Sunday, September 04, 2011

Thus Far On This Lovely Sunday Morn...

...I have:

-changed two poopy diapers.

-emptied and sanitized diaper pail.

-emptied and sanitized Frog Potty, which Eli still enjoys using occasionally for peeing (don't ask. Whatever helps him not have accidents, I say.)

-nursed the squirmy baby.

-fed the squirmy baby cereal.

-poured three bowls of cereal for two kids.

-took Addy's temp and realized she is running a fever, two days before HER VERY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

-convinced her of the importance of resting and drinking fluids today, put her back to bed.

-unloaded/reloaded dishwasher.

-swept kitchen floor.

-wiped disgusting counter top.

-made coffee.

-put lunch in the crock pot.

-threw load of clothes in wash.

-attempted to unload dryer and realized that at some point a child threw a ballpoint pen in there and ink stains are now covering everything that was drying, including Addy's soccer uniform and my favorite skirt.

-googled "how to remove ink stains;" found very little hope of removing them.

-checked email and found out that my doula workshop has been cancelled due to low enrollment and that I will in fact have to wait until the November classes, which are ten days before my client's due date.

I think it's time to go back to bed and hope for better luck tomorrow.

But seriously, I need some advise now about this doula workshop thing. (Also ideas for removing ink stains, if you have any.) Here are the only three possible scenarios that I can think of:

~I put off going to the classes until next year, to ensure that I am there for my friend if she goes into labor early, and thereby give up using her birth as a credit towards my DONA requirements (you have to have attended the workshop before you can start counting births towards your official requirement.)

~I go to the workshops and risk the possibility of her having the baby while I'm gone. I would feel so disappointed both to let my friend down AND to miss out on one of those hard-to-get pre-certification births, of which I need three before I can become an official DONA doula.

~I am relieved of all choice in the matter by my friend going into labor several weeks early, and I am able to be there to help her but unable to count her birth towards my DONA requirements because it will occur before I attend the workshops. BUT I at least still get to go to my workshops, and guilt free at that, since she will already have had the baby.

8 comments:

Nik-Nak said...

It may be just me but I would go to the workshop. I wouldn't want to put off the class until next year when you are already excited about it and geared up. If she goes into labor while you are gone surely she will understand that it was something you had to do for you and your family. And she has other support right? Friends, family?

And no help on the ink stains. Sorry.

Molly said...

I would try hydrogen peroxide. It's removed grape juice and red wine from my kids clothes. *the red wine was spilled during communion, not leaving my kids alone with wine :) Anyway just treat the area and let it sit for awhile it takes a bit to work.

Chelle said...

I have sucessfully removed ink stains with rubbing alcohol. It takes a bit of soaking and some scrubbing with dishsoap after the soaking but, it did eventually work.

Elizabeth said...

I;ve always had good luck with aerosol hairspray on ink. Good luck!

Jessica said...

I would go to the workshop. The likelihood of her going into labor during that small window of time is so slim that I wouldn't worry about it!

Have you thought about advertising your doula services? Maybe you could talk to Stacy and see if she could refer some of the people she turns down to you or even talk to one of the local natural birth friendly docs and let them know you are in training and willing to offer your services for free to anyone interested. Perhaps they would let some of their patients know about you.

And sorry about your day so far. Hope it gets better! It reminds me of Friday morning when I woke up and before I was able to even turn the lights on in the family room and adjust my eyes to the light I had two children telling me they were poopy and needed changed. We seriously don't get paid enough for this stuff. lol

Swistle said...

The only time I ever impressed my mother-in-law was when I got an ink stain out of her white shirt. I used rubbing alcohol, then washed the shirt again, then checked it before putting it in the dryer to make sure all the ink was out.

Sage said...

Not sure if you are trying to remove ball point pen ink or GEL pen ink. Gel pen ink is much harder to get rid off... try this link for instructions

http://chemistry.about.com/od/cleaningtips/a/removeink.htm

Marie Green said...

Sorry, I'm weighing in really late. Here's the thing with being on call as a doula- you just never know when your client is going to go into labor. At some point you have to just have faith that everything will work out (it always does in my experience!) and continue to live your life. So I'd say GO to the doula workshop.

Also, as far as getting your volunteer births in, it may not be as hard as you think to find clients. Are there local childbirth classes in your area? Try asking them if you can come and offer your services (for FREE!) to their classes. Whenever we have new doulas looking for births, parents are eager to snap them up because again FREE!

Good luck!