Comments on: Review your doula or baby nurse

By: Jessica Traffas

Jessica Traffas — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:20:14 +0000

I guess you could say my Mom was like my doula, and I have to say she was pretty fantastic for both births. When my first son was born, I was lucky enough to have my wonderful sister-in-law as my nurse for one shift – she worked in post-partum at the hospital where I delivered, so she got to be the nurse to her brand new nephew. And she was incredibly professional when he nearly peed in her face! I’m very blessed to have been surrounded by family.

By: Tina

Tina — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:06:02 +0000

We didn’t hire a doula or baby nurse but went with a midwife who was the MOST SUPPORTIVE WOMAN EVER. And she had a student midwife with her who was equally supportive. Although they were there as much as a doula or baby nurse, they did follow up visits in the hospital and calls to us at home.

That said, I struggled with nursing and worrying about a jaundiced baby who needed extra nutrition. In the future, I would definitely consider hiring a doula or baby nurse and since I don’t have any friends who have used one here, I would absolutely use a service like this before inviting someone into our home and lives like that.

By: Alison

Alison — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:46:32 +0000

I didn’t have a doula. But I had an amazing nurse before I gave birth to my twins. I was having a really difficult time due to a terrible situation, and hubby was sleeping (as I wanted him to do!). But I began sobbing about the situation, feeling extremely guilty about my twins coming a little early, and then mad at hubby for sleeping (haha). She sat on my bed with me, hugged me, rubbed my hand, and just talked with me for a good two hours in between refilling my water bottle. She was remarkable and nearly ten years later I have not forgotten her!

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:36:22 +0000

We didn’t hire an in-home nurse, but would have loved too. I didn’t even know that you could do that (the things you learn). Our daughter was pre-mature and had multiple early challenges. While she was still in the hospital and we were traveling back and forth to the hospital at all hours of the day, it would probably have been nice to have someone helping us out at home.

By: adrienne

adrienne — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:47:45 +0000

The nurses were so kind to us after my emergency delivery and the baby being sent to NICU. I was unable to see clearly, think clearly, or even move myself into a wheelchair. The nurses helped me keep track of the medical information about my daughter and worked to get me to her as soon and as often as possible. I would have welcomed the opportunity for an in-home baby nurse had it been an option.

By: Carolsue

Carolsue — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:45:37 +0000

I follow @RateUrBabyNurse on Twitter as MsCarolsueA
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net

By: Carolsue

Carolsue — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:45:04 +0000

When I had my first baby, my husband was overseas. I had no family here, so we agreed to hire a baby nurse for a couple weeks. She was wonderful. There was so much I didn’t know — almost everything. She was only second best to having my own mother with me. It worked out really well and I would recommend it.

By: Christena

Christena — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:33:13 +0000

We hired a doula with our first baby, our daughter now 20 months. Reasons we loved her: 1) in home prenatal coaching – we didn’t have to join a Lamaze class, she taught everything to us 1×1. 2) helping understand a write a birth plan, and helping answer questions I didn’t even know I had. 3) mother/daddy bonding sessions before hand- basically our doula did a couple of little exercises at one of our pre-birth home visits where my husband and I shared fears and excitements around the birth of our new baby. It was very cool because, as much as we are open, we had never spent the time real getting dirty with some of our specific worries. 4) labor coaching! Which for me meant helping me stay comfrotable during labor via positioning, encouragement, massage, and supporting my husband in doing the same (i did end up getting an epidural half way throuh and still i was grateful because she was there to keep me focused and incolved.

Overall I was so happy to have a doula, and at least half of that came from the support and coaching she was able to give to my husband. For me it was really important to have a doula that was understanding and supportive even if I chose to get an epidural (my goal was natural, but she was so understanding when I changed my mind half way through my labor). I absolutely recommend hiring a (great) doula for any first time parents. We just had our 2nd baby and did not choose to hire her again for budget reasons (although they are totaly affordable, especially when the information is new) and i felt so prepared and supported by my husband bc of what he learned the first time around with our doula.

By: Jillian mcCann

Jillian mcCann — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:43:44 +0000

My lovely coworkers gave me the gift of a postpartum doula. I ended up delivering a little earlier than expected so never had the chance to research one. Day 4 home with my son was a disaster! It was his 6th day of life and Christmas weekend! I called a couple of doulas in tears! One sweet lady offered to come over all three mornings to give us a break even though she had 5 kids of her own at home! Was willing to move around her schedule. Of course, being a first time mom, I freaked out about having a stranger watch my child while I was sleeping (dark thoughts about waking up and my baby was gone), so I
Cancelled. But I still appreciate her kindness and generosity.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:24:01 +0000

We had a post partum doula that helped us after our daughter was born. She helped me with nursing in the hospital, when i was freaking out. She was also a great help to us at home. She organized tye baby area so it made sense, after we got home from the hospital and made sure we were eating right. She also answered all those questions we had to ask but couldn’t remember or didn’t have time to ask the pediatrician.
She was only with us for two weeks for a few hours every other day, but she was a life saver.

By: MamaK

MamaK — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:45:42 +0000

I have had two awesome birth doulas, one at each birth. I would never labor without one. (Had two low-intervention, drug-free birth experiences that I largely contribute to Bradley classes and our doulas.) Never had a baby nurse. I would have loved to had the extra help with my first, who was colicky and demanding and generally a tough baby.

By: Holly Friker

Holly Friker — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:05:49 +0000

I love Leann Latus who was my doula. She came over and helped out when I had the worst days with my daughter and just needed a break!