While taking a shower, I got a great idea the other morning! The best ideas always come to me in the shower. I suddenly thought of offering placenta encapsulation services to my clients, as well as non-clients. I think that had I been able to have someone process my placenta for me after birth, I would have been down with it. I still have Oliver’s placenta in the freezer. It’s great for grossing people out when they are in the kitchen with you 
Any how, if you’re not familiar with the benefits of placenta, it is believed to help relieve post-partum depression, increase milk production, replenish iron stores, lessen post-natal bleeding, as well increased energy. Some women also choose to ingest a small portion of their placenta raw immediately after birth to prevent or halt hemmorhage. Some have it in a smoothie, or others just pop a piece in their mouth. I was up for it if I experienced a lot of bleeding, but that did not happen.
So, I am reading a lot more about this process, and looking forward to trying it out!
I am also excited to say that I am going to offer handmade breastmilk soap, made from client’s (or non-clients! I don’t discriminate!) own milk. I have made batches from my own breastmilk, and loved how it turned out. Very sudsy and clean feeling. Each batch makes about 25 bars of soap, and they last forever. I will be putting up some information about both of these services under the “Other services” tab.
I attended my longest birth so far last weekend. Twenty-nine hours. It was long and hard, but great practice for me. I ended up crying at the end, all alone in the cardiac department, because I was so exhausted and missed my family terribly. I wasn’t able to sleep for almost two days, and by the end, I was a wreck. I had never been away from my kids that long, and I didn’t realize how lack of sleep would make me feel.
At the hospital
It was also the first time I had a negative experience with nurses. They were very rude, and any time I walked by they glared at me. They were not welcoming at all, and when they were out at their station, they just sat and chatted. Many times when I walked by, I could hear them talking about the mom I was with. This was the same hospital I gave birth to my daughter at – St. Vincent’s in Portland. Brought back a lot of memories.
Been quite quiet so far this summer. I have been reading lots more about doula-ing, and preparing lots of paperwork and info. Getting a 13-tabbed folder especially for printouts. Thinking about making up binders for clients in the future. Lots of thoughts going on. I am still in student-doula limbo-land, and I know pretty soon I will have all my births complete, be certified, and out there. Ah! How scary!
I have a birth coming up at the beginning of next month, then one in September. It’s going to whiz by, I just know it.
I think I have settled on a name for my business: Zipadee Doula. Ha! The name was suggested to my by my lovely friend, Sarah. She has the same kind of humor as I do, and we both agreed on not having an ‘ooey-gooey’ business name. Such a name does not fit me at all. Not that I don’t love the fluffy birth stuff, but personally, I think it misrepresents me. And I wanted something that would stand out from all the other names out there. So, there we go. I think it’s set.
[Sunrise I saw driving home last week from the first birth I was able to see]
I’m not new to having a blog. Though, I am new to WordPress. I think I like it. My own personal blog has been running over at Livejournal now for ages, and it took a lot for me to venture out and try a new thing. I get settled into my little comfy ‘chairs’ in life, and don’t like to move.
I am not completely sure as to what I am going to be really talking about on here. I think it will probably be a mish-mash of personal thoughts, videos, news, how my business is going, and hopefully some birth stories. I am very excited about this new venture.
