Lessons Learned from Overnight Postpartum Doula Support — From The Start, Postpartum Doula
That’s it for my overnight postpartum doula bag. For every other need, I use what the family has. I’m of the school of thought that babies really aren’t needed. In fact, it is possible (unrealistic for most, but possible) to give birth to a baby and not need a thing, except the mother. Not even a diaper. That’s a whole different blog article, but it’s possible. As a postpartum doula, I set an example and I teach through my actions. So, if I bring an item home, I’m implying that the family needs to get this item. But these days, I know that most families have MUCH MORE THINGS than they really need so the last thing they need is for someone they trust in this field to introduce a new item that eventually they will feel they need to buy . Therefore, I simply use what they have and show, through words and example, how to maximize the use of said item.
A prime example of this is baby carriers. For this family, they own Boba Wrap. Since they own the wrap, I used theirs instead of brining my own. Another example, as previously mentioned, happens in the kitchen because I only use the ingredients they have and teach by example how to create nutritious, healing-oriented foods.
Quick aside here – I want to specifically address babywearing today. First and foremost, I ask my clients how they feel about me wearing their baby. It’s actually in my contract that I have permission to wear the baby, I should determine that’s the best form of care. But, I still follow up and ask at the first visits if the family (especially the mother/primary care giver) is still ok with ME wearing THEIR baby. As long as the answer is consistently yes, then I will baby wear, if necessary.
Example of an Overnight Visit with a From the Beginning, Postpartum Doula
Every doula has their own way of supporting, nurturing, and empowering the families they support, so the way I provide support may look different to another doula. And every family has different dynamics and different needs and I do my best to meet the needs of each individual family. I’ll take this as an opportunity to briefly describe what my typical overnight routine looks like for a family I’ve recently had the opportunity to support.
… My wife and I put our kids to bed, I prepared my tea and my doula bag, talked about the next day with my husband, then left my house around 8:30PM. I arrived at my doula client in time for my 9PM shift. Usually when I arrive, there’s something going on about feeding the baby – sometimes mom is feeding when I arrive, sometimes she’s just finished, and, for my last overnight visit, baby is sleeping but waking up for feedings inside 15 minutes of my arrival. And, lucky for me on that last visit, mom pumped and I was ready to feed the baby a bottle! I checked in with mom, we talked about some things she needed my help with for the night, then she headed to her room to rest and sleep. So, I immediately went to work!
I started a load of baby laundry (she had a pretty sweet blowout in a cute outfit earlier), set up a few things I needed for feeding the baby and for the night (Boba wrap and set out swaddle blanket ), and restock/reset the changing table. At that time, the baby begins to tremble a little and moves into an active alert state with very clear signs of hunger. I prepared his bottle then we got down to business! He did great on his bottle, then he and I hung out and chatted for about 20 minutes while he worked on his post-meal digestion. He was tired but had trouble sleeping, so, about an hour after feeding, I put the Boba on and let baby sleep. And he fell asleep! He slept for about an hour and a half, then woke up happily.
