My meeting with Shamilia went well! Everything other than the actual conversation was a bit nerve-wracking, but I'm quite proud of myself for getting it done.
I took the Baltimore metro for the first time because she lives right near one of the metro stops and I figured it would the easiest way to meet. I had hoped to go to a coffee shop to get warm so I wouldn't have to stand in the rain or walk through a bad part of town, but I had no such luck. There was NOTHING near the metro when I came out, and I had no choice but to meet her and go to her home. Luckily it was only a 5 minute walk, but unluckily, it was definitely in one of the most scary areas of Baltimore I've ever been in. (Which she confirmed later on in our meeting by saying she can't wait to move out of there and bring her baby up in a place less dangerous. "someone gets killed here every week"). And even though she walked me back to the metro station, she told me to call her when I got home so she knew I made it safely.
She was very sweet though and we got along great. Very much an 18 year old, but also very much excited about having a baby to take care of. And she also told me she can't wait to breastfeed! She said she watches her friend measure out formula and heat up the bottle to just the right temperature and it just seems like way too much work when you can just go 'boop!' (with a gesture of bringing the baby to her breast) and its the right temperature already!
I thought we got along well and were very comfortable together. She is meeting with another potential doula this week, who seems to me to be more experienced than I and like she might be a good match for her beause they have similar family/birth situations. But Shamilia is worried that the fact that the woman has young children would interfere with the time she is able to spend on Shamilia herself. So at the moment I am just waiting and wondering what she will end up deciding.
Tonight I will be attending a meeting of a group of doulas from the Baltimore area who I only know through a Yahoo group. Should be interesting...
By the way, thanks to yesterday's adventure I've now been on a Metro/Subway in 8 different world cities :D
yeyyyy! sounds great! does this mean that you want her to pick youuu??? :)
ReplyDeleteI was going to say, this is great!!! I know sometimes working with people who seem so dissimilar to you might be less than ideal in theory, but it can be such a wonderful learning experience.
ReplyDeleteI was honestly afraid and uncomfortable to work with students who had serious disabilities, but now that I have I'm so grateful for the experience. Not saying that this woman is akin to disabled children.. but you get my drift. Embrace it! It'll make you more knowledgeable and more comfortable when it's time to do something new again :)
Aww thanks, gals :)
ReplyDeletesuch sage advice, erika!
I think I'm still hoping she won't need me, so that I won't have to worry about July getting messed up. But I still don't even know about grad school yet so anything can change.