So baby is here, the lines of helpful family and friends are gone, your spouse is back to work, and you’re alone. Maybe you’re getting enough sleep, maybe you’re not, your baby won’t let you put him down and no one in your house can find a pair of shoes, maybe you’ve eaten once a day, and if you’re really lucky you’ll shower sometime, maybe. Your other kids are doing who knows what to your house and you can’t remember the last time you walked across the kitchen floor without your socks sticking. In other cultures it is a common practice for a postpartum woman to have a confinement or lay-in period where she stays in bed, rests, feeds her baby, and is waited on by the other women in her family. In the United States we push mothers to handle things alone and to “bounce back” within days or weeks of delivery and family are often not available or interested in helping. It’s time to change that, it’s time for a postpartum doula!
As a highly trained and experienced professional postpartum doula (certified through CAPPA) I can help you transition as you recover, rest, and refresh. As a mother of five and with ten years of experience as a preschool owner, as well as teaching experience for all ages, and with organizational and housekeeping skills, I can help you get through these challenges. I particularly love teaching dads/partners a task-based approach to postpartum recovery. I have experience with multiples, deployed spouses, large families, sleep planning, high risk, feeding struggles, colicky babies, post Cesarean section support, and more. I want to help you LOVE your postpartum phase and give you more time to just sit and be still and love on that beautiful baby. Want to take your rest to the next level? Let me pamper you with foot and hand reflexology and scalp massage. I have additional training in Bengkung Belly Binding, infant massage, and maternal mental health.
So what are all the amazing ways a postpartum doula can help your family? They can:
- Do meal planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, storing, and cleanup.
- Help siblings get attention, learn how to help with baby, understand breastfeeding and mom’s recovery.
- Teach partners how to help the birthing person recover and reduce their risk of postpartum mood disorders.
- Do light housework and household organization, help the family get on a good routine and manage their schedule.
- Give unbiased, evidence-based emotional, educational, and physical support.
- Help with birth processing and provide resources for a variety of professionals when needed (such as chiros, lactation specialists, therapists).
- Run errands or go with mom and baby to help make going out easier.
- Provide overnight care so mom can function better during the day, whether they are directly breastfeeding, pumping, or formula feeding.
- Provide information and demonstration for the care of the baby for baby-wearing, feeding, diapering, bathing, sleeping, etc.
- Keep an eye on the household while the new mom showers, eats, rests.
Postpartum support for daytime hours is $38/hour, overnight is $43/hour for anything after 10 p.m. and before 7 a.m. Special rates are available when booked with birth doula services. Minimum shift will apply depending on service area. When you book your postpartum care before delivery and choose a pre-planned schedule with payment in full your rate will be credited by $5/hr. My most popular pre-planned schedule is called the Pyramid Plan: 4 hours a day x 5 days a week for week one, 4 days a week for week two, and so on, giving you the most help in the beginning and gently phasing it out until you have a handle on things. I prefer to meet with my clients prenatally to set up a plan for their postpartum recovery but I am also sometimes available for last-minute urgent care.