little miss midwife

As I've mentioned before (here and here), I have my babies at home. The prenatal visits with a home birth midwife can be a bit different than with an obgyn. They are often longer, more personal, not as invasive, and usually include the older siblings in the exam to help them feel part of the experience.Sela loves my midwife Briana and always looked forward to coming to my prenatal appointments when I was pregnant with baby Graham. She loved watching Bri measure my growing belly, listen to heart sounds, take my temperature + blood pressure, and fill out my chart. It was not only fun to see how interested Sela was in all of Bri's instruments, but it was important to me that she witness the knowledgeable, skilled, and tender practices of midwifery + how women support other women in birth.

For the past few months, Sela has been talking a lot about doctors and midwives and babies. Her baby dolls are usually found tucked up under her shirt covered in band aids, and we have this conversation a few times a week:

Sela: "Ummm...are you going to have a baby soon?"
Me: "Not anytime soon, lovey."
Sela: "Are you sure? Your tummy looks like..."
Me: "Don't even say it..."
Sela :"...a ball!"
Me, putting the jar of Nutella away and mumbling something about never missing a yoga class again.
Sela: " Don't worry mama, I'll be your midwife!"

So for Christmas, I put together a midwife kit for Sela (you know, just in case my ballish tummy turns out to be baby after all. JUST KIDDING.), and it was a huge hit. I'm a big believer in giving kids real tools, not plastic toy imitations, for play. I think it helps them understand better the world around them, enriches their play experiences, and makes them feel special to be trusted with important + real tools.

Here are a few things I tucked into her kit + the sources, if you are interested in making your own midwife or doctor's kit :

1. Stethoscope :: AllHeart $6 :: I loved all of of the color options.
2. Digital Thermometer :: Walmart $3
3. Measuring Tape :: Hobby Lobby $2
4. Midwife Clip :: I made it out of wool felt, embroidery thread, a clip, and hot glue
5. Penlight :: AllHeart $3
6. Reflex Hammer :: AllHeart $5 :: This isn't a tool that midwives have, but I thought it would be a fun addition.
7. Oral Syringes :: Walmart $1 :: Sela uses these to give shots. Again, not really something a midwife uses, but something Sela has a lot of questions about + has fun using on all of us.
8. Blood Pressure Cuff :: Amazon $11 :: This is a pediatric model, so it's perfect for little kids. It's fun to watch her figure out how to put it on + watch the dial as the cuff puffs up with air.

Not pictured:
Tube of "prenatal vitamins" : cherry tic tacs
Appointment cards my sister-in-law made that Sela loved so much she used them all the first day
Various wraps, gauze pads, and way too many Hello Kitty band aids.
Oh, and the box! I tried and tried to find some kind of cool, vintage doctor's bag, but ended up just buying a clear toolbox. Everything fits nicely + stays organized, plus she can actually carry it around - which is nice because most of the bags I looked at were way too big for her to carry.

Here is the label I designed for the outside of her box:

It's pretty simple, a lot of fun, and much cheaper than most of the other doctor's kits I found. Sela loves trying to find our heartbeats, peer into our ears + throats with her penlight, and measure her baby dolls.

Do your kids play doctor? Do you think it's crazy I let my almost four year old play with a real blood pressure cuff? Have you seen any cute doctor kits around?