Recent happenings in my doula and prenatal fitness life

I have been very very busy lately! I have had my doula workshop completed and am working on getting more births scheduled along with working my normal 30 hour a week job and being a mom to an 8 month old (wow he is getting big!) as well as a wife to my patient husband.

What's new?
Well I have been working on securing a place to host my Dancing for Birth demo class as it seems to fall lower on my list of things to do daily for no other reason than there is not enough hours in the day! I am committed this week to make a breakthrough in this process so wish me luck! I have a location picked out that seems to be very promising and central in location here on the Peninsula so I hope it attracts moms and moms-to-be from all around. I need to schedule a few of these demo classes in order to get certified. I have been studying the material and making sure I am staying fluent in the training I received last month.

My first doula interview!
So before my doula training I had a friend as me to be by her side during her birth in July which led me to sign up for the training as soon as I could! Well I am still 100% committed to her and can't wait for the day! In the meantime, I hadn't even started to search for other births because the 4 day intensive training was still sinking in over the following few days. Well no sooner had I finished the last day, I was already approached by a wonderful mom-to-be who I had met in a couple encounters but never really had a chance to speak with one on one. She asked me if I would sit down for what doulas consider an interview (initial consultation). I was nervous but not to nervous and met her for tea at a local coffee shop. I respectfully put my phone on vibrate in my purse and tucked it under the table. We sat and talked for over 3 hours about birth, life, books, recent documentaries, my family, her family and the time just ticked by. We naturally carried on without a hint of how much time had passed!

Okay we learn in our training to keep these consultations to about an hour because we all have lives but it just seemed right this time that it lasted so long. I told her about my family which she knew I had a baby at home as well as my current job which fairly flexible in getting time off so I didn't think we would run into issues with me attending her birth. I told her not to give me an answer that day and to take a few days to decide whether she would want me at her birth. I left there feeling very good about everything we talked about and reflected on how I was able to gather the information I needed and give her information she needed (I thought I would forget everything I learned and not know what to say if she had a question!)

Today I received the notice that she had decided to hire me on as her doula and I am quietly excited (Well except for here and to my husband and a close friend!) as I head into a new challenge of balance it all. The birth is expected in early April and I don't have much time to prepare but I am confident I will be ready.

As I have gone through my training and met the many wonderful people in the local birthing community I have come to find many strengths among them but also many missing services that are not available in our area. One of these is prenatal and postpartum fitness! I really hope to hone on this and build something that will fill this void. Myself and a couple other birth professionals are joining together to make this happen. It really does take a village to raise a child but it also takes a village to support a mother in her own journey!

Keep following and I hope to have more to tell you soon!

Dancing for Birth workshop experience

This weekend was amazing! I spent Saturday and Sunday with some fabulous women including Dancing for Birth TM founder Stephanie Larson. My instructor training workshop provided me with many tools to assist pregnant and postpartum women with birth and working through postpartum issues. Through music and dance women can feel empowered with their own bodies. I am excited to schedule my first demo class and be well on the road to certification.

New happenings in my life: Doula workshop, Dancing for birth training, Sewing projects!

So I have been super busy with life and a 6 month old! Since my pregnancy and the birth of my son I have been delving into mommyhood and all things relevant. What does that mean for me? I have become a mommy meet-up goer, a seamstress, a laundry and housekeeping pro, and a concierge for all things baby! I love it all!

I have felt drawn to a higher calling recently and I am following it down the road to wherever it may lead me. What is this calling? Well I have decided that while I love my job/career in the clinical field I too love working with expecting moms and those who have just had their baby. It is a feeling I just can't shake! I thought I had my life figured out before bringing this wonderful little person into my world but then things have changed again.

So here are some upcoming things I have in my head and on my calendar. I am very excited about my "dancing for birth" instructor training workshop this month and I am hoping to touch on that more in future posts. I have signed up for a doula training workshop in March and can't wait to dive into the birthing community. This is something I never thought I would want to do but now I can't stop thinking about it! I hope to touch more on doula work and how I am balancing my family, my current job and a baby as I know it will be challenging but hopefully rewarding as well. I already have a birth lined up for July!

I have recently "mastered" the art of making cloth diapers. Well I am still always learning but I feel pretty good about my recent outcomes. I have had my name spread across the cloth diapering and birthing community in my area and have been getting many questions on the how-to and what-to of cloth diapering. I guess in my 6 months of motherhood I have become somewhat of a guru in this particular subject. I have my routine down to a science and even then I am always looking for better alternatives if there are any. I have spent a good part of my free days counseling other moms that are interested in cloth diapering as well as sewing and repairing them for myself and others. This has become somewhat of a side business more than a hobby and I look forward to seeing where this goes this year.

Life is taking me down a new road I thought never existed and I can't wait to see what happens. Possibly some people think I am crazy now and I have lost my mind since giving birth but I feel like our journey never ends and we are always exploring ourselves and new pathways. We are never done learning and there is always more out there to seek out. I have a super supportive husband that knows that when I am excited about something that I need to explore it even if I am not sure about it completely. He is such a good man to just let me spread my wings and be anything I want to be. If I told him I wanted to be an astronaut or a doctor he would probably say "go do it!" Maybe it's a little too much and sometimes and I do need someone to pull on the reigns a little but for now I am glad he is so open to this new adventure and seeing me happy. Everyone knows "happy wife, happy life!" and he has learned that quickly.

I guess the biggest perk of all is doing these things with my baby in tow and making new connections for him and I in the world of parenthood. He has made many new friends as we attend Le Leche League meetings, cloth diaper meet ups, and stroller fitness workouts. He is my little sidekick when I go to grocery store, shop for new fabrics, and he will even be on my hip at some of my upcoming trainings. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Here is my first attempt at balancing life with my new found passions all while working my normal 30 hour a week job at the hospital. Wish me luck!

More to come so stay tuned!