I met Gillian when I was looking for a Bradley Birth Class instructor. She was training for her certification when we met, and I instantly liked her. Her enthusiasm and passion were infectious. Alex and I generally have a short attention span, yet our 3 hour class with Gillian every Sunday seemed to fly by! She was a natural at teaching and possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of everything birth related (I still get a huge thrill whenever I can email her a link to something she hasn't seen before).
She was a huge resource for us throughout the pregnancy, the delivery, and afterward. When I say the delivery, I mean that we literally called her from the delivery room to ask questions.
She is a Doula and a Lactation Consultant as well. I hired her once a week for post-partum doula work. But, to be honest, I really just liked having her around. I could ask a million questions, no matter how ridiculous they were, and she almost always had an answer (if she didn't, she went to her mentor and got an answer for me right away).
Yes, she did a bunch of things for us: organized the nursery, clipped Aiven's tiny nails when I was too terrified (and taught me how to do it as well), bathed him when the poop-through was so huge I had no idea where to begin, showed me how to nurse him in bed, taught me how to hold him when he needed to poop, instructed me on how to set up the stroller and co-sleeper and other various baby things, made sure I ate and slept, and most importantly -- she listened to me! She listened to me in every state I can imagine. Elation, exhaustion, frustration. When it seemed my friends were nowhere to be found, there was Gillian, unwavering in her support and encouragement. When I had no idea if what I was doing was correct, she assured me I was doing a great job. G-d bless Gillian.
Every expectant and new mom should have a Gillian. If you want to get in touch with my Gillian, I would be honored to make an introduction :)
I'm pretty sure it's inappropriate to comment on a blogpost about yourself - but I couldn't let this go without a thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou two are an inspiration of a loving family. Thank YOU so much for letting me be a small part of it.
Yours, and maybe with a few tears of gratitude and surprise,