Friday, February 25, 2011

Baby steps.

In the coming weeks, I have a few projects planned. First, I'll be starting a new blog. This yet-to-be-named endeavor will *exclusively* house information related to pregnancy/birthing/ breastfeeding/pumping at work/other similar topics. This website will also contain helpful resources related to those subjects and serve as a starting point for info regarding my doula services. Second, I'm working on a series of posts focusing on pumping at work, tentatively broken up into "Environment," "Equipment," and "Attitude." So look for lots of new info in the coming weeks!

On a personal note, I'm feeling like I'm stuck in a bit of a slump. Training for my half-marathon is going well, the girls are doing great, work is okay. I can't help but feel that I'm in some kind of holding pattern, though. It's hard when you know where you want to be in life, but are not in the position to make the changes necessary to get there.

I have about a year left in the military. Then I'm out, and we're headed back to Athens so Brett can finish up his PhD. While he does that, I'll be busy with the girls and my doula-ing. By the time Brett graduates, it'll be time for Lucy to be in (gasp!) kindergarten, and Junie will be right behind. Right now I plan on focusing on the girls until Brett graduates and they're both in school, at which point I want to pursue a Midwifery degree- preferably through Emery's Nurse Midwife program.

Right now, all I can do is try to be patient. To work on my doula certification so that I can get as much experience as possible working with mamas and babies. To enjoy spending time with the girls and Brett- because once he starts working post-PhD, he'll likely be on the road most days of the week.

*sigh*

The days go slowly, but the weeks fly by.

3 comments:

Denise said...

I have always admired how driven you are, Emily. Even if you are in a bit of a holding pattern, you do know where you want to be. That's huge.

I certainly am not like that. I often look and wonder what I've accomplished at ALL in the last month (or months). And I can't even come up with much. One thing I do try to do is know what kind of a person I want to be. I want to be more gentle, kind, patient, to exhort Elyana with scripture more, respond with more kindness to Jonathan, have praise instead of criticism on my lips... etc, etc, etc. So, a different kind of goal-setting, I guess.

I think when our child/children are young, it's easy to let time fly with the day-to-day and not realize how precious we'll look back on those times. Savor what you can. Love something about each stage, if you can.

Cindy Hetzer said...

Wow. I found your blog from a post on MDC, after searching for my midwife's name through the forums there. I was reading through some of your posts and saw your name, and it seemed familiar somehow ... then I remembered that my last nanny was employed as your nanny before you moved! I actually remember calling you as a reference for her several months ago. I feel like you and I are long-lost identical twins or something. Or we are leading parallel lives in some weird comic universe. I am active duty at the base you moved from. I have about a year left, and then I am getting out too. My second baby is about 2.5 months old. My midwife was your midwife with your first baby, although I had a home birth a few months ago, not a hospital birth. I am pumping at work, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and coming home to nurse at lunch. I too have a freezer full of milk that I am going to donate (using Human Milk 4 Human Babies, though, formerly Eats on Feets). I am pursuing a childbirth services career in GA, although I won't be going the CNM route. I had to fight with Tricare to get them to approve an out-of-network provider when my (your old) midwife moved from OB to private practice. I have dabbled in cheesemaking too, using our own dairy goats that we bought so we could have raw milk to drink for our family. My husband has a PhD. It's like, everything I read about you is exactly my life. How does this happen?? Haha!

So. Nice to meet you. My name is Cindy, and I am exactly like you. :)

Emily said...

Denise- you are *too* kind and your words are so supportive. Thank you!

Cindy- "Wow" is right- my mind is blown. I am so glad to meet someone with which I have so much in common- that's an incredible rarity! Looking forward to speaking with you more :-)