Renée was our doula for our son’s birth on June 6. My whole pregnancy I was prepping for a natural birth by eating healthy, staying active with yoga and exercise, educating myself through a Bradley Method birth education class and by reading suggested books, and last by hiring Renée to help keep me and my husband calm, cool, and collected on our big day. Renée exceeded my expectations of just needing her during labor; she came for a prenatal visit and made us feel really good about how we had been preparing for labor, provided us with ample relevant resources for questions we had, and most importantly believed in us and supported us unconditionally.
It was clear from day one that Renée has a passion for educating and supporting her clients with her refreshingly positive character. It was a whirlwind of a weekend discussing “risks” of birthing a “big” baby and a health issue of mine before deciding to plan a Monday Cesarean and Renée couldn’t have been more helpful talking to my husband, as I was super emotional, about our options. I thank Renée tremendously for being understanding and supportive. We never felt judged, we always felt informed. Most importantly, I believed in me and I knew she believed in me and that was all I needed to feel that I wasn’t alone. My husband appreciated that Renée wasn’t available only to me, but wanted to know his needs to best support him, too.
On our big day Renée met us at the hospital, prepped us, waited (a long time) patiently for our son to be born and for grandparents to see him, before she came up to the recovery room to be with me. Family is amazing to have around, but the ability to process and talk to Renée all during an amazing essential oil foot rub was exactly what I needed. This pampering also occurred at an in-home visit a week after our birth where I will forever be in debt to her for showing us how to swaddle our baby peacefully and get him to sleep in his crib, and for giving us helpful information about newborns now that we were past the birth.
I am very grateful we had Renée by our sides during this process and highly recommend her as a birth doula!
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