I have told this story many different times but this time I am going to go straight from the beginning.... ish. Or maybe in a circle? Just know it's going to be good!
It first started for me when I was having a phone conversation with a midwife, and she mentioned being a doula. In that moment I thought no way...I had at the time thought a doula is a job the partner should be doing( boy was I so wrong).
Now, fast forward three months later and nursing school turned out to be....NURSING SCHOOL, and I was thinking of anyway to speed up the process.For anyone that knows me knows that ever since I felt the calling to be a nurse ; shortly after came the calling to be a midwife. So when I was semi-forced into taking a semester off from school, doula thoughts started drifting back into my head! I prayed, called my chiropractor( who knows a lot about birth), and then prayed some more and decided to go with birth boot camp. The workload was surprisingly heavy but I loved getting it all done and kinda sorta pushed me head-on into the birth world. Everything was so new for me because the only thoughts I had about babies came from babysitting and Call the Midwife. So opinions like birth, pregnancy diet, or circumcision were things that had never crossed my mind. But in a way, I already had started being exposed to this whole new world without knowing it.
During my time at Tarleton, I got to be a small group leader and in doing so I got to mentor young girls, which birthed a new passion in me! I loved being able to help mold them spiritually. I loved being the one they call when they had bible questions and just walking beside them as they figure out what relationship with God truly is. It was magically and now as a doula I see the same tools at work with the moms I help. No, as a doula I am not mentoring women with the bible, but I am spiritually helping them through pregnancy, labor, and birth. Even though your mind doesn't immediately go 'spiritual'when thinking birth but it is something that is included( holism care....hint hint).
Then if we go even further back in my life I have always(and truly still do) have a love for children. All ages, sizes, race, and adorableness!!! But I do have to say I have a sweet spot for ages 0 to 5. It's the time where they enjoy simple things in life, laugh often and are overly honest about their opinion, which is nice! I have been watching kids forever and still do to this day, I like to think they keep me young! So surprise, surprise one of my favorite parts of attending the birth is seeing the babies first moments in the world. Their first cry, first meal and first time being held..it's just precious. Then after the birth, my next favorite is postpartum visits because then I can get my hands on a beautiful newborn baby!
When I first started this blog about how I became a doula I didn't think I would be reaching all the way back to high school but maybe I have been being groomed for this life as a doula before it was even a thought in my mind. Or before it started being a booming career field.
I'm sure there are other avenues that also brought me to where I am in my doula career today and I probably will talk about it in one way or another in other blogs. But I have to say that I don't think I choose to be a doula but becoming a doula choose me, and I am so happy it came a knocking!
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