My love of birth was a slow progression. After I had my first baby I wanted everyone to know how amazing birth could be. I wanted all women to have the experience I did and I told anyone who would give me five minutes of their time all about it.
When I was pregnant with my third baby, my midwife loaned me a book called “Giving Birth” by Catherine Taylor. It is the story of a journalist who researches birth topics, gets pregnant, becomes a doula, and falls in love with birth. I could relate. I remember writing in my journal that I was excited about my impending birth and the dreams I had of birthing under the stars – opening myself up to the vast universe and bringing a child earthside. I knew it could be amazing again and it was.
After that experience I wanted to be a doula. I wanted to witness the majesty of women giving birth. The awe. The power. The greatness. The tiny prize in the form of a human being. However, this was not the time nor the place for me as I had 3 littles at home and the on-call life is hard.
Fast forward a bit to when I learned about Birth Boot Camp and trained to be a childbirth educator. This gave me an outlet for my love of birth with the added bonus of working on a schedule. This was perfect for me! I went into teaching thinking it would be a placeholder until I could work as a doula, but once I started, I fell in love with it. There are so many things I love about teaching. Here are three of my favorite things I love about being a Birth Boot Camp childbirth educator.
- The couples
I love when couples come into the first class feeling a little nervous and leave the last class confident and ready to have a baby. I love seeing them grow closer, the glimpses of intimacy, and uniqueness of their relationships. I love witnessing partners really lean into what she needs and discovering how they can work together during their birth. It’s a special space I get to hold for them while they are exploring this new role of becoming parents.
2. The community
Birth Boot Camp has built a wonderful community within itself. We work hard to build each other up, support, and encourage one another. I love being part of it. We consider each other family and strive to maintain that high standard. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by these amazing women who inspire me and push me to always be better.
3. The curriculum
The thing I loved about Birth Boot Camp right off the bat was the way the teaching materials are laid out and how it covers everything that is important to me. We teach the basics of labor and birth but also so much more. We talk about care providers, building your birth team, ways the partner can provide support, baby, breastfeeding, safe sleep after baby is born, postpartum topics, we cover it ALL. This was very important to me when I was considering certifying. Birth Boot Camp aligned perfectly with my beliefs about birth and parenting. The beautiful materials were another added bonus.
I really enjoy teaching. It’s a lot of fun and I think I’m pretty good at it. I’m so glad that life brought me to this place where I can share my love of birth with couples who are just as excited about their upcoming births as I was. I’ve made lifelong friends over the years, and it just brings so much joy to my life. My little heart swells with pride as these sweet couples grow and evolve into amazing parents. I’m so grateful for this gig and for Birth Boot Camp as a whole.
