Hiring Renee as our doula was quite possibly the best decision my wife and I made. Renee is knowledgeable, passionate, and most importantly, personally invested in us, our labor and birth plan, and helping our birth experience to be exactly as WE wanted it.
Renee helped us build our own birth plan, which was a major task considering we had no idea what a birth plan was, what options we had, and ways we could be in control during labor and birth. Our plan changed quite a bit during the pregnancy, starting with a “doctor/medicated” and realized we preferred a “midwife/natural” approach. This included a switch from a doctor to a midwife at 7.5 months! Renee’s guidance helped us figure out what approach to a birth plan was best for us, and also to be confident in making the decisions, choices, and changes to make that plan happen!
The day of our daughter’s birth was a crazy one…three weeks before her due date! While we ultimately saw most of our birth plan come true (natural and unmedicated, laboring mostly at home, calm and relaxed labor environment), the circumstances around how the birth ultimately played out were something we could have NEVER imagined. Because of Renee’s guidance, we were both prepared, confident, and empowered to handle ANY and EVERYTHING that happened on that day…we could not have done it without her!
Right after the birth, Renee was immediately helpful in helping my daughter get the all important first latch. Because our daughter was born early, she had weight and blood sugar issues in the hospital, which made the first days of breastfeeding very difficult. She (literally) assisted us in hand expressing colostrum and taught us how to spoon feed it to our daughter so she could still have it even though she was having difficulty feeding because of her medical issues. Without Renee’s help, we would have not been successful with breastfeeding!
Since the birth, Renee has continued to be of help to our family. She was always availble when we needed to ask questions regarding breast feeding, sleep training, post-pardum issues, and other general first-time-parent questions.
Our journey to a successful pregnancy was a long and winding road, fighting against a very rare genetic condition…the harsh reality was that with this condition, getting pregnant is so difficult, this could have very well been the only chance we got. With this in mind, the selection of a doula was so incredibly important to us. Within seconds of meeting Renee, we knew we had found the perfect person to help guide us through this journey. We immediately connected with her, and she immediately connected with us and our story. We didn’t just find a doula that day, we found a friend, and frankly, a member of our family for life. We are forever greatful for everything she has done for our family!
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