Thoughts on a birthing home

With all of my thoughts about my future lately, I've begun thinking about how I would like my birthing home to be. Of course, my ideas are very much subject to change, as my situation could vary greatly depending on how my "stars align", as it were. My thought is to have my own practice as a CNM/FNP, although if I find the right person/people, I'd love to work with the holistic-minded physician or midwife. That being said, I am writing this post under the assumption that I will not be working in a typical office/hospital setting. So here are a few of the ideas that I've come up with for MY birthing home:

~It would be an old house...perhaps historical or Victorian...possibly an old Bed & Breakfast. I love the feel and the energy of an old house. It has charm and personality, but it also feels more wholesome than today's cookie-cutter houses.
~It would be on at least 1/4 acre, but preferably 1/2 + acres. I'd like to have a yard with perhaps a small playground/play area for kids, a flower garden, and my herb garden. That way my mommas would have a place to walk around in early labor, their kids would have a place to play, and I'd be able to harvest my own herbs for my teas and compounding.
~I'd like to have the interior painted in the style of Lazure. I love the peaceful feel of Lazure, and how each room is painted to reflect its purpose.
~If it is ONLY a birthing home, it would have to be at least 4 bedrooms, providing for an exam room, two birthing rooms, and an office. If it is a family practice as well as a birthing home, it would have to be at least 5 bedrooms, providing for an additional exam room.
~Each birthing room should have its own Jacuzzi tub. One of the full baths in the home will have an immense shower...big enough for a laboring momma and her partner to have plenty of room.
~I'd like the house to have a big, open-plan living room/dining room/kitchen area, which would function as the waiting room. That way there would be full access to the kitchen for my families and a spacious area for kiddos to play. I'd have a big TV with cable and a DVD player...let's face it, labor can take a LOOONNNGGG time!
~The kitchen would be fully furnished, with all cooking accessories, dishes, and appliances. That way I could whip up goodies for my families, but also the families could feel free to cook their own after-birth meals if they wanted, or a birthday cake for the new babe.
~Ideally, it would have either an attic or basement or other large space for classes, meetings, yoga, etc.
~For an additional homey feel, I'd like to have the waiting room stocked daily with things like fresh herbal teas, fruits and nuts, and yummy, healthy baked goods if I feel particularly inspired that morning!

So many ideas! Travis is all for it, and is totally behind all of my ideas, for which I am grateful. Our hope is that our time here in California will allow us to not only get back on our feet financially, but also allow us to pay for our schooling and put a hefty downpayment on a house. If we were able to do that, that would give us the financial freedom (I hope!) to do all of these things. It's a lot, I know. But we're determined. Part of Frontier's program has to do with running a business, so I'm glad I'll get some training as far as the business end of things. It's hard for me to even fathom working in MY environment! You know, it's going to be really cool to read this blog ten years from now and see where my thoughts have gotten me...

A few projects...

I've been knocking out a few sewing and crocheting projects here lately. Here are pics of a couple...

This is Deklan's beanie...it's a wool/soy blend. It was actually going to be for my dad, but it was a modified pattern and turned out too small. So, I guess I'll have to make another for Dad!

This is a crochet blanket that I made for my friend Sarah and her newborn babe, Austin. It went along with the sling that I posted pics of a few posts ago.


This is a sling that I made for my BFF, Lolo. I made an identical one for her sis, April (who is due two weeks before Lolo is), and a wrap for Gavin out of the same cut of material. It's a super-light teal gauze with a tiny silver stripe running through it...I love it!
That's it for now...I had more pics that I wanted to post, but blogger is rebelling and won't recognize my attempts to upload. Guess I'll post them another day. Oh well...it's off to work I go!

These days...

