Home Visits

Me and Eli


Me and Joanna (taken by her big brother)

I think I have written before about postpartum home visits to my clients being one of my favorite parts of my job. I really like letting myself into a home I have come to consider myself family in, winding my way along the hall, "hello, it's Christy" and hearing in response, "we're back here!" In July I helped two families have babies just before taking my own children on our family vacation. Because I was going to be out of town, I arranged for my friend Brielle to visit the families and help them while I was away. When I returned, I went to visit both babies immediately, as I missed them and doing my usual postpartum visits. Both babies were over two weeks old by this time; they were passed the early potential breastfeeding difficulties and weight loss and both mamas were up and about doing their mama things...we just chatted, drank tea, watched the older kids color and squabble over markers, I heard how Eli's family's dogs came to live with them, and Joanna's big brother really wanted to use my phone to take a picture...it was relaxing, sweet, and therapeutic for me and the moms. At least I am hopeful that my visits to the families I care for impart a sense of calm, that everything is OK, that being with their new baby is all that is important in that moment. Babies are such good reminders of just being present, but sometimes it is Oh, so hard to do that.
The day I visited Eli and Joanna, I managed to remember the gift of being present with them and am very grateful.