I love her already. And she's only the first one of three we are meeting with to interview in the next week. Maybe I'll want them all - three doulas and my husband, coaching me through labor. Ha! But I have such a good feeling about her. I felt it the moment she walked into our living room tonight. She's about my age, and she's not any of the things that can annoy me about people - not incessantly talkative, not strident about any particular philosophy of childbirth, not pushy and overbearing, not too touchy-feely, not too new-agey. She's down-to-earth in a good way, a former Peace Corps volunteer with her husband, a woman who believes in public service, who loved her experience with childbirth, who loves birth so much that it's the one thing she's willing to leave her infant daughter home with dad or a babysitter for. I loved that she was skinny as a rail - no earth-mother hips in sight - and still relished the act of giving birth to her daughter. It gives me hope.
I wanted to sign the contract tonight. Steve liked her, too. But we do have two more doulas to interview, and it's probably best we follow through with those. Just to meet them, to see how we click. Maybe we'll like another one better. Maybe we'll still like this one the best. Whatever way the wind blows, I feel so good right now about the fact that we're hiring a doula. It makes me feel less nervous and more confident about going through labor, knowing that Steve and I will have someone calm, knowledgeable and supportive helping me get through it and advocating for the kind of birth we hope for. Yay!
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2 comments:
That is so exciting, Emilie! I have a friend from college who is a doula, and she has such amazing stories. I think it will be so calming and wonderful to have someone like that with you. They're great at supporting both moms AND dads!
As someone with earth mother hips, I am fervently hoping they will ease my burden when my turn comes - but I'm guessing not. :\
Sue, I think water births sound great, or at least laboring in the water for a while, but I think our hospital has only one tub available, so I don't know if we'll be doing that. :)
Liz, how neat that you have a friend who is a doula (and one who is a midwife, too, as you mentioned elsewhere).
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