...we've been making a lot of decisions. Like staying here for an extended contract. This new contract will bring me thru the beginning of February at the hospital in Walnut Creek. I had really hoped to get to Redding straight away, but the only hospital with a need was still two hours away from Redding, so what was the point? So, I'm just letting my recruiter know that the only option after this contract is Redding. If they can't find me a position, then I'll go as staff. Since we're staying, we'll be staying in the same apartment. This makes me kind of happy, as I love our neighborhood! Deklan as become such good buddies with the German Shepherd that lives across the way. His name is Charlie, and believe it or not, he's still a puppy! This is the same friendly guy who greeted us the day we moved in, running into the house and showering Gavin with excessively slobbery kisses. This shot of Deklan and Charlie was taken by Charlie's dad for a project he was working on (he's doing classes in Photography).



I did some overtime a couple of weeks ago, and that check finally rolled in. We had been wanting to spend a day in San Fran and I had a run of four days off over a weekend, so we decided to go! We went to Pier 39 and checked out the shops, the boats, the street performers, and the Blue Angels!! We didn't even know that they were having an airshow that day, and it was awesome! In the years that I lived near Airforce bases, I never got to see an airshow...it took me moving across the country for it to happen! Gavin was impressed...


We also went to The Aquarium by the Bay, an aquarium dedicated to water-life in and around the San Fran Bay. Deklan loved it! They had different column-like aquariums with various habitats, such as under a pier, reefs, and grassy/sandy areas.

They had an area where you could touch a bat ray, a baby leopard shark, a sea urchin, or a starfish. Deklan was scared to touch them, then Daddy finally convinced him to touch the least "scary" of the bunch if he touched it at the same time. That starfish was really big!
There was also an aquarium tunnel that you could walk thru, and you were surrounded by water. There were two tunnels, one with smaller fish and another with big fish and sharks. There were fish and sharks bigger than Deklan! He was really amazed...he kept yelling "WHOA!! Look at that one!"

We had hot dogs and clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, saw the bridge and Alcatraz, and had a good time as a family. It seems like it's been so long since we've gone out and done something special together, not just the weekly shopping.
I got a call from Lolo yesterday, and she said they're heading back to Alabama from Honduras in three weeks. I found some more awesome material at Joann, so I have a LOT of diaper sewing to do! I got more Aplix in from Kayla's Cloth Kits so I can actually finish some. My sewing has really fallen by the wayside, and I don't have a lot of time left to get quite a bit of stuff finished.
I've also been giving a lot of thought these days to my "career path", as it were. I don't really think of it as a career path, but I guess that's exactly what it is. Anyway, I recently had the chance to talk to a midwife who had also gone on to be a Family Nurse Practitioner. She said that she never regretted that decision, and that she loves the versatility that it gives her, as well as the continuity. I keep thinking how I wish that I could see Harmony (my midwife for Gavin) for EVERYTHING, not just pregnancy, childbirth, and yearlies. How cool would it be to have an NP at your primary provider's office, then discover that you're pregnant and have the same person care for your throughout your pregnancy, childbirth, post-partum, then continue to care for you and your family? What a relationship! I would love to be able to work in a somewhat rural area and provide that kind of continuity! I want to start my Master Herbalist program sometime in the next few months. When we're done here in California, I'm going to start the midwifery program. Since Frontier offers NP programs as well as CNM, they will "combine" your programs as best as they can to minimize redundant classes and expedite your schooling. Geez, I guess I'll have a lot of alphabet soup behind my name if I finish all of this as planned. Can you see it? Jessica R. Dempsey, RN, MH, CNM, FNP. Dang. I don't care about the credentials, though, as much as I care about what I will be actually doing at the point. I was trying to explain it all to Travis during our drive yesterday. I always wanted to be a nurse. I was never super excited about going to school for nursing...I loved it and still love it, but it was just kind of always what I figured I would do. Now, looking at years of schooling ahead of me, I'm excited. REALLY excited. Like I can't wait to start, excited. I'll be in my 30's when I finish. Experienced enough to know a thing or two, but young enough to keep learning and have years to establish myself. I can't wait!!