Yesterday morning, my client's husband called. They were at the hospital and the biophysical profile results were not good. The doctor was calling for a c-section to take place at noon. I called Rich to come home and off I went to the hospital. The usual hour long drive only took about 45 minutes.
It was a strange day. So normal, so casual, almost dull and yet at the end there was a sweet little baby. The c-section wasn't actually until 3 pm, so we sat around and talked for hours. There was no pain, no physical effort, no labour as such. The nurses popped in every once in a while to ask a question, start an IV, shave prep, have waivers signed and listen to baby. My clients and I discussed everything from baby names to cesareans to our favourite foods.
The whole ride up to the hospital, I prayed that God would show me what to do. During a labour, there is so much to think about. You go from contraction to contraction. Often, you're sleep deprived, pushed to exhaustion, and emotionally wrenched by the end of it. However, you feel tremendously useful because of all the comfort measures you apply, the counselling, the educating, etc. Yesterday, though, I wasn't sure what I should do.
In the end, my role was very hands off. I think, though, that I did all I could. Prenatally, I educated, I counselled, I prepared. The day of, I listened, I reassured and I was there. I was
there - and perhaps that was what they needed more than anything. A friendly face, someone they knew understood them, and who spoke their language (they are french, and this area is very english).
There's more, of course. As a VBAC, there were many things that I had to put aside in order to be a better doula. Some other day, I'll post on my impressions , but we'll leave a good thing as is for now.
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I was home in time for Rich's and my date. We've enrolled in Ethnic Cooking classes. Last night, it was Russian fare - Borscht and Bliny. The picture is of Borscht - beet soup. It sounds so gross, but it was awesome! It's chock full of stuff like cabbage, beef, herbs, carrots, parsnips, and of course, beets. You serve it with sour cream. The Russian lady had us eat it the Russian way - you take a bite from a raw garlic clove, spoonful of soup, then a shot of Absolut Vodka. Hoo-ah. It'll put some hair on your chest.
Bliny was nummy! It reminded me of crepes - very thin pancakes. They aren't sweet, and they are almost rubbery. Useful, since you are supposed to fill them with whatever you want (I had Nutella, blueberries and strawberries) and roll 'em up. Yum!
Our guide, Andrew, giving us a tour of his garden.
Comfrey, fennel, burdoch, lavendar and spearmint (in the tea pot).
Our guide, Sherry, demonstrating how to make a poultice.
Making a Comfrey Salve.
Here's the cabbage roll mixture. There's all sort of good stuff in there: ground pork, bacon (not super Kosher, I guess), rice, parsley, pepper, oil, etc). We made little balls with the meat mixture and wrapped them up in sour cabbage leaves. And, please, no comments on my hand! I know, it looks a bit freaky there...
Richard was the official photo taker last night. He was getting frustrated that the lighting was crappy. That is, until he realized that he kept sticking his finger over the flash bulb. :) That's moi in the red sweater with the shadowed head.
Meatball soup! Very yummy, even the next day. The kids even ate it!
Mamaglia and cabbage rolls. There's a certain je ne sais quoi to the cabbage rolls. There's just a hint of sour/pickle-y/spicy taste in the background. A bit of horseradish was just the ticket with this meal. Yummers!
Here's our host frying the bread. When the bread is put into the hot oil, it puffs up like a balloon. That's a sign that it was rolled out correctly. Isn't her sari pretty? 
My mom, rolling out some of the bread.
