Doula, etc...

So I have about a million things to share, including:

- my sleep obsession
- unsolicited parenting advice from people on facebook
- the difficulties of breastfeeding (and my experience at La Leche League)
- baby blues/PPD
- general thoughts on labor, hospitals, newborns, etc...

BUT today I want to talk about "the doula"...a few weeks ago, I had a little "breakdown" (I can't think of a nicer word). Basically I was sobbing about the baby's diaper rash when CCBL called...I guess she could tell that I was "not myself" and contacted Mike. He had already spoken to me and had gotten the same impression and was already on his way home. Between him and CCBL, they worked out a little plan for "Operation Bring Sanity Back to Job Satisfaction":

1. get a therapist (she specializes in PPD and is awesome)
2. make sure JS gets some sleep
3. hire a doula!

A few things about doulas:
- they can be either L&D or postpartum
- they can do overnights (like baby nannies) or during the day

The doula service that Mike found does postpartum and they don't do nights (which kind of stinks but would suck our bank acct dry). The director says their services are threefold:
- mother care - lactation support, psychological support, etc...
- newborn care - baths, etc...
- household care - light housekeeping, errands, etc...

A few things about my doula:
- TOTAL HIPPIE
- gray braid on top of her head
- big hippie dresses - i am 99% sure they are breastfeeding dresses even though her kids are grown. I feel like she could whip out the bo.ob at any moment.
- looooooves to recycle
- knits big wool socks for her grandchildren
- obsessed with cell phone ringtones
- loves to make fruit and yogurt smoothies

Anyway, to sum up my first experience with her - within 5 minutes of arriving at our condo, she was grabbing my bo.ob (not sure if that is googlable) and getting my child to eat; within 30 minutes, she was RUBBING MY NASTY SWOLLEN FEET; within 90 minutes, I had left the condo and was heading to pick up a prescription while a stranger did my laundry and watched my newborn. Being overly tired will allow you to do things that you would never imagine.

Since then, she has come over once/week. She has done countless loads of laundry, watered the plants, gone to the supermarket, helped me pack for a weekend trip to see my family, etc...Also, I have napped for two hours while she held my crying child. Like I said, I would never have imagined that I would allow a stranger to care for my child while I slept...then I had a baby and became REALLY TIRED.

We bought a package of 20 hours so it will run out in about two weeks. I think it's a great service but I don't think I can justify it as an ongoing cost. But I'll miss my hippie!

Sidenote - I haven't posted a picture or named my child on this blog. Thoughts on internet privacy?