The Arrival
The New Baby
Nurturing new families is at the heart of what I do as a Postpartum Doula. Bringing home a new baby/s is a time of profound growth and change for families. It is a change that is long anticipated and planned for, but nothing can ever quite prepare new parents for the realities of caring for a newborn/s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All while recovering from childbirth and getting very little sleep.
My goal is to nurture you into your new roles as parents. I do this by supporting you as you move through the process of getting to know your baby and yourself as a new parent. I support whatever parenting style you choose, and assist you with your needs making it easier for you to parent your new baby. As you experience successes and your knowledge and self-confidence grow, your need for our support will diminish over time.
Physical Support
Helping you learn to care for your new baby by assisting with: breastfeeding or bottle feeding, bathing, diapering, cord and/or circumcision care.
- Making suggestions to improve your comfort and recovery after birth.
- Doing light housework and meal preparation.
- Coordinating family and friends to support you.
- Running errands.
Emotional Support
Listening to your needs and concerns patiently and without judging, recognizing this is a time of emotional vulnerability for the whole family, but particularly for the mother.
- Helping you process your birth or adoption experience.
- Supporting your parenting style.
- Offering a list of resources specific to your needs.
- Recognizing and responding to postpartum mood disorders.
Nurturing Options
Day time -- Daytime Doula care is personalized based off of your family’s specific needs. While there is a four hour minimum per day for daytime care, longer time frames are always welcome.
Overnight -- You may also want to consider having overnight help. Night care is generally from 10pm-6am. Some people like to add an hour of care in the evening or the morning. Most clients feel that maximizing sleep at night is the priority for their family. As your Doula I would stay in the same room with your baby and take care of their needs, while everyone else gets rest. Depending on how you are feeding, I can bring the baby to you to nurse; I can bottle feed or a combination of the two.
The Growing baby
As your newborn grows and matures, Nurture continues to be a resource for the changing needs of your family. Nurture can provide consulting services to help with:
- Sleep coaching
- Starting solid foods
- Creating a baby friendly home
Sleep Coaching
Do you want to nurture your baby to a full night's sleep? Is your child ready to transition to sleeping through the night? Let us support you and take the stress out of sleep coaching. Nurture provides two options:
- I can consult with you to give you the tips, strategies and tools that best support your parenting style and provide support to get you through this transition time.
- I can take the stress away from you and care for your child throughout the night as they learn to self-soothe and settle in for a good night's sleep.
Not sure which option to choose, we can discuss your needs and find the best choice for your family.
Solid Foods
Transitioning from a diet of breast milk or formula to one that includes solid foods should be a fun time for you and your baby. But sometimes, parents have concerns about when to start and what foods to choose. We can help you get off to a positive start by:
- Assessing your baby's readiness
- Evaluating your solid food preferences and style
- Providing a list of nutritious first foods
- Teaching you techniques for preparing your own baby food
Baby Friendly Home
Once your baby becomes mobile, you become aware of all the potential dangers hidden throughout your home. There are a myriad of products and solutions for these dangers. We can help you:
- Identify danger zones
- Recommend solutions appropriate for your particular situation
- Shop for the solutions you decide on
FAQs
Q.What if I don't know how much care I need?
A. This dilemma is very common and often you won't know the answer until you meet your new arrival/s. We can be flexible and tailor your schedule to meet your needs.
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Q. What if my baby is early/late?
A. No worries. Unless you have a scheduled birth/arrival, babies rarely arrive on a specific date. We will work together to make you sure your family has the care you need, when you need it.
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Q. Do you have references?
A. References happily provided upon request.
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Have more Q's? Please feel free to ask!
Raves
Testimonials from clients
Halley, Jen was an absolute life saver after our daughter was born in May 2022! I had to have an emergency c-section and had complications thereafter. From day one, Jen modified her schedule to start her night doula support. Not only did she give us the essential rest and peace of mind watching our daughter the first 6 weeks of her life, she helped me through lactation struggles and my recovery. Jen also shared her deep knowledge of newborn care, which was invaluable as new parents. The calming energy and kindness Jen brought into our house is something we will never forget. We love you Jen!
Mackenzie, Jenn was an incredible post-partum doula. She gave me the care, confidence, empathy and love that I needed as a first time mom. She has a wonderful bedside manner and treats you and your baby with the best care possible. We used her for the first 4 months of my daughter's life and I was so sad when we said goodbye to her. She became part of the family! She taught me so many wonderful ways to care for my baby and I'm grateful to her for that.
Tasha, first time mother of twins. “Jennifer was willing to help our family without hesitation. She spent days with me working on breastfeeding. I have no idea how many conversations about parenting style. Sometimes we just sat holding babies. She always made sure we ate slept or just took a shower. In a very short period of time Jennifer became a trusted advisor”
Michelle, first time mother of triplets. “Jennifer worked with us two nights per week for three months after our triplets came home from the NICU. She was an invaluable resource and support for my husband and me. Her caring and capable demeanor always made us feel comfortable asking her any question, and we completely trusted her with our precious newborns. I looked forward to her visits, not only because I would get a little more sleep, but also because we felt so confused and overwhelmed, and she helped us to manage schedules, figure out baby behavior, and take care of ourselves. We would recommend Jen to any new parents, but especially parents of multiples.”
Lisa, first time mother of twins. "Jennifer helped us with our infant twins. She was always on time, utterly reliable-despite wretched winter weather, always in good humor, and wonderful with the kids. Her support, when I was struggling with new mom stuff, was very grounded and sincere. Jennifer's awesome!"
Paula, first time mother. "We hired Jennifer when our daughter was 3 weeks old. She started as our night-time Doula and eventually became our part-time day doula until our daughter was 6 months old.
Jennifer brought us incredible peace of mind and taught us a great deal about how to care for our daughter as we were first time parents. We had utmost confidence in her as she was dependable, reliable and great with the baby. We never had any issues or concerns and trusted her completely. I highly recommend Jennifer as we are likely to use her services again if the opportunity arises."
Laura, first time mother. "Jennifer was a key part in our family getting up and running with our first child. We had the utmost trust in Jennifer with our baby and in the creative ideas and expertise she would give us as new parents. It always felt good to have her in our home. We'd recommend her Doula work to anyone!"
