Postdate 10
I remember walking to the nurse with a friend. Did the teachers send you by twos at your school? In elementary school, they sent us by twos. Two little girls in navy tunic dresses, tights and matching shoes, asking permission to take the huge elevator down one floor. Friendship meant hearing someone say “May I walk her?” when you asked the teachers permission to go to the nurse?
When I wait with a woman for her labor to begin, I walk with her in my mind. I know I may be called at any moment. I care for my house, my children, saving one little space in my mind to simply wait with her.
I continue to take care of myself, stealthily carrying my phone with me and leaving it on while working out, in the sauna @ the Y, in a ziplock bag poolside while splashing around with the kids. It sits under a blanket during yoga. I meditate and tune in, hoping it only buzzes if someone needs me.
I eat well. I bake in the waiting time and keep reviewing my birth bag – caffeinated tea, minty gum, honey sticks, a clean t-shirt. I wake each morning thinking of how to handle the kids if today is the day. I go to sleep each night wondering if I will be called in the early morning hours.
There is nothing my client needs me to do. I listen. I take her calls. We talk about waiting. We kvetch about toddlers who won’t nap, back pain, and sleepless nights before a newborn is even trying to feed. She talks about some contractions that disappear. I walk with her. We wait.
I love this. One of the most powerful things about pregnancy to me is the waiting, as I have written about many times. This is a whole new spin and I love it.
i think so often – not just in birth- that the waiting with someone is the most important thing. What a gift.
Great post…hey let’s take some family photos soon before fall is completely gone. Maybe next week?