The other day, my mom called while I was working. I texted her back, “I can’t talk now- I’m working!” and she responded with, “Wow, you sure are busy! You’re baby-crazy!”
While it’s true that we DO love babies around here… my mom’s comment made me realize that most people don’t realize how little (relative) time we spend actually at births or working with babies. A lot goes in to being a full-time doula! Have you ever wondered what we do all day, or how often we actually do get to love on those cute little babies whose parents we work with? Here’s an actual work day of mine summed up. Long live coffee!
7:15am: The alarm goes off, but I’ve already been awake for at least half an hour because my kids are already up and making SO MUCH NOISE in the kitchen.
8:15am: We are out the door and I drop off my kids at school, before heading to my first appointment of the day!
8:20am: My phone rings for the first time today, and it’s one of my lovely doula partners letting me know that she is dropping off the placenta from the birth she was at last night so that it can be encapsulated. Yay for new babies!
9am-11am: I head out to a client’s house for her second prenatal appointment. We spend two hours talking about her upcoming birth, her recent GBS+ result, and what to expect from the early days of breastfeeding. When I leave, she smiles and says she can’t wait for labour. I love to hear this from clients!
11:30am: I grab my second coffee from the drive-thru and set up my mobile car office in a parking lot overlooking the beach. Here, I return a few calls, answer some emails, and finish scheduling my week. Whew!
12:30pm: Team meeting with my awesome business partners. It’s hard to align our schedules, so when it does happen, we usually have a lot to go over together. We swap birth stories, make plans for client support, and talk about our business goals. These meetings are awesome!
2pm: Postpartum appointment with a client who gave birth four days ago. They’re having a hard time getting breastfeeding established, so I help get baby latched on and talk about different positions that may help alleviate the problems they’re having. After that, I tuck them into bed and do a quick kitchen tidy before I slip out the door.
3:30pm: Time to get that placenta going! Day one of placenta encapsulation takes about an hour.
4:30pm: I have an opportunity for a few more emails and to get started on cultivating next month’s posts.
Being a doula and a business owner is a full time job that we love! We are so grateful for our wonderful clients that allow us to follow our dreams. Thank you for your support!
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