Vintage

Birth Doula Client: It was my first baby and Laura was amazing to have present.  She came by my house to show me all the different resources she had available and to coach me in privacy. It was like having a close friend near by at all times.  She always made me feel like I could ask any question no matter how silly it sounded to me.  When I thought my water had broke she came to the hospital with me and when it turned out that I was only 2 centimeters dilated she walked with me for an hour to see if that would speed things up.  They ended up sending me home because my water had not actually broken.  When I really went into labor I had been in labor all night and went to the hospital first thing in the morning, and so did she.  As soon as I got to the hospital, my labor stopped.  And I sat there at 5cm dilated.  She was there the whole time making me comfortable, getting me ice chips, jello, sneaking me a few bits of real food here and there because I was starving.  The doctor was awful, and was just going to break my water without even asking.  Laura stepped in and made the doctor ask first.  After my water was broken, I started to experience a lot of discomfort.  Laura took me to the shower, helped me on the birthing ball and talked with me to keep my mind off pain. I wanted to try to give birth without pain meds, this also made the doctor very mad, but Laura supported me the whole time.  When I finally accepted Stadol, I had a horrible reaction to it.  I was plummeted into a weird semi-conscious state where all I could feel was pain and I couldn’t stay conscious long enough to interact with anyone. However, anytime I was awake she was right there with ice or rubbing my back.  I had to get an epidural to recover from the pain medication.  Epidurals are wonderful!  After that, things went a lot smoother, it had already been 6 hours and I was still at 5 cm.  They had to give me Pitocin to send me back into labor.  She stayed at the hospital the whole time.  Finally, time to push; she was on one side and the nurse on the other.  After 2 hours of pushing I decided I was done and the baby could just stay there.  She helped me relax, refocus and even joke around a little bit.  Nearly a whole day in labor later, I finally gave birth.  I was very tired and stressed but she knew everything that needed to be said, done, or asked of the medical staff.  The next day she even visited me at the hospital. 

Postpartum Client: Laura did postpartum work for me for several months. She is a gem with a generous heart and helpful spirit. She’s responsible, reliable, attentive and caring. She has been a wonderful resource for our family and I highly recommend her childbirth and postpartum services. 

Childbirth Class Attendee:  Thanks for the childbirth class, it was awesome!