Haaalllo and happy Friday!
I hope your week was lovely wherever you are! We have been playing outside every possible minute because the weather has been spectacular in Alaska. The trees are budding and the leaves should be sprouting as early as next week. My tulips should open next week too! I love seeing what color each flower is going to be. It’s a little like Christmas presents in your front yard.
My brain got some exercise at the breastfeeding conference I attended last week too. I have so many resources to share and all of my love for breastfeeding was renewed. Isn’t it funny how something you love so much can be renewed? I think the pandemic has made all of us see that in our own lives. I have breastfed all three of my babes for greater than a year and considered myself seasoned in the area of breastfeeding. But I still learned so many new things and it was so good for my soul! I’ll put up a post soon 🙂
Ok, onto the Five!
1. A new resource to recommend: Every Mother (https://www.everymother.org/).
I love a new resource and this one is fantastic. Here’s what Every Mother is all about:
Breastfeeding is amazing for both mothers and babies – but oh my goodness! There is a learning curve. And not every baby or nursing experience is the same. I learned about Pacify (an app you can download to get support from a lactation consultant right in your home!), Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE) (breastfeeding support right in your community), and Coffective (supporting the breastfeeding continuum across communities).
For anyone without good nursing support – at home, work or in the community – this is a great site to give out on discharge summaries or even just to tell mamas about.
2. There was an increase in maternal mortality in 2020 versus 2019.
We had a pandemic and have research to support that pregnant mothers are more at risk for preterm birth and significant complications if they are infected with the COVID-19 virus. Regardless, we have to do better.
3. The REAL ID.
Total truth: this is a midwife blog. But if you’ve been around a while, we talk about everything. And since this applies to the nation, let’s chat about it. One of my frustrations this week was a trip to the DMV to get a new driver’s license. Oh the DMV. Usually, I don’t mind the trip. I anticipate waiting 45-60 minutes and I bring a book to read. It’s actually been lovely in the past. Enter the pandemic. One, you have to have an appointment. Two, Alaska requires that you take a 20 question test before you can get a license. The test covers a variety of things but the idea is you should be able to pass it without studying. (Self high five for passing that guy on the first time!). Three, you have to have all the documents that you didn’t know you needed to bring, and no, they don’t accept electronic copies. ARGH. Ok, so it took me two visits and I walked out with an Alaska driver’s license that isn’t a REAL ID because I couldn’t bring myself to go back a THIRD time – especially with three little kids.
So, for those that don’t know – the REAL ID is a more secure form of identification to travel in the United States. A passport is the other accepted form of travel.
The pandemic pushed the deadline to have the ID to 2023. So make plans to either get your ID or your passport by then! Here are two other resources I found helpful.
Hopefully future Jamie isn’t mad at past Jamie for this decision…
4. New book recommendations!
I’m right on track to read 40 books this year and the planner in me is loving it!
Here are my recommendations based on the 16 books I’ve read this year:
- Parenting Scripts by Amber Lia and Wendy Speake (see review here!)
- The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
- The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
- The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
- TIE: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah or, The Magic Hour, also by Kristin Hannah
I’m currently working through a self-imposed challenge for 2021: Other than the books my sister and I choose for our monthly book clubs, I cannot buy a new book until I read all the unread books on my Kindle.
It’s a challenge if your personality is like mine and just as fast as those 99 cent deals cross your path …you snatch them up! That adds up to a lot of books very quickly. I also have some paperback ones on my shelf I am working through as well!
For kid books, we are loving the big Richard Scarry books What Do People Do All Day? and the Best Word Book Ever. Both my 2 and 4 year old are smitten every night as we learn and review words. The baby is just happy that we include him.
5. The student spotlight area was updated on the MAKE MORE MIDWIVES page.
Do you know a student midwife? Or are you a student midwife? These are all the lessons I learned in my training. I hope you’ll recommend them to someone. Together, we are stronger!
Other goodies…
Did you or one of your patients chose to get a COVID vaccine while pregnant? If you want to enroll or recommend to your patients, here’s the link to a registry that’s following this population:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/vsafepregnancyregistry.html
That’s a wrap! For my runners, I’m looking for a new running shoe. I’ve been working on running a few days a week and am slowly increasing my time. It’s feeling great. I ran in Brooks for years and don’t like Nikes. Anyone have a shoe recommendation?
The 16 week post is in the works. Tune back in Monday for not-your-typical birth story.
Hugs!
Jamie
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