not to turn this into a me thing, but today is the day of my friends’ induction and i’m anxiously awaiting my second support role experience. it’s scheduled to start in a just a few hours. i’ve been flexing my memory muscles to a year ago, when i was doing the doula thing for the very first time.

these past few days have taken me through a bevy of questions, emotions and thoughts. and i’m not even the one giving birth!

i’ve of course been questioning if i’ll be successful in giving another couple support. do i have what it takes? i’ve been thinking about my own birth philosophies and how hard it can be some times to sit on those and reflect quietly to myself. how hard it is to challenge my own thoughts and maybe change one or two of them in the process. i’ve been remembering my own labor and delivery and thinking back to how little i knew then, but how amazingly wonderful and empowering the whole experience was. i’m thinking about how much i’ve grown in my knowledge since then. i’m thinking about how much i will relish being with child, laboring and birthing again. Gasp! What!?

i get a lot of questions now about what a doula does and you know it’s still a bit hard for me to explain. Mabye that’s because i don’t really have a lot of experience (anyone else need a doula? i’m available!) and maybe it’s because it’s just kind of something you have to experience to understand.

i know that i was born a natural cheerleader and honestly it seems that a lot of my first doula experience was being a cheerleader for the momma/baby/papa team. but i need to iterate that it was genuine enthusiasm i was cheering. i whole-heartedly love the labor and birth process. i think this is the reaction that happens when a woman is supportively doula-ed through her birth, she then loves the whole process and wants to be there for others.

i love women. i love babies. i love papas. i love families. i love finding a way to cheer people on to finding these strengths they would never find in themselves until a life event such as birth.

this post is kinda all over the place because frankly i’m a bit all over the place in my head and heart at the moment. what i want to say is that i HIGHLY, SUPREMELY, ENTHUSIASTICALLY, suggest involving a doula in your birth process. we just want to help, and love and support. we are genuine in those desires.