Practice Advice for Moms

September 9, 2005

Hi Everyone,

I started my practice about 2 years ago in a clinic with just one

treatment room, and now I need to either not grow or move to a space

with 2 treatment rooms. I have had to turn new patients away, so it

seems to make sense to move....but I'm 38 years old, so the biological

clock seems to have an alarm going off telling me its time to focus on

having my future bambina. On the one hand, I think it would help to

be a mother with a small infant if I could see more people in a

smaller amount of time by having 2 treatment rooms. On the other, my

husband doesn't make a lot of money and we have a fair amount of

debt....so the affordability of my small clinic is really nice.

So I thought I'd put it out there to hear from other moms who are

acupuncturists: What's it like? How much am I going to be able to

work during the first few years? Should I move to 2 treatment rooms

now or wait until the munchkin is a little older? Is it possible to

bring baby to work as an acupuncturist/herbalist?

Any thoughts and experiences you have to share would be greatly

appreciated. Thanks!

Laura

September 11, 2005

---- Begin Original Message ----

" heylaurag " <heylaurag

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 18:53:30 -0000

Chinese Medicine

Practice Advice for Moms

H

So I thought I'd put it out there to hear from other moms who are

acupuncturists: What's it like? How much am I going to be able to

work during the first few years? Should I move to 2 treatment rooms

now or wait until the munchkin is a little older? Is it possible to

bring baby to work as an acupuncturist/herbalist?

Any thoughts and experiences you have to share would be greatly

appreciated. Thanks!

Laura

Laura-

Dont worry after the first 17 years - parenting gets easier!

I am sooooo glad my sons are out of the terrible teens. Ha- you think

acupuncture school was hard!?Thats what i did to relax when my sons

were teenagers. Only slightly kidding there .

babies are sweet but I think its pretty hard to get much else done

while taking care of an infant- and more challenging as they grow.

take lots of naps starting NOW

\good luck

Josie

http://babel.altavista.com/

and

adjust accordingly.

Messages are the property of the author. Any duplication outside the

group requires prior permission from the author.

September 11, 2005

Hi,

I had a baby 7 1/2 months ago after having my practice for 4 years.

I went back to work full time when she was 4 months and she comes to

the office with me and a nanny. My days at the office are longer but

I take a 2 1/2 hour break in the middle of the day so I can hang out

with her and go for a walk/take a nap. The rest of the day, I nurse

between patients, sometimes bring her in for intakes or watch her

giggle with patients in the waiting room. I am finding that relaxing

into it makes me able to be present both with her and with my

patients but when start worrying ( " did the nanny change her

diaper? " , " how much milk does she have to give her? " ), it is easy to

get distracted. I work 3 days a week and she is at work with me 2 of

those days and with my partner at home the other day.

I think if the asthetics of your clinic were right, it could work

well; I am also fortunate because my nanny used to do office work

for me before Lily was born and now does both - checks people

in/out, does insurance stuff, etc. when Lily is sleeping or when

she's with me.

I hope that's helpful; I have (so far) no regrets and am enjoying

this challenge of juggling these 2 hats.

September 11, 2005

Hi Laura

Would you mind a dad who is an acupuncturist replying?

Granted, I have a wife who has stayed away from work for the last 3

years to bring up our daughter; I haven't brought her up on my own.

Nontheless, I've watched what goes on - and participated where I can -

and I can't resist sharing a few thoughts. I only have experience of

helping to bring up a child in the UK from birth to 3 years old.

Most people find looking after a baby or toddler incredibly

demanding. If you're lucky (very lucky) you might get 20 minutes a

day to yourself - to put your feet up and have some 'me' time. Many

mothers don't even get this.

Are you thinking about treating someone while the baby gurgles (or

the toddler plays obediently in the lounge)? Are you thinking that

occasionally (maybe once or twice per treatment) the baby/toddler

will cry out, forcing you to apologise to your patient, while you

quickly pop out for a couple of minutes to settle your little one?

This is really delusional. You would probably be interrupted 20 times

and each interruption might take a *long* time to settle. Babies and

toddlers want your attention *constantly* either because they want:

(1) milk; (2) nappy-change; (3) de-winding; (4) love and attention.

(I think there was another basic need - I've forgotten now). And

toddlers want: (1) nappy-change (in the ealy stages) (2) someone to

play with and talk to; (3) someone to comfort them when they

(frequently) hurt themselves; (4) love and attention.

These four (or more?) things cycle round in a never-ending circle -

it sometimes even includes the night (in the case of babies).

However, I have a few thoughts here:-

1. In the UK it is the modern trend to teach mothers 'feeding-on-

demand'. I've read that Chinese tradition is to impose a set feeding

routine - and Bob Flaws recommends this in his " Handbook of TCM

Paediatrics " .

2. I feel it is a basic problem within our society in the West that

we don't give children responsibility early enough; kids are not

thought to have grown up until 20 (or in some cases even 30!).

