Question for Doulas with small children

ohioflower · 02-05-2009, 03:25 PM

Hello, I'm an aspiring doula and have a question. If you have small children, what do you do when a client calls and is in labor? Do you already have a babysitter lined up?

My husband works full time and I'm a SAHM. My children are still babies so they do not go to school yet. Obviously, if it's in night time, my husband can stay with the kids. But I'm not sure what I would do if it's during the day and my husband is unable to leave work immediately.

My initial thought is to wait until the kids are in school. But I'm curious to hear what others are doing. Thank you!

Supermomma · 02-05-2009, 03:31 PM

Well, I just pray the birth gods smile on me that day, and I can get to my sitters! LOL! Actually, I have a large extended family (husbands) near me, so it is usually not a problem, and my hubby usually only works 4 on 4 off shifts, so he's really home half the year. And I do have a couple on call sitters, and my neighbour/friend who can take the kids. But it is tricky sometimes. Right now for me hubby is out of town, sitter is sick, SIL is working night shift, other in laws are having a family crisis. . . . and I have no permanent wheels cause of my car accident last month. So, I have back up lined up for my births, and my clients know that they may get one of my back ups. I've also been borrowing my neighbours 20 year old minivan, and getting my husbands 20 yr old cosin to watch the kids. I think in all honesty, if there is a will there is a way! LOL! But after this weeks, I think I am pushing my limits.
There are also some other great threads on here about juggling family life and doula life. I know there isn't much help in all that babble, but good luck and welcome aboard!

1stimestar · 02-05-2009, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohioflower

Hello, I'm an aspiring doula and have a question. If you have small children, what do you do when a client calls and is in labor? Do you already have a babysitter lined up?

You need to have rock solid child care BEFORE you agree to be someone's doula. Do a search of the forums as there are many threads on this. So obviously, you are not alone. Good luck.

ohioflower · 02-05-2009, 04:10 PM

Thank you all. I see where the other place on the forum is that addresses these questions. Thanks again!

mothermedoula · 03-06-2009, 11:43 PM

Yes! Childcare is a must even when the kids are in school b/c birth doesn't usually happen when it's convenient for anyone! That's the beauty of it. Try to find mature moms with kids of their own. I used to have two friend/ moms that were willing to take the boys at a moments notice- now I just use the one mom and I have my Dad and SIL just in case. Backups for the backup.

Liz

bellymamadoula · 03-07-2009, 02:26 AM

you need a sitter before you scheduel or meet clients. And your sitter needs a backup, too!

03-13-2009, 12:42 AM

i have two backup babysitters in case my husband isnt home from work yet, one is a sahm, and the other only works in the day, so it really doesnt matter what time of day my client goes into labor, i will always have someone, i decided to get backup babysitters before i even paid for my distance learning program.

WMCHeather · 04-06-2009, 10:51 AM

Another option is to work with a doula partner so you can be each other's childcare and back-up. There are still times when you'll need additional childcare, but working with a partner does help. We had another doula team that used to do the same arrangement in our area. You can either go into business together (as we have done) or maintain seperate businesses and just work as backups for each other (which the other team did).

Example, today, my partner is with a client in Houston at her OB appointment and I have her 3 year old ds (who is happily delighted in playing with my kids' normally forbidden big-boy toys, lol). We also have a client who is due any minute, so we have a backup plan in place as well.

We have 6 children between the 2 of us and the older 4 are in school, so we usually have the 2 littles with us for client appointments. We are very "kid-friendly" and often do client meetings during the day at coffee shops, kid-friendly restaurants, parks or someone's home so that our kids and our client's kiddos can play while we talk.

Your local API support group or LLL may be a good starting place to find someone who is also interestd in doula work tha might be interested in partnering with you.
~h

urchin_grey · 04-06-2009, 12:05 PM

This is the whole reason I'm training to be a PP doula first.