Anna

I loved having Charity as my doula! This was my 4th birth, first with  a doula.  She was there for me ready to help with everything.  I had pain in my hips while pregnant and she helped come up with exercises that helped with the pain. When ever  I expressed my fellings or fears she listened to me and helped me adress them. CHARITY helped my husband know what to do and how he could be there for me . She was there for me and didn’t pressure me to have the baby a certain way.  She helped me learn my options and let me choose what would work for me and my baby.  She is happy, calm and so though full.  She knew I would want ice and cool  rags for my neck before I did. She got me food afterwards. She made the room smell lovely.  If I have another baby I would want Charity as my doula.  

– Anna Schmid

Nicole

Charity was the most amazing doula I could have asked for. When my doctor discouraged a VBAC she encouraged me to get another opinion and possibly switch doctors. I was shy but she helped me feel okay. She found a great practice that supports trying for VBACs. She reviewed our birth plan and got to know our wishes. Having had a VBAC before, she was knowledgeable about the subject but never pushed her ideas onto us. She only gave us the necessary info so we could make informed choices, and then she supported us.

The day I went into labor Charity was almost as excited as we were! I had severe back labor, so she referred me to a chiropractor to help the baby drop. Then at my home she helped me mentally escape the pain to a happier place.

At the hospital Charity walked with us through the halls over and over. She showed my husband how to ease my pain. She let me lean on her during contractions and helped me breathe through them. She talked to me about my happy place and told me how strong I am. She and my husband had to push HARD on my back and hips to ease the pain of my back labor. She never complained. She helped me try some maneuvers to help the baby drop. She stayed by my side and helped with everything I needed. She only went to sleep when I did.

If I did not understand what was going on she explained it to me and was my advocate to help the hospital staff follow my birth plan as closely as possible. She was kind to hospital staff, and never overbearing.After being in labor for a few days I kept saying I could not do it anymore. Charity said I could do it, but that I didn’t have to. Once I got an epidural she told me how proud of me she was for making it that far. I had to have a C section and she waited while I had the operation, even though it was late at night and we hadn’t slept much for 3 days. She helped me with nursing and even got me a beautiful gift at the gift shop. The experience was absolutely perfect!

-Nicole Sampson

Dailie’s Birth Story

One of the things I’d like to do with Labor of Love Doula Services is share labor/birth stories. Once my website is up and running, I plan to do this via my blog, and if you’re interested in sharing your story, feel free to contact me and let me know! It seemed appropriate to start sharing today, because it is my daughter’s 21st birthday. I’ll keep it a little shorter, since it will be as a FB post, but here you go:

This was baby #2 for me. Baby #1 came 4 days early. I had an epidural with #1, after pushing for 1.5 hours. I ended up pushing for 4 hours with him, but that is a story for another day.  🙂 With Dailie, I remember doing laps in our house days before she was born, and watching her due date come and go. I really didn’t like that idea, since I didn’t experience that the first time around. She was 4 days late, weighed 9 lbs. 5 oz, and came without a single needle being poked into me. No epidural, no IV, nothing, which was glorious!. All I had were the external fetal monitors, occasionally. I remember when I reached the pushing stage, I got panicky, remembering my experience with #1, but my good husband (who was an EXCELLENT coach during labor and delivery) talked me through it, assuring me it was fine. I pushed for only 30 minutes, which I thought was wonderful in comparison to 4 hours! She was born at 4:20 pm, after just 8 hours of labor, at Lafayette Home Hospital. I was rewarded not only with a beautiful baby girl, but a fabulous piece of turtle cheesecake for dessert after dinner in the delivery room (one of the perks of no epidural- you can eat right away!!). It was really a wonderful birth experience.

Jessica and Nate

Picture of Charity and Clementine

Charity is a fantastic doula! Both my husband and I cannot say enough good things about her as a doula. This was our first pregnancy and I wanted to have some extra help, in addition to having my husband there. We are both private people and didn’t want to share the special experience with any other family members, so having her there to support us through the labor process was incredible. Charity is very sweet, patient, and motherly but she was also super motivating, which is helpful when you are in a lot of pain. She has such a calming nature that I was able to relax and was at ease during the whole labor process.

She met with us before the birth and we were able to talk to her about the most important things to us, which really helped once we were in the hospital. I was in labor for 27 hours and wanted to labor at home as long as possible before going to the hospital, Charity came to my home and helped me to relax and be as comfortable as I could be trying different positions and pain management techniques. When we went to the hospital she was a great advocate for both my husband and I. She helped us ask the right questions and make sure that we knew what was going on during each stage of labor, which was great for us because we had no idea what to expect! It was so helpful for her to be there so that I never had to be alone, yet my husband was able to go and eat a meal and take a quick break.

The thing that meant the most to me was that Charity paid attention to my husband and how he was doing. She didn’t ignore him or take his place she helped us have a wonderful birth experience together. We were really nervous about it all and she was there to make us still feel like our normal selves and be excited to welcome our sweet girl into the world. Seriously, I wouldn’t change having her as my doula for the world!

-Jessica and Nate Parents of Clementine