glad to have the opportunity to spend more time with her as she finishes her high school years. Next year will be the same thing with Avery so the timing seems perfect. I also think my little toddler is in need of a mommy home a little more. I have never had to leave any of my other kids as much as I have left him. It's hard to teach a 2 year old boundaries and structure when there is a new person every day in charge. And, I think one of these days, somebody is actually going to need to potty train that little guy :)
So, all in all, I think we are all looking forward to this coming semester and the slower pace that I will be having. Right now, I am enjoying not only the slower pace of births but the 3 weeks of break from school. I start back 1 week from today. It's hard to believe that in only 2 years, I will be a Licensed Midwife!
