I'm not going to lie, my brain is feeling fairly worn out. And my eyes are completely dried out from the air conditioning. They are So Sore. I think I'm going to have to invest in eye drops.
This week has involved a lot of words. Long words. Words like anterior pituitary gland. And lactocyte. And myoepithelial cells. And areolalobular. I can't even remember the words from days before today, because I think my brain is at capacity tonight (plus I'm distracted by watching season two FRIENDS).
It's been fun though. I'm really enjoying learning more. It's been a lot of anatomy and physiology, most of it expanding on stuff I knew a bit about, but some of it brand new. My brain has been blown a couple of times, which is always fun.
On Monday we got to don our uniforms for the first time and go into the skills labs. Moving and handling, HCAI (healthcare associated infections... or it is healthcare acquired infections? Not sure, now I think about it) and hand washing technique and then, saving the best for last, abdominal palpation. That was both interesting, fun and hilarious. The model abdomens are not terribly realistic. When one side becomes concave on the slightest pressure, it's quite clear how the fetus is lying! There was also a fake abdomen which we took turns to wear - that was even worse! The doll kept sinking so low it wasn't possible to palpate the head in the pelvis, so I was forced to pop my head up the fake vagina to hold it a little higher. Unsurprisingly, this looked a bit dodgy!
On that day, I also had my occupational health appointment, and as a result of my vein failing to stay clotted shut after I'd applied pressure and the traditional little plaster, blood ran down my arm when we were talking, dripping onto the carpet and my brand new white tunic. It really made us all realise that white is a cruel colour of uniform to give a student midwife. We're going to be constantly scrubbing out bodily fluid stains. I'm happy to say that (possibly for the first time in my life) I did manage to successfully remove the stain, so I'm going to take that whole experience as a bonus bit of preparation.
We've also been learning about the booking appointment (having had two of those, I felt at an advantage, although the paperwork has definitely got longer since 2014), physiological changes in pregnancy and, today, the physiology and mechanics of breastfeeding. Lots of the important knowledge we need before we head out on practice, and as I said, I'm at an advantage because I've experienced all these things, but there are just so many words for anatomy and processes that I'm trying to absorb and then use. I can only imagine how mind-blowing it is for students with no prior experience to link it all to!
I loved the Birth Conference on Wednesday. I got to listen to two women I really admire, Soo Downe and Sheena Byrom, talking with passion about a topic I get really exciting about (Epigenetics! Microbiome! Compassion!). The other speakers were really interesting and inspiring too, and I learnt from them about areas and organisations I knew less about.
On Thursday, I opted to be late in as it was Curiosity Cafe with Miss O's class at school. It was a good decision. She'd have been the only child without a parent there if I hadn't gone, as Rachel is still pretty incapacitated by her back.
After an exciting snowy walk to school, Miss O kept turning round to beam at me during the carpet phonics session and we had the best time doing the activities together. Her reading and letter formation really is coming along beautifully. She was so proud of herself. It took me a while in the evening to catch up on the part of the lecture I'd missed in the morning, but it was worth it.
This weekend my plan is to get Monday and Tuesday's pre-reading under my belt, then go back over this weeks notes, following up on some bits and going over parts I don't quite have down yet. I am thinking that if I just file these notes and don't re-read them at least once more, the majority of the long words are going to drift away from me again. There's also a community tree planting session to enjoy and time to spend with my favourite people.
P.S. I really am brain tired. My words are flowing about as well as a leaky tap!