amanda's blog

Birth Five

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:11:42 -0700

It’s been a few weeks since my last birth. The midwife I had built the strongest connection with went back into retirement. Fewer and fewer full-bullied women were waddling into the clinic for pre-natal checks. It was not looking good for me an...

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alas, another vaginal birth (4)

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:55:58 -0700

With two C-sections in a row, I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever see another vaginal birth. I arrived to shadow the midwife at 9AM yesterday. The midwife had just warned me of a slow morning , when at 9:30AM the office phone rang. The midwif...

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the blue wall, birth 3

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:56:43 -0700

I’d seen Nan come into the clinic for pre-natal checks over the 6 weeks I’ve been in Hyden. I watched her belly grow until she could rest her elbows on her table of a pregnant stomach. For weeks she kicked her mother out of the room for any pelvi...

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not just any Kitty

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:40:40 -0700

Greatness can be detected by many subtle factors. Last week I walked into a presentation at the Frontier Nursing School. I was late and didn’t know where to find the speaker. My best guess was the old barn. I entered the building with light step...

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birth two - the other end of the spectrum

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:15:42 -0700

This turned into a busy week for births. I shadowing a midwife on Friday and another woman was admitted for labor. From the moment I saw her, I knew this would be a very different birth. Her visit to the midwives late in pregnancy were frequent,...

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birth one - in depth

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:30:03 -0700

(written Wednesday, June 4th. it's a well-described birth story, skip it if it's not up your ally) Everyday I get a little clearer sense what the life of a nurse midwife looks like. Today I opened an entirely new door, the exhaustion of laborin...

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wendover rains

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:09:04 -0700

I can’t remember the last time I heard rain approach. It takes a combination of personal and environmental stillness. This morning I sat on the porch swing in the screened in area outside the Garden House reading the final pages of East of Eden. A...

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A KY adventure

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:57:17 -0700

Tonight the fog hung low between the mountains. Going on two weeks in Southeast Kentucky I'm beginning to pick up on a pattern. If there's a break after it rains (even if the water pours again in a few minutes time) the fog falls into the valleys....

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Om Namah Sivaya

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:31:35 -0700

The first bell rings at 4:30. Its dark. You can find me in the fetal position curled into my blanket hiding from the cold that crept into the palm-thatched dorm in the early morning hours. My eyes check the clock and return to their familiar shut...

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Pre-Ashram Update

nobody@vox.com(amanda) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:31:27 -0800

Last night I boarded a bus in Pondicherry and after riding through the night in a reclining chair (with foot rest), my stiff back de-boarded to explore Madurai. This South Indian city is most famous for the Sri Meenakshi Temple Complex. And a pri...

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