Doula School: half way through

I'm officially half way completed with my doula class with Stillbirthday University.

HALF WAY!

This has been an amazingly enriching experience.  This program is so thorough and deep and academic, but equally emotional.  By the end of the course, I will be trusted to walk with someone through such a hard time in their life: the loss of their baby.  I will be trusted to walk along side someone through happy birth outcomes too.  Both things feel like such a great privilege.  Holy cow.

My biggest fear:  that I will get trained, be so eager to walk alongside someone in the birth of their baby, and then never find clients.  How do you approach someone and be like "Ok, so I know bringing your baby into the world is like the most vulnerable and amazing thing you will ever do.  Higly personal.  Yup.  Soooo lemme in there!  Oh, and pay me."  o.O

I'm trying not to let that consume me.. I feel like I need clients NOW, but in reality, week 8 is where we get the training on how to start a doula business.  For now, I need to learn the skillzzzz and I am.

Patience, Grashoppa.  

We have gone over prenatal bonding and the crazy important significance that has on, like, your entire life.  We have learned about conception.  We have learned about medical birth options and comfort measures (the heart of the doula work).  We have learned to:

Slow down.

Validate.

Provide Options.

Supplement Resources.

^^This is the core of Stillbirthday and I need NEED to demonstrate that in any scenario. I need to break it down and provide my client with those pieces to fully serve them.

There has been an exam every week.  The exams basically fluctuate between: gaining rote knowledge of ALL things pregnancy, labor, and birth, and being able to showcase how you would serve a client in various situations.  Everything is done in terms of live birth and stillbirth, or birth in any trimester.
It's intense and I am loving it! I feel like a piece of me is coming back.  I am meant to do this.  I love it!  I feel like I am thriving learning this material.  I am soaking it all in so that when I am blessed with a client, I can easily and efficiently walk along side her and help her have the best possible labor.  I want to keep walking this path and continue to learn and grow and work my way into the birth community and be an awesome asset and a kick-butt doula.

Bring it on, second semester!