Becoming A Doula: Part 1

I have been meaning to blog about the newest adventure in my life for months!  Better late than never, I suppose.

Just before my 39th birthday this past May, just 5 days before to be exact, I was up in the middle of the night, just thinking about how close I was to turning 40.  I didn't see it as a negative. The opposite, actually.  It encouraged me to want to accomplish more.  I started to talk to God and tell Him I was ready to take on something new.  Especially since I wasn't pregnant or nursing(except at night or the occasional nap) at the time, which is usually not the case for me.  That's when the word doula popped into my head.  Thank you,  Holy Spirit.

I googled doula, in hopes of being able to find a class that I could take so that if friends or family wanted/needed a doula, I could say I had taken a class, and I was ready, willing, and able to help.  God always gives me more than I could ever imagine.  The thing that popped out at me was this link: Hearts and Hands Volunteer Doula Program.  Interesting.  I started to get excited and I hadn't even clicked on the link yet!  Once I did, I became even more excited and was wishing I had found the site at a more appropriate hour so I could call and find out more information.  What I did find out from the website is that this program only charged $75 for training, as opposed to the hundreds of dollars for other programs.  And, this one would put me to work as a volunteer!  I knew that I couldn't become a doula as a business with my 6 children still at home, and while they are all in school, so this seemed perfect!  God's timing is perfect and finding it at 2am gave me a chance to ponder, pray, and then sleep on it.  The next morning I talked to Tim about what was on my heart and he was so supportive.  He said he knew that I would be such a blessing to other women and that gave me wings.

I called the number on the link and spoke to the director, Ann.  I could tell that this program is her passion and that she does not take it lightly.  She asked me a lot of questions (I suppose she must need to do that a lot, with it being a volunteer program and wanting to make sure you don't take on people that aren't going to take it seriously) and told me I was in luck(I don't believe in luck, so I knew that all the glory went to God!).  They had a training class that weekend, and only 1 spot left. Did I want it, or did I want to wait until July?  Wouldn't you know that God would make this so clear for me to know it was Him?  He knows I am a simple girl and need it spelled out for me!  The class was on my birthday!  I signed up and asked Tim if this could be my 39th birthday gift.  How cool to get a gift like that?

I learned SO much during the training session.  I met amazing women that had the same passion that I did for birth and breastfeeding and babies.  I couldn't wait to start!  But, remember, Ann takes this program seriously, and after the training class, we had to call in the following week and let her know if we were serious about becoming volunteers. There were a few hoops to jump through, but within a few weeks I was set up to begin.

God is in every detail.  EVERY DETAIL.  Wouldn't you know that he constantly was showing me that this is exactly where He wanted me at this time?  I knew I had to sign up with a mentor, but had no clue who to ask when I looked at the list of them.  They all just looked like names, and I didn't want to just do an eenie-meenie-mynie-moe...you know?  Well, God made it super simple.  I was at a hospital tour and our trainer was going on and on about a certain doula and how she had been the doula of the year.  Then, as we are walking down the hall, she happens to be coming off of a birth and we get to meet her.  She had the warmest smile.  The sweetest face.  I knew she HAD to be my mentor.

Bobbie, my mentor, is a super doula.  I truly know that God made it all work out for her to be the one that trained me.  She did not miss a beat, and she was a WEALTH of knowledge.  My first doula birth with this program was 21.5 hours and it gave me a little taste of most aspects I would have to deal with.  All in one birth!  This mama started off in the birth center, but was in so much pain, they had to move her to labor and delivery.  Then, after many, many hours of no progression, ended up in going in for a c-section.  I had the privilege of being with her through each step and it was a blessing to be able to hold her hand after the c-section, after the baby was born, and Daddy goes off to be with baby.  What a stark and cold place the operating room is!  I  don't know how women do it!  What strong and courageous creatures we are!

I have had the pleasure of volunteering as a doula, in this program, 7 times now.  However, I did have 2 births under my belt prior to the program.  If you assist a women during birth; if you comfort her, encourage her; if you tend to her needs and love on her during birth you are a doula!  9 births so far!  I am blessed!  I honestly feel like each time I have gotten to watch a baby be born, it is a VERY special gift being given to me!  By strangers, none the less!  Isn't our God amazing that way?  It truly is so much more blessed to give than to receive, because in the end you realize that all the giving turned into receiving an abundance of blessings in return!

**Stay tuned for part 2 where I will share some birth stories.

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35