A study on Irish roots in childbirth

All good things have to come to an end, and I have sadly finished my rotation on the labor and delivery unit. It's always exciting to go some where new, but delivering babies was so enjoyable that leaving is difficult. Our last week there was jam packed with excitement and very busy. I helped a woman whose family, like mine, hailed from Ireland and was expecting a baby girl. I was assigned to help with the delivery. It was like right out of a tv show, with me holding one of her legs back in a very compromising position and yelling at her to push. I wiped her brow, made her sip liquids from a straw, and tried to ignore the overwhelming smell of birth products in the room. I changed linens, ran water,and gripped her hand when she needed me. As high tech as medicine has gotten, I was struck by the natural flow of the whole event. We inherently know how to give birth and helps others do so. I felt extremely in touch with my Irish dozen-of-children-bearing heritage that has gifted me with the intrinsic ability to yell push and, I can only assume, spit out like nine kids of my own some day. 

When the baby was finally out, she was purple. The cord had been wrapped around her neck twice. She didn't cry for the longest time, putting me into a slight state of panic. But she started to turn pink, and then did the most amazing thing: she latched on to her mother's breast and began to suck like a starving monkey. She was there ALL DAY. It was astounding, because most babies don't do that right after birth. Not to mention most mothers don't have milk in that early, but this mother made her equally Irish ancestors proud by being more fertile than most believe possible. 

With mom and baby happily engaged in their nutritional needs, dad went out for a Guinness and I had time to roam around the floor. I reflected on some of the odd, yet endearing, qualities of the maternity floor. There are many nice paintings hanging on the walls in a variety of pastel colors. All the paintings are of vaguely vaginal flowers or waves with many folds. I'm not sure what the subliminal message is suppose to be, but it is soothing to know exactly what the specialty of the floor is based on the decor. Some of the other paintings are of lighthouses. These are fake frames that swing forward off the wall like a James Bond style hiding place. Behind them is all the emergency equipment needed when things go downhill super fast. I'm glad this was revealed to me in orientation, because I would never have guessed to look behind the phallic painting.

 

I also visited the other students, like my friend Kim. Kim is the most in demand student nurse because she can speak many languages fluently. Currently, she was translating for a Spanish couple who had questions to ask about the pregnancy. Kim chatted away with them, her face looking increasingly uncomfortable. Later, she told me the husband began asking her questions like "Do we need a car seat?" then some how moved on to "How do we get a DNA test?" Kim didn't understand I thought maybe they were concerned about genetic diseases and began to counsel him on genetic disorders. He stopped her and said "No, I mean like paternity testing..... I had a little.... you know, problem with her a while back...." Thankfully, Kim is very fluent and knew exactly what this meant, while I would have probably needed further explaintion. 

I brought homemade girl scout cookies to the last day. They took me forever to make and were super time consuming, but people really loved them. I made Thin Mints, which I'm not crazy about, but others adore these fudgey treats!

Homemade Thin Mints
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp peppermint extract

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look curdled. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.
Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches (or about 4 cm) in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick - if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp - and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together.  Warm dough in your hands if it crumbles.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Pay attention, but its very easy to burn them! Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Coating
10-oz dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter, room temperature. I used a bit more, and it was okay, but more watery than I wanted.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.
Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.
Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.

Makes 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies, if not more. You could make your own little cookie army with this recipe, which means you'll need more chocolate to coat if you make a ton. I ran out because I had more than 4 dozen cookies. I would make these again if someone requests them, because people loved them so much, but they did take forever to make!