A little nugget of wisdom... Don't chew gum and work with a mama at the same time. Unless you are extremely sanguine and relaxed. I popped a piece in one day and unbeknownst to me, I was chewing that stuff within an inch of its life. I'm surprised it didn't just disintegrate in my mouth! With each contraction, I chomped harder and faster until hours later, my jaw was crying for mercy. There are other means of obtaining minty-fresh breath. Just saying.
On another note, my doula friend is leaving me for another region. I'm sad. Don't get me wrong. I'm so excited for her and her family and where the Lord is leading them but my selfish side is just sad. She has been a tremendous encouragement to me as I've stepped out into the unknown and very unusual realm of labor and delivery. She has taught me so many valuable doula skills and opened the door for experience that I would never have gotten anywhere else and some really special relationships with the national staff at the hospital. But above all, she's taught me this tangible love of another and has demonstrated such grace and gentleness.
Last week we were bent over in tears, laughing so hard at our awkwardness the last time we were in the ward together. A mama in transition was demonstrating none (and I mean NONE) of the usual signs of this very physically-taxing change in labor. She was up, walking, sipping on water and smiling like she'd just been told she'd scored the prize-winning hog. It was confusing for my friend and I who had been checking on her and monitoring her dilation all the way up to 10 cm. She had been quiet through the entire process and we praised her composure but now... Don't you wanna push mama?
There were no other laboring women in the ward at the time and in our eagerness to see this thing through to the sweet end, we hovered. Yes. We were helicopter doulas and if this lady made the slightest sound or movement, we were there, offering water, a little massage or a word of encouragement. It was all well and good until she got up to go to the bathroom and we followed her. All you listening out there - if a woman is stable on her feet, shows no signs of pushing and for crying out loud, is smiling (!), let her have a minute alone to pee!
My friend and I visited while we waited for her but little did we realize, we had followed her right up to the bathroom door and were blocking the poor lady's exit from the bathroom. When she opened the door, we had to move so she could get around us! But, as before, she was smiling and acting like delivering a baby was her usual Saturday activity. Bless her heart.
After that awkwardness, we backed off. I can't imagine that it makes a mama feel at ease when the doulas are acting like groupies.
In the end, we needed to leave and she still hadn't delivered but I am confident that she did just fine without us. In fact, she was probably glad to have a little breathing room.
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