Meeting our Doula

We've decided to hire a doula for our upcoming birth.  While we didn't have one last time, there were lots of circumstances surrounding EG's delivery that we'd like to avoid.  Namely my almost death and my epidural.

Please don't think that I'm judging anyone for getting an epidural. It was definitely the right decision for our family at the time.  Yes, I say our family.  The decision didn't just impact me, or even just me and EG.  It was a family choice and though I know I made the right one the occasional twinge of pain in my back/spine tells me it's not what I want to do again.

Holly's wonderful logo :-)

So, enter our wonderful Bradley teacher Holly.  She will be our doula for our upcoming July delivery, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have by our sides.  Our first meeting was so sweet, not only catching up since seeing each other for Bradley reunions, but chatting about what happened last time, what we want to do differently and all the emotions that come with it.

If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now.  This pregnancy has been an emotional roller coaster for me.  It's just been SO HARD to keep things on the usual line... but we're getting towards the end, and I'm excited to know that we'll have this support.

So, why a Doula?  We know we intend to give birth in the hospital, so we didn't need a medical professional.  What we needed was a voice of reason, a partner to lean on, and especially, someone with a bag full of tricks to keep things moving along.

During the birth of EG it was just Working Dad and me.  Which was lovely.  But at the end of the day there was A LOT of pressure on Working Dad.  We'd both been up for almost 48 hours before EG entered the world, and it's hard to keep motivating, keep counting and keep supporting through that exhaustion.  Hopefully with Holly at our side, we'll have the extra support we need to get through it all.

Holly is certified by DONA, and she's been at so many births- looking over her facebook she was recently helping at a VBAC that ended up taking place in a car!  Imagine that!

I'll let you know as the experience develops and give a full rundown on all the doula info.

Here's to a healthy mom, a healthy baby and everyone well at the end of it all!