Recapping 2018, and What I’m Looking Forward to in 2019
First of all, it’s nearly 2019 – WHAT?! I know I say this every year, but 2018 flew by. I’m honestly shocked at how quickly it came and went. I feel like I’m still writing 2017 on things…
Personal Things
2018 brought a lot of ups and downs to my business and personal life. The highlight of this year was definitely getting married. I was also in two of my closest friends’ weddings and am so so so honored to be my best friend’s doula next spring!!! Personally, it was a great year and I can’t wait for even better things in 2019.
Business Things
On the business side, I supported 31 families as a birth doula, and 4 families in the postpartum period. I even added some additional trainings and certifications to my resume – I was trained as a Spinning Babies practitioner in the spring, an Ayurvedic postpartum care this summer, and I just completed my childbirth education certification so I’ll be teaching those weekend workshops next year!
What I’m Looking Forward To
In 2019, I’m really looking forward to honing in on my skills even more. I felt like the past couple of years I’ve done a lot of learning as I figured out what exactly I wanted to do. That meant picking up various trainings and skills every few months while still trying to care for all of my birth doula clients. This year, I don’t want to stretch myself so thin. Instead, I want to focus on what I’m doing now (birth doula, Ayurvedic postpartum care, placenta encapsulation, and childbirth education) and get even better at it all. Now, this of course doesn’t mean I’ll ever stop “learning.” As a birth worker, you have to continue finding new research to support clients, opening yourself up to the latest evidence on care, etc. Otherwise, you do your clients a huge disservice. But instead of trying to add more tools to my toolbox, I want to focus more on my business as it is.
I’m also looking forward to amping up my business skills. For the past year and a half, I’ve learned SO much about how I want my business to look. And on the flip side, how I don’t want it to look. I want to get better at networking with my community, including the other birthworkers in my area. I’d also like to be more organized on the backend of things. There’s a lot that goes into running your own business, and I still have a ton to learn. But I feel like I’m finally starting to get a grasp on things.
Overall, I want to take really good care of me so I can continue bringing my best self to my clients. I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store and I wish you all peace, love, joy, and health in the new year.
xo,
Katelyn
