Midwives with babies

[Jane]

This was inspired by a thread about being disappointed by a midwife and, indirectly, it made me think about midwives with young children and the things that sometimes come up. How do you balance "promising" to be a caregiver for someone when there is a non-zero chance of being exhausted by a teething baby?

[636Jen]

I hear what you're saying. It's hard to give 100% to someone else when your own kids are tapping out your energy!

I thought of the opposite problem recently (sorry to hijack your thread). How can I promise that I will be there for all my kids' functions and holidays if I'm on call 24/7. Eventually something will come up that I will have to miss, right?

Back on to your subject, can you or do you work with another midwife that could maybe take over when you're feeling "off?" It does sound hard to balance everything on top of caring for a woman who needs our full attention! I'll keep an eye on this thread and hopefully you'll get the answer you need! Take care!

[homemademomma]

nak

i have a 3 1/2yo and a 15mo. i work in a group practice w/3 other midwives (BC and HB). we do rotating call. i cant imagine practicing any other way with kids of any age. i love my job!

[Jane]

I think that's a valid addition, not a hijack - how to you know what things are pivotal - what not to miss. Obviously, you'd strive to be there for as many clients as possible and as many family things as possible, but how to do decide what to miss when they overlap?

[JunipersMom]

Its hard. I try to limit the number and due dates of clients I take - they are all aware that my babe comes to most of my prenatals and post partum visits and is only guaranteed not to be at their birth. I'm having a much harder time now that I'm pregnant with the whole tired issue. Honestly I just am not sure how I'm going to do it with two babes at home... I'll probably have to limit my practice even more. I'm just hoping it will all work out.

[Maggi315]

I think it's very hard with little ones. I just hired another midwife to help me because I don't want to miss my little ones events and want to be home when they need mom, are sick,etc. Right now, i am pretty much practicing solo with an assistant, but i don't like the stress of being on call 24/7.

Although, when the kids get older, it's doesn't guarantee they won't make you tired too! Waiting up for a teen, helping with homework, sick in the middle of the night, all those kinds of things...coffee helps

As a side note...I just had a sleep study done last night because I have such terrible sleep problems, some not even related to kids, so sleep and exhaustion are a constant concern in my life right now. i absolutely have to take a nap during the day just to maintain.