My New Place

So I think I've found my new home in a rented room in Harrison, about 3-4 miles from the school. I think I'll get along with these people pretty well- I just hope the environment is good for Metallica, my 19 month old cat.
This situation looks best, simply because no one is returning my phone calls... and this is the only place I can get and afford by myself... I may have some pretty long walks ahead of me, but I think I can manage until I find a vehicle.

Packet!

I have my Contact list, and I expect to have the rest of my packet by the end of business tomorrow! Gotta Love in-state mail! WOOT!

So excited. I made A. dance with me.

Learning more from the CDC's statistics on out-of-hospital birth.

according to the CDC out-of-hospital birth jumped 3% in 2006. While OOH birth still hovers at .59% of all total births, if these numbers continue this is a wonderful step toward freedom of choice in birth.
In the report put out by the CDC in March, it shows a color coded map detailing which states have the highest and lowest OOH birth rates. counties with a population of less than 100,000 had a higher home birth rate than those with a population above 100,000, on average .87% of births.

So now we have some figures to work with- home births exceeded 1% (woot!) in the following states: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington & Wisconsin. annnnnnd.... Drum roll!!!!!!!!
In Vermont and Montana, more than 2% of birth took place at home!
ADD THAT to the fact that in 2006 3.2%(!) of all births in Alaska took place in a birth Center and things are definitely looking up!

45% of all home births were attended by "other Midwives" in particular, direct-entry & CPMS.

My Classmates/Schoolmates/Sister Midwives are hiding!

So I set out this morning in search of my birthwise sister-midwives. I mentioned previously meeting a very nice woman named Rachel during my interview, and after finding her, and a classmate (kind of- she's in the community based program) on Facebook (I don't have my classmates list yet) I set out to find birthwise women in anyway possible. it's not as easy as one might think.
I admit it: I did some page stalking, and found Rachel's blog @Isaiah61midwife.blogspot.com. also- bloodyshow.wordpress.com is another soon-to-be school mate.

For a while, I've either gotten the look/comment that I was crazy or something along the lines of a polite "Well that's interesting..." when I mentioned my ambitions in Midwifery- you can imagine how awesome it is to me to be reading the thoughts and experiences of those just a year ahead of me in midwifery school and seeing what i have to look forward to and have something in common with. up until this week, the only people I'd spoken to were midwives with 10+ years of experience under their belts... not to mention the impressive histories of Ina May Gaskin, Peggy Vincent and Cara Mulhalhn.

I'm still on the search for more classmates/schoolmates/sister-midwives, so come give me a shout! I would love to hear from you.

I Got in!

so It's official. I got into Birthwise School of Midwifery!

I have a long hard road ahead of me, but of course, I've decided to stress over one of the smaller things possible: The Cats.
When I moved into my grandmother's basement a little over a year ago, I brought my 4 month old kitten, Metallica, with me. Over the last year, Tally and my grandmother's male cat, Avery, who is 8, have become fast friends.
When school starts in the fall, I have two options- Take Metallica with me and live off campus, or leave her here and live on campus.

I got Metallica when I was at the end of a very volatile relationship- she saved me. Now, as I'm about to go into what may well be the hardest three years of my life, I don't want to leave her behind. I need her... but I'm afraid she and Avery will get depressed if they are separated longer than overnight (which is normal).

so what do I do?