Doula Mellie

Melanie was our postpartum night doula for our first child. She was great and such a big part of us having a smooth (all things considered!) transition into parenthood. Melanie both provided relief / rest to us as new parents, but also provided support and guidance for making us self sufficient - actually a big part of her philosophy, and why we chose to work with Melanie, was her commitment to helping us be independent (too bad we can't rely on doulas forever!!). In addition, Melanie was great with helping us understand what gear / set ups we really did and did not need (her recommendations were really helpful and help cut through the big, expensive world of what baby gear could cost). Finally, we really liked that Melanie was really also an advocate for the baby herself - how babies function, what they need, and how to really understand and meet their needs / help them feel safe in this big new scary world, which was very heartwarming. Would happily have Melanie again, and recommend her to others!

We chose to have Melanie as our doula for our first child. When we began our search for a doula, we had no idea how important it would be, and we were very fortunate to have found someone as experienced and skilled as Melanie. Prior to my wife giving birth we had two in person visits and one online session with Melanie that really helped us prepare for the birth, and ensure we were doing everything possible to have a happy and healthy birth. As expected, nothing was as expected on the day my wife went into labor. Despite this, we were grateful to have Melanie at our side helping with every possible situation that arose. Melanie helped us stick to our birth plan and was an amazing motivator and coach when things got tough. Additionally, her presence and techniques helped to reassure my wife that she was making her way towards her goal. During pushing (which was the hardest part for my wife), Melanie not only helped her to try various positions to find the best one, but she also helped navigate the nurses and ensure we had the most experience and helpful one in the room. Despite the difficulty, we ended up with the vaginal birth we had hoped for, and a beautiful and healthy baby girl! Melanie additionally was incredibly helpful with her postpartum visit and helped get us on the right track so that my wife's breastfeeding progressed and was successful. We owe Melanie so much and cannot recommend her enough!

I can't say enough good things about working with Melanie! We brought her back around our daughters 4 month regression as we had started to wake up every hour and were too reliant on the pacifier.

Prior to arrival we had a call to catch up on what our current sleep struggle and goals were and Melanie created a plan for us to implement. She came back over for a night to show us how to teach our daughter to self soothe without the pacifier and help trouble shoot issues that arose in the middle of the night.

The following days Melanie provided assistance virtually by hoping on a call each morning to discuss the prior nights sleep events and would help give us points to work on.

After 4 nights our daughter now completely self soothes! She only wakes us up once to feed in the middle of the night, takes longer naps and no longer requires the pacifier to fall asleep! We are so happy working with Melanie and couldn't recommend her more.

We hired Melanie as a birth doula for the birth of our second child. I wanted an unmedicated birth and was looking for someone who can help me move and change positions to best support the current stage of labor, as well as help me through contractions with massages and counter pressure.

During the prenatal visits we went over exercises and positions that help the baby position herself correctly before labor starts, as well as positions and massages that i can take during labor.

Her support during the actual birth in the hospital was the most valuable part. She knew her way around the labor and delivery room and made sure the atmosphere was as relaxing as possible. She moved the bed into positions i didn't even know it could take and really utilized the birth ball for position changes and helped me get into a comfortable and good position for the final pushing stage.
She also helped me understand the signs of my body as labor progressed and let me know that we are moving in a good direction.
During pushing there were a lot of people in the room saying and asking lots of things. Melanie helped me stay focused on my body and she helped tremendously in communicating with the hospital team. She made it easy for me to advocate for my needs (e.g. the position I want to give birth in). The hospital staff was also very respectful and didn't push back. So that worked well together.

So thanks to her i had an amazing, empowering unmedicated hospital birth!

We hired Melanie as our birth doula for my hospital birth in Feb. I'm an older first time mom and felt that I went above and beyond to prepare for birth during my pregnancy. And even being as well read and knowledgeable on the birth process, nothing can truly prepare you for the real deal when it's game time.

Hiring her was one of the most important decisions we made for our birth. So grateful that Melanie was with us during our journey. Particularly since my birth journey got more and more complicated as it progressed. She was calm and directed when we have to make tough game time decisions every step of the way. She was the reassuring presence we needed when things felt scary and uncertain. She also has the experience to help us make the best decisions to move us forward.

After birth, she always checked in with us to make sure we are doing ok and continued to be our guide during transition in postpartum. If you're looking for an experienced guide who can tell it to straight while offering an anchoring presence during birth, I highly recommend hiring Melanie as your doula.

We chose Melanie to be our birth doula for our firstborn this summer. She is amazing to work with - knowledgeable, supportive, communicative, and has such a calming presence. During the pregnancy, Melanie worked with us to prepare for birth and a newborn, from prenatal stretches/exercises to building the baby registry and partner support during labor. When it was time to go to the hospital, Melanie was there to advocate for us, help clarify questions, and provide reassurance for us first-time parents navigating the unexpected. After we brought our baby home, Melanie promptly followed through to help us with breastfeeding and caring for baby AND ourselves. I feel I can ask her about anything. She has been such a blessing on our journey to parenthood and I highly recommend her.

With wealth of experience, Melanie was the best birth + post partum doula we could have asked for my second pregnancy. I had experienced a birth trauma with my first so was extra nervous going into this second pregnancy. Melanie relieved my anxiety by preparing me both mentally and physically reassuring me that every pregnancy is different. During labor, she was so knowledgeable about everything that I would always consult with her for any procedures and medication. I really appreciated her guidance on slowing down inductions. On top of that, she was prepared with everything (I had forgotten to pack) including constellation night lights, music and some snack post delivery. My delivery was as smooth as could be to the point I was stunned. Post delivery, Melanie made sure that I was getting the rest I needed. This pregnancy was such a different experience thanks to Melanie! I highly recommend her both as a birth and post partum doula.

I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful it was to have Melanie as our doula. She is knowledgeable, caring, responsive, and is a delight to get to know as well. I really could not have asked for a better person to help guide my husband and I through our birth experience.

I can also say with certainty that she goes above and beyond in the provision of services compared to other doula's. Melanie provided an extensive in-home assessment a month prior to our delivery date and gave me stretches and advice for preparing for labor. She then met with us a second time to go over our birth plan and to discuss our preferences and to walk us through things we may not have thought of which was extremely helpful and gave peace of mind. Having her to call and get advice and insight pre and post delivery, along with her support day of delivery were invaluable. Day of delivery she provided much needed guidance, support and advocacy (along with some much needed laughs!).

Post delivery she came for an at-home visit to help us with lactation questions and other first time parent concerns, and much to my surprise she followed up with phone calls thereafter checking in.

She made me feel supported throughout my entire pregnancy-pre and post-and I truly cannot recommend her enough for being a part of your intimate and life changing time, we are forever grateful that she was with us on this journey!

We are so blessed to have had Melanie as our postpartum night doula for our twins. As first time parents, especially of twins, Melanie's support and mentorship was invaluable. I initially felt a bit self conscious having someone in our home given it felt like a total mess with two newborns. However, Melanie's approach is one of total non judgement. Every night when she came in, my husband and I felt a sense of calm and so at ease. She was incredibly attuned to my emotional and mental well being, and at the start of a shift would check in and ask what she could do to support me personally, which really meant everything to me. She provided incredible guidance on so many aspects of caring for our babies and for ourselves, including maximizing their sleep, syncing their feeding schedules, stretches for me to do after nursing and pumping, and so many more. Thank you Melanie!!! We are forever grateful for you!

With Melanie's outstanding support I was able to have the unmedicated birth I wanted. Taking her prenatal yoga classes each week helped me prepare mentally and physically too. She's an incredible human and a true expert in her craft.