Wow. This week has been so full. It was amazing to watch two babies come into the world after quick, intense labors. The first, on Easter, was a first time mom in a hospital and she was fantastic. The second, a mother of one already, had a homebirth in her apartment that also went quick - so quick I was not sure the midwife would make it in time! That was two days ago and it was also a terrific experience. She gave birth on her hands and knees in the shower to a big, beautiful baby boy. Tomorrow I have a prenatal and a postpartum - what a joyful job I have. The other day I rested on the couch of a client with their sleeping newborn cradled in my arms. Mom was showering while dad got breakfast at a local cafe that they like. I thought to myself that it takes a special kind of person to be so blessed as to get paid to rest with a newborn :)
I was speaking with Julie from Babyhawk ( http://babyhawk.com ) about the carriers that they make. I have loved our Babyhawk with Clay and I regularly recommend it to clients and friends (see the baby carrier review below). She told me about an amazing project that their company is involved in. At the Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, the babies from the Level 2 Special Care Nursery are being worn by hospital staff in Babyhawks as part of an experiment to see if this improves their health. The benefits of babywearing are well known and include a decrease in crying, more rapid weight gain, better sleep, regulation of immature nervous systems, and increased bonding, among others.
For babies in the Level 2 unit who are working on increasing their weight and becoming stronger, some as result of being born premature or with a health condition and others because of substance abuse exposure in utero, the Babyhawk experiment is proving to be a very successful trial run. Parents of babies in this unit are thrilled to know their babies are being held when they are not there and staff report enjoying wearing the babies while they do rounds, computer work, paper work, and other activities. And, best of all, the doctors are seeing marked improvements in the babies as a result of their increased time with the staff.
Here are some pictures that Babyhawk sent me to post (with permission) that show one staff member wearing a baby while working outside the special unit.
I think this is an incredible project and would love to see similar trials at other nurseries with babies who could benefit from the extra time being cared for while staff complete other tasks. Bravo to Bayfront Medical Center and Babyhawk for this terrific work!
My brother lives 3000 miles away so I am missing seeing their baby grow but our mom sent me this picture of them. How lovely!
This morning at 5:11 am I watched a beautiful little girl transform one couple into a family with her birth. Her mother labored so amazingly with terrific support from her husband and her mother and got the birth she wanted. I arrived home 10 minutes before my kids woke up, ready for their Easter Baskets and the day's activities. I am tired now, but still riding the wave of joy that surrounds a birth.
I love the feeling of being on call - of knowing that there is a woman out there who is preparing for labor in the coming days and some time soon she will call me to come share in her birth day. For many years I worked in Rape Crisis and Victim's Assistance and when I was on-call then, it was a whole different feel. While the work was important and I was always happy ot be able to help a woman when she needed it, no one gets excited about a woman being raped or a child being victimized or a domestic abuse. But birth is exciting and beautiful and an amazing gift to be a part of.
