Done for Now

I went on my second birth as a doula last night. It didn't work out as well as I hoped. I got the call at 10:30 in the morning, but I couldn't leave work because three of the other managers were out. I was doula-sharing, so the other doula headed to the hospital without me, and I called my back-up. Unfortunately she was in an induction and couldn't attend my birth. By the time I got there around 5:30, the mom was almost ready to push. I felt bad about leaving the other doula hanging and not being able to fulfill my commitment to the mom. The experience helped to reinforce a decision I'd already made. Doula-ing just doesn't work in my life right now. Even though my employer is flexible about it, I can't always just up and leave. I'm also not dealing well with the possibility of having to be awakened at any moment in at least a three week window around a due date. I want less stress in my life right now, not more. So I won't be taking on any new clients. Maybe someday my life will be better suited to being a doula and I can take it up again. Because I like doing it. And I think I am good at it.

2009: The Year in Books

I kept a better and more accurate record of my readings this year than I have in the past. I am pleased to see there are a few more books on the list than there were last year when I was in grad school for the entire year. Once again I have included re-reads (rr) and listed the books in the order they were read. So without further ado, I give you my reading list for 2009:

Journey to the South by Annie Hawes
DragonHeart by Todd McCaffrey
That Summer in Sicily by Marlena de Blasi
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Girls in Trouble by Caroline Leavitt
Firestorm by Nevada Barr
Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
Adventures in Natural Childbirth by Janet Schwegel
Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon
The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin
The Doula Book by Klaus, Kennell, & Klaus
Endangered Species by Nevada Barr
Frog Haven by Mary Taitt (rr)
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner
Dancehall by Bernard F Conners
A Lady in the Lake by George Christian Ortloff
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs
A Live Coal in the Sea by Madeleine L'Engle (rr)
Family History by Dani Shapiro

Tis the Season

I finished reading my advance copy of Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs last night. This is the third book in the Friday Night Knitting Club series. It follows the first two nicely, keeping with the feel and tradition. Some of the club members get less face time in this novel, which focuses mostly on now 20 year old Dakota.

The novel picks up at Thanksgiving and runs through the New Year's holiday. It does a lovely job of bringing the festive season to life. Even though it's only early November, it got me into the holiday frame of mind. This was a delicious book in more ways than one. Not only was it a fun and familiar read, but Bess' butter tarts sound divine, and I'm almost tempted to try creating my own holiday garland (although I'd have to crochet it, not being a knitter like Georgia).

This book delivers just what it offers: good friends, knitting, and happy holidays!

A Great Escape

As I've gotten older my attention span has gotten shorter. Does that sound backwards to you too? When I was younger if I started a book I made myself finish it no matter how much I hated it. These days, not so much. I just don't have the patience anymore to slog through page after page of boring or poorly written crap. I forget now which book it was that was a break through for me. I think it was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, but it might have been On the Road by Jack Kerouac or Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. All books that came highly recommended from my sister. Fortunately over the years, she and my mother have gotten better at recognizing what I might like and what it might be best to not try to foist upon me. Sometimes I myself err when picking up a book. Just the other day I had to abandon a mystery in the Anna Pigeon series, of which I'd already read many, in favor of Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner. Judge all you'd like, but I read to escape from my life, so I'd prefer something more interesting and possibly more exciting than I'd be able to offer. I have no interest in reading about the horrors of our world. I know they're out there, and it's just not the escapism I have in mind.

And all I can do is read a book to stay awake

And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape

No Rain, Blind Melon.

Mountain Climbing

Head over to Lake Loop for a brilliant rendition of our recent hike up Whiteface & Esther. Peaks #4 and #5 for me!

Doula-ing Update

As I mentioned in the previous post I am mid-way through my fourth book off the required reading list for doula certification. I have one more to read after this one.

Last night I attended a breastfeeding class to meet another requirement. It was pretty neat to be in a room full of beautifully pregnant women. I'm not sure how much I learned though, having already read the material in much more detail in Breastfeeding Made Simple. Next month I start a five week childbirth education series at one of the other hospitals in the area. I decided to split the classes up at different hospitals in hopes of meeting more folks in the field.

Tonight after work I will tag along with one of my doula mentors on her initial meeting with a potential new client. It will be good to see the whole process from the get-go. If the mom chooses to work with us, she should deliver in December.

At the beginning of this month I attended my first birth with another doula mentor. It was the most amazing experience imaginable. It absolutely confirmed that this is something I want to do. I hope that after a couple more mentoring births I will feel ready to go out on my own!

Knit the Season

My advance copy of Knit the Season arrived yesterday. It's the newest edition of the Friday Night Knitting Club novels by Kate Jacobs. I'm midway through my fourth required reading book for doula certification, but now I have extra motivation to finish that. It's funny to me that I enjoy the Friday Night Knitting Club books so much considering I don't even knit. I do occasionally crochet though! It's the characters and storylines that really grab me, of course. But I can't believe it's time for holiday stories already!