Oh the joys of life. Sometimes you want to stop and say, "All right, that's enough for now, let me catch my breath!" And sometimes, surprisingly, life obliges! One whole week to relax... Ahhh. Lovely.
Things are going swimmingly, on the birth front. Happy healthy clients, a Passion for Birth class in June, and a possible volunteer position at the women-with-children drug and alcohol treatment center. I emailed them on a whim and I am thrilled at their response - basically they know what doulas are, and love the work doulas do! The treatment director has a position all lined up for me, I just have to go in and meet them! This is what I wanted, exactly this, to help women who may not have the resources to have a doula or attend childbirth education classes, or any of those things. And as Phil said, it looks good on the resume. :)
Speaking of, I should probably mention I'm getting married. Such a bizarre feeling! Sometimes I feel shy about it, like if I say it out loud it will have turned into a dream... But there it is. My lovely man and I will be getting ourselves legally hitched on 9/10/11. Yes, nine-ten-eleven... We can't do anything normally. :D
I was thinking the other morning about the wedding and how stressful it is trying to plan one when you've never done it before! After a particularly stressful day, I said to myself, "This is exactly why people hire wedding planners!" Of course, I started tying that in to moms... There are people who help women plan weddings, plan parties, even plan how to decorate their homes! But first time moms (and second, and third or more!) typically don't have anyone to help them plan their perfect birth. I know birth is fairly unpredictable, but so are weddings. You don't know if cousin Bert is going to pick a fight during your reception, or if the flower girl gets shy and doesn't want to walk down the aisle... and you have a wedding planner to help you pull off the best wedding you can, given the circumstances. Having someone to laugh with when it's all over is also a plus. Well, doulas can offer the same service! We can help you plan what options you prefer for you birth experience and help you overcome obstacles, or process any unhappy circumstances should they occur.
So, in addition to being a friend, a well of information, and physical/emotional support, a doula is like a wedding planner for births. Birth planner. I like the idea.
Now, do I get a book of swatches with that? :)
