We're back from the USA

This post has been a long time coming. We visited the USA for all of June and July and have finally gotten back into our normal/regular routines for school.

Some midwifery-related news:

I was able to meet my sister-in-law's midwife this summer and got to tour her birth center. She was able to answer some questions for me and was happy to hear that I was enrolled in such a good midwifery program. That's now two SC midwives that I have met and can consider asking to apprentice with. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat at that appointment.

I brought back books from the USA. 200 POUNDS of books to be exact. Good thing we had a large luggage allowance! We just got a new bookcase for the bedroom and I need to put up a picture of all of my beautiful midwifery/birthing books collection. I have a library for midwifery students to drool over. I have saved and shopped and waited for the right prices for over a year. Over the 3 years that I've collected books, I've spent maybe $2500. That may seem like a lot, but the center shelf of my collection is mostly big textbooks and if I'd paid for just that shelf new, it would've cost $3000. I've paid probably 1/3 the price.

I am doing prenatal care for a mom here. This is her 4th pregnancy and she will be doing another hospital waterbirth. She figured I can give good if not better care than her OB and I see her every week for playgroup anyway. She said that if the baby is coming too fast as have some of her other births, she'll just come to my place and use the new birth pool I bought.

I started schooling full time August 1st. I have completed some work already but have not even finished orientation yet. I hope to be done with all of that by January 1st. My plan is to update on this blog once a week (somewhat for accountability, and also to appease other's curiosities). I'll do a weekend update of what I accomplished for that week. I've tried to get in 16hr a week but have been managing 10 to 12 which isn't too bad considering I have 3 little ones at home and one in school.

If all goes as planned, my family and I will be living in Indonesia next summer for 6 or so weeks. I have discovered a birth center there that is run by an American midwife. She trains student midwives and I am in much need of learning some clinical skills. My goal is to finish up my resume and attach that to an official application by Monday. I am so so excited. I've thought about it almost every day since I found out about it almost a year ago. The best part is that my family can come with me, it's a cheap place to live, and I can bring my twins who will most likely still be breastfed at almost 2yr old by then.

I just can't wait to see what this next school year has in store for me!