23 Weeks and Doula Interviews

Well, you might have already read on my other blog that I forgot the groceries in the van for about 6 hours last Tuesday night. I am forgetting A LOT of things these days. Sunglasses, keys, books, calls to make, bills to pay and even words in sentences. I’ll be talking away at work and then BAM! I forget what I am even talking about. Not good. I sometimes get really dreamy and will just start thinking about something and forget about completing what task I was trying to do at hand. I also drop things a lot. This is not like me. I am pretty quick at grabbing something, but now, I just look down and say oh shoot, I dropped that. Then I wonder how I’m going to pick it up because I don’t want to squish baby. Squats are essential these days.

I took a picture on Sunday, but I don’t think I look any different. I’ll post it this week if I get around to it. Or maybe I’ll wait for next week’s pic at 24 weeks. Click here for some information on 23 weeks. Baby should weigh about a pound now and is about 11 inches long. I can feel her more and more each day. I can’t wait for Dan to feel her kicks. Sometimes when she is active at night, I will have Dan put his hand on my belly, but nothing. Sometimes she stops and Dan says “that proves I have a calming hand”. So cute. The kicks just aren’t strong enough yet for them to be felt on the outside. Most of the kicks are under my belly button, sometime around my pubic bone. I can also feel her kick to the back, on my bowels. That is the weirdest feeling. Some days she is more active than others. Last Saturday she wasn’t moving much like the days before and I got nervous. They always talk about making sure the baby moves the same each day and to alert your Dr. if the movements aren’t as active or diminish. It’s nerve racking, but I decided just to go with the flow and relax about it. The reason she wasn’t as active Saturday is probably because I was up and moving around a lot, which puts baby to sleep because it’s like being rocked. When I sit in a chair all day, she floats around kickin’ and havin’ fun.

This past weekend hubby and I interviewed three doulas. Doula “A” is an Aries. She has classes available along with her doula services. She teaches the Bradley Method, which is the way I am leaning towards in regards to preparation. The Bradley Method focuses on natural childbirth, breathing, relaxation, animal instinct. Doula “B” is a Taurus. She only has doula services available, no childbirth preparation classes. She is also pregnant and would be seven months along at my birth. Doula “C” is an Aries. She offers all kinds of goodies in her doula and childbirth preparation packaged. She has a one weekend prep class, which is based off of yoga, chanting and focusing on being in the moment. She also provides reiki, massage, and aromatherapy in the package. She is the most expensive of the three, but because she has a lot of extras. She spoke a lot about being intuitive, working with energy fields, and being empathic. Doula “C” has never given birth herself, so this profession has to be a calling. She is very young, probably early twenties and hasn’t had that much experience. Doula “A” has been a doula for about 20 years, I think she said something like over 300 clients and offered a ton of references. Doula “B” was a trauma therapist, but got into doula work after she helped numerous mothers heal from bad and traumatic birth experiences. She has had a handful of clients.

I checked our sign compatibility and Aries – Virgo works pretty good together, not the perfect combo, but tolerable. Virgos generally know exactly what they want and Aries can deliver. Aries is also the first sign in the zodiac, the birth sign. I thought this was a good omen. The Virgo – Taurus compatibility is very good. Two earth signs that are mechanically minded and practical. However, Doula “B”, who is also pregnant didn’t sound like she had much of a plan other than to just be there and support me. Which is nice, but my Virgo mind needs some classes, homework, and reading materials. We decided Doula “B” was not for us. So we had to decide between on Doula “A” or Doula “C”. I liked Doula “C”’s website a lot, so professional, so organized. But when I tried to contact her via email there was no response. Then I left her a voicemail and she called back four days later, whereas Doula “A” called back in an hour. When we spoke with Doula “C” she was kind of flighty, not concentrated or organized in her thoughts. I asked her about how we schedule all of these extras in her Doula package and she just said “well, we’ll get them on the calendar. By the way I’m taking off in December to go home to OK for a few weeks”. During our meeting she was kind of distracted, she admitted to having a migraine. Well, that about did it. No offense, but I can’t handle someone who doesn’t call back, won’t offer up a plan and is not committed to putting dates on a calendar. I only have 17 weeks left and I need a plan!!

Doula “a” it is then. She is kind, warm, and calming. She is also organized, has an action plan and provided an agreement up front. I am going to call her this week and set everything up. We are going to also take her Bradley Method class.