As a doula, your first client will always hold a special place in your heart. I am still close friends with my first birth client. And I still keep in touch with my very first postpartum client.
When I became a doula, I was working for a different agency, not my own. It’s hard when you first start doula work because everyone wants an experienced doula.
But if you can never attend a birth or do postpartum work because of this,
how are you to gain any experience at all?
My plan was to work for an agency and hope that their experience would legitimize me enough to get a few clients under my belt.
I still remember, like it was yesterday, when I was offered my first client. I would be providing postpartum support to a new momma of premature twins.
In addition to the challenge of juggling twins, momma delivered via cesarean section, so she would need support from me as well. Mom wanted to breastfeed, so babies would start each session with nursing (as I supported in initiating this) followed by syringe feeding to ensure they were getting enough nourishment. There were two older children who would need support in the morning, too. All of this in addition to the standard housekeeping, laundry, dishes, bottle washing, etc. It was a lot! Maybe a little too much for my first client. So, I did the smart thing…
I SAID YES! I’d love to support this family!
I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous. I showed up to my first shift 45 minutes early to ensure I was on time and then waited in my car around the block. The nausea was building in my stomach and my pulse was racing.
What had I gotten myself into? Was I going to be able to do this? Where was all this doubt coming from?
To make matters worse, I found out that it was only the day prior when this client was told I was NEW to doula work. Despite their concerns, they were still willing to work with me. I was going to prove to them that to be a good doula didn’t mean I needed to have years of experience. It just meant that I needed to know my job and how to connect with families in a meaningful way.
What I lacked in confidence I’d make up in moxie.
That night I put on a brave face and walked up to their front door and gently knocked as I whispered under my breath to myself, “Okay, Tracy, you just have to fake it until you make it!”
I was about to meet this family who would finally make me a legitimate doula.
I’d be lying if I said my first shift with these babies and their family wasn’t challenging. The babies’ feeding schedule took almost an hour and a half from start to finish. And because they were preemies (one weighing just over 4.5lbs), they needed to be woken up to eat every 2 hours. If I was lucky, that left 30 minutes between feedings to do any of the work around the house that I needed to do.
It was a lot! But it was also amazing.
I was able to connect with the family in a way that I would take with me to every future client.
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