Name Calling

Attempting the 'sidelying' position with my wonderful 'doula' Allison... :-)

The weekend we just spent in Birmingham, AL was by far the most intense and overwhelming 3 days of learning I have ever experienced... College Algebra in 6 weeks wasn't even as intense as this.

We spent 10 hours on the first day in a room with a Birth Doula Trainer named Rae. She is an amazing woman and advocate for women and babies. Just fantastic! The first 4 hours of the ten were spent doing our breast feeding course certification... Not lactation consultant exactly but just skimming the surface of everything there is to know about how boobs and babies go together so beautifully. Then we took a quick lunch break which Jeff was able to attend as well. Then we got back to the class and spend another 6 hours talking about birthing positions and the unnecessary interventions that have become commonplace in hospitals around America.

Day 2 was not quite as long a day but still over 8 hours of learning. We learned about how to comfort the woman in labor with different massages and showing her different positions to labor in that might bring a bit of relief that she might focus on getting through one wave at a time. We talked about reframing. Contractions being called waves or rushes to imagine yourself riding the wave and not being squeezed to death... :-)

Day 3 we talked about worst case scenarios and 'what ifs'. It was so refreshing to hear that I'm not a total lunatic for being so adamant about letting your body guide you in labor... Trusting your instincts. We talked about how OK it is if a woman doesn't want to have a homebirth or a natural birth... It's OK! I know, I know. :-)

Anyway, whenever Jeff picked me up from class, he would ask me about my day and what I had learned. To be honest, I think I was so full of information that I couldn't even put in to words what I had learned. I was quiet for most of the drive home to Arkansas on that last night. I still think I need to decompress... :-)

So I've been trying to distract myself from baby-talk by getting things in line for getting this thing off of the ground. I need a name. I need a name to put on a card that I can hand to people.

I also need suggestions... :-) I'm not much for words so you can imagine how difficult it is for me to come up with something beautiful yet not corny sounding... :-)

So here is what I've come up with so far.

1. BirthRight Doula Services

2. A New Life Doula Services

3. Wonderfully Made Doula Services

4. ???

Any more ideas y'all?? I'm running on empty!

I called the local Pregnancy Resource Center today and it sounds like there is a young gal that wants to have a natural birth! The woman in charge there is getting us in touch! I am excited that this could be my first client... :-) We'll see and I'll keep you posted!

Seriously though... Please give me some ideas on a name for my Doula Service and I'll send you a thank you card... :-) ha ha!