Testimonials
Elinor and Dave
I enthusiastically recommend Michelle as a birth doula. Warm, funny, and caring, she was the perfect addition to our team for the birth of our daughter. My husband and I enjoyed meeting with Michelle prior to birth, but I gained a new appreciation for her skills the day I went into labor. Michelle is the person you want next to you when you’re having a contraction and simultaneously throwing up! She calmly handed me a plastic bag, and reassured me that my body was getting ready to have the baby.
Michelle calmed all of us in the delivery room with her steady presence, her foresight, and ability to anticipate needs. She freed my husband up to be present with me, and helped me feel nurtured and focused, even as hospital staff came and went. I was incredibly happy with my first experience with childbirth, and am so grateful that Michelle was a part of it.
Olivia Kahlili
I was referred to Michelle by my midwife, who had worked with her at a previous birth. Michelle offers dual qualities of strength/knowledge and intuition/emotional guidance. Her ability to provide both worked exceptionally well for me, as well as my husband.
Two nights before the birth, Michelle reached out to see how I was feeling. I was experiencing pre-labor contractions at this time and she seemed to just intuit that there was a change in the pregnancy and a closer approach of birth.
During the labor, Michelle was incredibly present, thoughtful and responsive. She was able to embody the language and approach I had requested to help guide me throughout the birth.
An incredible asset is her ability with physical touch. She was indefatigable, massaging me with gorgeous scented oils, for hours during labor.
At the end of a long night, she arranged with the hospital staff to claim and store my placenta. It's the consideration and effort displayed in this act that exemplifies her care for her clients.
I would enthusiastically recommend Michelle as a doula. She is an incredible asset during a birth, for both the mother and partner.
Gloria Patterson
Michelle was an integral member of our birth team. I credit her with enabling me to achieve my goal of a natural (drug free) hospital birth. As this was our first baby, my husband and I weren't sure what to expect or whether to hire a doula. We procrastinated a bit (went back and forth about it), and started interviewing doulas about a month before my expected due date, to learn more about their skills and see if we clicked with anyone. Michelle wow'ed us during our initial consultation (interview process)! Not only is she a "baby whisperer" -- well-versed in what to expect after baby arrives, breastfeeding advice, and soothing fussy babies -- she immediately bonded with our other "baby": our 9-year old black lab shepherd mix! My husband and I loved Michelle's no-nonsense style, humor, and assertiveness -- we knew we could count on her to be our advocate in the delivery room. I also loved that she's a problem-solver, is experienced working under high stress situations, and cares for mama's emotional needs leading up to, during, and after the birth. We're so glad we hired Michelle as our birth doula, and would absolutely hire her again in a heartbeat! Best decision we ever made! I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful, natural birth experience and am forever grateful to have had Michelle by our side throughout my surprisingly fast 3-hour hospital delivery.
Emily Gibson
Michelle was an amazing resource and support for me in preparing for the birth of my first child, and during the 12 long days of waiting after my due date. During my delivery she was my champion, she coached me through a drug-free labor and delivery, giving me enough confidence and encouragement to make it though without an epidural, and helping my husband to support me effectively.
She is a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, perspective and humor, and she brings a great balance of no-nonsense toughness and gentle encouragement. I am so grateful to have had her with me for the birth, and her post partum support has been immensely valuable. I have already referred a friend to Michelle and would recommend her services with absolutely no hesitation. And if you're questioning whether hiring a doula is right for you, I can't recommend it highly enough!
Amelia B.
My husband and I are happy to recommend Michelle for her services as our post-partum doula. She was a critical part of our team after the birth of our preemi twin girls. Her help with not only the babies but also light house chores and meals took a great deal of pressure off those early long days and nights. It's clear that Michelle just adores babies, and her personality and moral support were just as important to her role as her skills, especially given that we had no other family support during this period. We really enjoyed her presence around the house and the girls seemed to respond to her warm demeanor. The meals and snacks she prepared for me as I was lactating and recuperating after a c-section were delicious and always hit the spot. Her experience and love of babies made us feel like our babies were safe and well cared for. We also used Michelle for some nights, and the peace of mind to get some sleep was essential to our wellbeing. Michelle was always flexible and accommodating with scheduling. We were very happy with her services and we were very glad to consider her a reliable part of our new family.
Belinda Del Bosque
Michelle was a God send with the birth of our 3rd kid, son Onyx. You'd think we'd have it all down with he being the 3rd and all, but really each birth was unique. Actually, that was our main issue with the birth and why we sought out Michelle. Everyone seemed to think we knew it all, but when it came down to it, Michelle luckily did; we were lost and distracted on the roller coaster of the moment. Having her there let us stay in that moment yet still have someone there making sure we were mindful. I think it is her intuitive understanding of exactly what to do and knowing to follow the rhythm of the baby and Mama that made all the difference. She swooped in, in the middle of the night and brought calm in with her; we depended on her as our advocate and as a calming force. I cannot recommend Michelle more. We love her and everything she did for us.
Valeria G
I had a fantastic experience with Michelle as my post partum doula and highly recommend her! She is simply a natural with babies. A few things that I greatly appreciated of her (in no particular order):
* she has a wealth of knowledge but doesn't look to impose her ideas.
* she is very calm and soothing. She is chatty if you want to talk but there were nights I didn't want to say a word and she was always sweet and sensitive to my ever changing moods. My baby just instantly calmed down in her arms!
* she cooks! I can't explain you how fantastic it felt to wake up to the smell of her homemade oatmeal (great for milk production).
* she is very sensitive to cultural differences which we greatly appreciated. I am from Argentina and my husband is from Belgium and we wanted somebody who could relate to that. But she has been living here long enough to know all the American gadgets and options out there to help mothers. So best of both worlds!
* she sang to my baby in Italian which I loved! We raise our kids trilingual and strongly believe about the importance of exposing babies to different sounds and words since day one.