Perhaps this is a reaction to the industrial revolution, when many

children were sent to work at 6. But I feel the pendulum has swung

too far the other way. And sometimes when watching my wife I also

can't help wondering whether she lets our daughter rule the house too

much. This is not meant as a harsh criticism; maybe if I were in her

shoes (24-7) I would have gone down the same road. But I do feel that

we should be calling the shots more - and that basically as a child

get older he/she should learn to *fit in* with the household, not

rule the household. The parents should be in charge.

IF you are very strong and able to set a feeding timetable and adopt

a strong parenting style, PERHAPS it might be possible to treat

patients while your baby/toddler plays on his/her own. I'd be very

interested in hearing of anyone who has managed that.

But even if it were possible, I think you could only do it for a

short period each day and you would have to have a clear

understanding with your patients.

BUT, having said all that, I think that anyone who is *self* employed

(such as an acupuncturist) is in a much better position to work with

a baby (though you might have to employ a carer) for the simple

reason that you can dictate your hours of work.

Prior to having Debbie, my wife's profession was a property letting

consultant. We had planned that Yuka would return to work when Debbie

was three months old, but when it came to it we just couldn't bring

ourselves to hand her over to someone else, so Yuka has done the

housewife thing. When Debbie was only a few months old my wife

started working again, but for only a few hours per week (self-

employed). She has taken Debbie everywhere (doing viewings) and

amazingly Debbie has been really well-behaved in these circumstances.

And clients don't seem to mind, maybe partly because they are all

Japanese customers with children of their own.

So, in summary, I think it MIGHT be possible, but you will have to be

strong, you can probably only do it for an hour or so each day and

you may have to gain a lot of cooperation from your clients. If you

can't do all three of these things, then you will have to use the

services of a paid carer.

That's my opinion.

When you have a baby, you might lose all your life - or if you're

lucky just most of it. But in return you fall in love with a

wonderful new person, who can remind you of the meaning of life.

I wish you all the best in your venture!! David

Chinese Medicine , " heylaurag "

<heylaurag@h...> wrote:

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I started my practice about 2 years ago in a clinic with just one

> treatment room, and now I need to either not grow or move to a space

> with 2 treatment rooms. I have had to turn new patients away, so it

> seems to make sense to move....but I'm 38 years old, so the

biological

> clock seems to have an alarm going off telling me its time to focus

on

> having my future bambina. On the one hand, I think it would help to

> be a mother with a small infant if I could see more people in a

> smaller amount of time by having 2 treatment rooms. On the other,

my

> husband doesn't make a lot of money and we have a fair amount of

> debt....so the affordability of my small clinic is really nice.

>

> So I thought I'd put it out there to hear from other moms who are

> acupuncturists: What's it like? How much am I going to be able to

> work during the first few years? Should I move to 2 treatment rooms

> now or wait until the munchkin is a little older? Is it possible to

> bring baby to work as an acupuncturist/herbalist?

>

> Any thoughts and experiences you have to share would be greatly

> appreciated. Thanks!

>

> Laura

September 11, 2005

Hi Laura again:

I was reading the relpy from the Dad and then Ruth's. I worked as a

college professor when my kids were real young, way too many hours and

devoted every waking moment to them when I wasn't working. I also

d to the new indoctrination of the West - feeding on demand,

the first one sleeping with me (horror of horrors.) I should also say

that earth is one of those elements that is quite important for me. I

have two kids that have turned out really great, but I will say, I was

exhausted. I couldn't imagine bringing them to work. That's just my

feeling. I work at home now, but their ages 12 and 16, makes a big

difference.. I've been working at home for 3 years now. The whole

experience of new borns and toddlers is quite exhausting. If it were

me, I would work only so many days a week, 2 in an hour (or close to

it), get them good daycare, take care of yourself, and then come home to

be with them fully. You can email me privately if you still need to

hash this out.

Anne

Ruth wrote:

> Hi,

>

> I had a baby 7 1/2 months ago after having my practice for 4 years.

> I went back to work full time when she was 4 months and she comes to

> the office with me and a nanny. My days at the office are longer but

> I take a 2 1/2 hour break in the middle of the day so I can hang out

> with her and go for a walk/take a nap. The rest of the day, I nurse

> between patients, sometimes bring her in for intakes or watch her

> giggle with patients in the waiting room. I am finding that relaxing

> into it makes me able to be present both with her and with my

> patients but when start worrying ( " did the nanny change her

> diaper? " , " how much milk does she have to give her? " ), it is easy to

> get distracted. I work 3 days a week and she is at work with me 2 of

> those days and with my partner at home the other day.

>

> I think if the asthetics of your clinic were right, it could work

> well; I am also fortunate because my nanny used to do office work

> for me before Lily was born and now does both - checks people

> in/out, does insurance stuff, etc. when Lily is sleeping or when

> she's with me.

>

> I hope that's helpful; I have (so far) no regrets and am enjoying

> this challenge of juggling these 2 hats.

>

> http://babel.altavista.com/

>

> and

> adjust accordingly.

>

> Messages are the property of the author. Any duplication outside the

> group requires prior permission from the author.

>

September 12, 2005

great response.

Thanks again for all of your help...sorry I missed you tonite.

Lets talk tomorrow.

-

Ruth<rschlesinger

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Saturday, September 10, 2005 10:09 PM

Re: Practice Advice for Moms