A day in the life of the doula

Often we get questions about what happens all day at a postpartum client’s house, so we kept a journal of a day with a postpartum client. For this particular client we were in the home from 8am-5pm. It is always our goal to see the needs before the client feels them, and to help them feel comfortable, organized, and relaxed in their own home. Before we leave in the evening we like to make sure that the client is prepared for what will come once we’re gone, so, for example, we will do dinner preparations before leaving the house.

 

7:55am- Arrived early, let myself in the door, and said hello to the family upstairs

8:00am- Made breakfast for the children, and packed lunches for the day

8:25am- Helped the children get dressed for school

8:35am- Took the baby from the client, burped, changed, rocked her, and put her in her bed

9:15am- Collected the dirty laundry and threw it in the machine, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher,

9:45am- Put tea pot on to boil, watered houseplants while it heated

9:55am- Brought client a nutritious snack and tea, and sat with the client to chat about how she’s feeling emotionally, and addressed her concerns about her postpartum life adjustment

10:45am- Switched laundry

10:50am- Meal planned for the week with the client

11:38am- Brought crying baby and a glass of water to the client

11:45am- Folded laundry and put away laundry

12:05pm- Burped, changed, and rocked the baby while the client took a shower

12:25pm- Went to grocery store to get items needed for the week’s meals

1:45pm- Returned to the house, put away the groceries

1:55pm- Brought the baby downstairs with me so that the client could nap

2:00pm- Played with older children while baby and client slept

2:25pm- Gave art supplies to older children to create with, began meal preparations for freezer meals and dinner,

3:40pm- Took crying baby to client for feeding

4:30pm- Cleaned up kitchen, put dinner in the oven

5:00pm- Said goodbye to client for the evening

 

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