A week or so ago, I sent an inquiring email to a local doula here. I wanted to chat with her about what it is like to try to feel out whether it might be something that I could do. She called me, and we instantly connected on the phone. She immediately invited me to come to the Evansville Birth Network meeting so that I could meet some of the other doulas in the area and see what they were all about.
I have to admit that I was a little worried. The EBN is a super-duper crunchy group of ladies, and I wasn't sure I was all that crunchy. Yes, I am admittedly fairly crunchy, but I guess I never sat down to think about all the ways I embody the crunch.
Crunchy Mom Me:
Vegetarian
Natural Labor/Childbirth Advocate
Recycler
Environmental Worrier
Mostly Cloth Diaper-er
Sometimes Baby Wear-er
Not So Crunchy Me:
World Traveler
Disposable Diaper User--for convenience & kids over 18 months
Sometimes Formula Feeder
Stroller User
These ladies are serious about their crunchiness! As in, they say things like, "Yeah, I know I really should be using a Diva Cup, but I just haven't gotten around to ordering one." I know some seriously crunchy people, and the Diva Cup is always at the furthest end of crunchiness in their mind. (Side Note: If you don't know what a diva cup is, don't worry. I'll still be your friend!) This particular meeting I went to was all about cloth diapering and baby wearing. While I did both of those things (sometimes), I was nowhere near as zealous as some of the ladies in attendance there.
I've been considering becoming a Doula ever since Annika was born. I had such an amazing drug-free birth in the hospital exactly as we had planned. We were lucky enough to not have any true complications, and I know that, but ever since her birth I can't help but wonder what we did that was so different from my other friends who had uncomplicated births that ended up being full of unnecessary interventions. I'm not going to get on the soapbox just yet, but this is what got me thinking about becoming a doula. Because of my funny habit of over-educating myself on everything, I've also become the go-to girl for all my friends when they want to talk about pregnancy and child birth. I LOVE being able to help them out, and becoming a doula means I'll get to help out even more people in this amazing time of their lives.
I didn't tell Andy about going to the meeting, or my secret desire to start doula-ing, mostly because I know how insane it sounds to try to do this now. But I want to do it. I so want to do it. I'm going to do it. Why the heck not? Don't worry, I'm still going to be working on my dissertation.
The best part of all of this happening, is that I found this amazing group of women who are all highly educated about birth and who welcomed me with open arms. They immediately invited me to their monthly gathering and at it then encouraged me to go ahead and start taking clients to get a leg up on the training. They are so supportive of each other and not competitive at all, which reminds me so much of my graduate school experience that it is a bit uncanny. Funny enough, one of them is actually friends with one of sister-in-laws, though I probably shouldn't have been surprised at all as active as our family is around the community.
So thank you thank you thank you lady doulas of the Evansville area. I'm soo looking forward to getting to know you all better, and to working together to make this place a better one for birthing babes.
STOP HERE IF YOU ARE EASILY GROSSED OUT!!!!!
Just for you ladies, here is a picture of Mayzie's cord that was tied in two true knots.
I know you believed me when I told you, but I like pictures. :-)
