Chasing the Pot of Gold in the Rainbow of Balance
It’s not unusual for the call to join a doula family at their birth to come in the dead of the night. In fact, it’s so common that I was talking to the kids’ babysitter today about how for once *I* was finally here to greet her when she came to get the kids instead of my husband doing the handoff just before leaving for work.
When I am summoned in the middle of the night, in the sleepy dim light of my home I give myself time to get ready in a way that centers me and helps me enter the birth space in a focused and open mindset. Some of the steps might include…
- feeding myself healthy, nourishing food and hydrating
- using a mindfulness practice like Breath Awareness or Circular Breathing to calm my mind
- praying for guidance for myself and a positive experience for the family
- reviewing notes I took during prenatal appointments on which pain coping methods the mom finds most helpful, what kind of touch she likes from her partner, if she likes aromatherapy, candles, a rebozo, etc.
Today the call to a birth came in right after a scooter ride around our neighborhood with my children and their friend. We were wrapping up a little post-scooter playtime with family friends when the message came in...time to head to the hospital. This is what preparing for a birth looked like with my children home and awake…
- feed children lunch. Tell children to stop hitting/chasing/teasing each other and eat their lunch before the sitter got here.
- oh yeah and finding some food for myself while waiting for water to boil.
- taking a shower to wash off Texas summer scooter ride, joined by my son who totally invited himself. This shower was interrupted by the scalding water of a flushing toilet (because why would he go potty BEFORE getting in the shower?) and my daughter bursting the shower door open to ask me which day in July it was.
- Getting my work clothes on in between gathering swimming clothes and a regular change of clothes for my kids to take to the sitter’s house with them.
- explaining why my daughter couldn’t pour herself a glass of pomegranate juice while she had a glass of milk and a glass of Honest Kids juice still sitting on the table.
- talking to/lecturing my son about how to clean up the full glass of milk he spilled on the floor.
- installing two car seats in the babysitter’s car at 2 pm in the aforementioned summer heat.
- brushing my teeth and running out the door, stopping to turn off my daughter’s light on the way.
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