Peiqi Tang

11/3/2024

Amber was our night doula when our baby was 2 to 4 months old. We wanted to work with Amber because of her expertise in sleep foundation and sleep training. Although our baby did not need to be sleep trained (and wasn't old enough to at that time), we are so glad that we had Amber. Our goal was to establish good daytime routine and night time sleep patterns so that we don't have to do sleep training and Amber totally gets our goal (and our frustations when things didn't go as planned). She helped us navigate the off-schedule days and provided greated advices when we were not sure what to do. For example, which night feedings should we eliminate first? Should we add more feeding amount during the day? Should we put baby to bed earlier and turn the last meal to a night time feeding?

Amber also excels in handleing fuzziness at night. My wife and I are amazed at her ability to tell apart whether the baby can go back to sleep without being fed. And when she figured the baby doesn't really need a feed, she is able to comfort the baby very effectively.

Overall we had a great experience with Amber! My wife and I would highly recommend Amber as your doula!

Vijetha

7/5/2024

Having Amber as our night doula was an absolute game-changer for our family. Her expertise and gentle approach were evident in every interaction. She was not just knowledgeable about newborn care but also incredibly intuitive, anticipating our needs before we even voiced them. Whether it was soothing our little one back to sleep or offering valuable advice on sleep techniques, she was always there with patience and reassurance.

Thanks to her support, those early weeks of postpartum felt manageable. Knowing that we could count on her dependable care allowed us to rest easier, both physically and emotionally. We are so grateful to have had Amber on this journey with us and would wholeheartedly recommend her to any new parents seeking support

Xin

4/3/2024

We had Amber come to help us with our newborn during month 1 and month 2. She had been a great help to our family. We had no doubt to let her take care our baby during those nights. She is very patient. She respects parents' opions and choises even we're new parents. She was willing to extend her hours at short notice to support us. We appreciate her work and good care of our baby.

Victoria Gonzalez

3/7/2024

Amber was our postpartum doula shortly after our son was born in October 2022 until March 2023. We loved having her as our doula! She has a very warm and calming presence which was such a balm for me personally during what was a very anxious time. She primarily provided overnight care and support, allowing us much needed rest. She cared for our son as though he were her own, and offered us very helpful suggestions which we are so grateful for as first time parents. I learned so much from her about how to care for my son, as well as how to care for myself. Everything from baby wearing to nursing to bathing to prioritizing self-care, and navigating the new adventure of parenthood with my husband - I owe so much of my knowledge to Amber. She even shared her knowlege on sleep training to help us get through a difficult sleep transition with our son. She is a gem, and I'm so thankful we found her when we did. She saved our sanity in the postpartum period, and I will always cherish our conversations where I felt like she really heard and understood us. She felt like an extension of our family and we were so sad when our time was up.

Morgan Frost

12/18/2017

Amber is the doula we dreamed of and more! She has an extra sense for staying in tune with the whole family. During birth she seemed to know exactly what I needed and also what my husband needed in order to stay connected with me and support my journey. After birth she proved to be a baby whisperer! She helped us ease into parenthood with her tenderness, wisdom, and quiet time as we came back into ourselves. She knows exactly when to offer tips from her vast store of knowledge, and when to respect the parents' unique ways of doing things. It's a delicate dance to participate in, and she does it with admirable grace and professionalism! We have never known such a feeling of relief as those wee hours of the morning up with a fussy baby when one of us excitedly remembers our schedule and whispers--"Amber is coming today!" She always brings peace and love into our home and helps us slow down into these precious moments with our new family. Thank you, Amber!

Marian DiPerna, LMP

12/2/2017

Amber was our postpartum Doula. We started working with her a few days after our daughter was born, and she was absolutely amazing! Her calm, encouraging presence was so helpful during those stressful early weeks. She offered helpful suggestions, helped us with various things around the house, and just generally helped keep us sane.   We worked with her off and on for the first few months after the birth and are so glad we made that decision. Amber help make the transition back into working easier as well. We can’t recommend her highly enough!

Emily Turk

12/1/2017

We hired Amber to support us during the first month postpartum, since we had no family in close proximity when our son was born. She is extremely professional, and did everything from showing me how to use a Moby wrap, providing resources for infant feeding and sleeping, to bringing us breasfast in bed! She was also wonderful with our baby, loving and caring for him like he was her own family, I trust her 100% with our child and even left her alone with him once for a couple hours to go get a massage. Amber also provided support to me emotionally as I came to terms with my cesarean birth, labor recovery, and coping with sleep deprivation! I found her to be very accommodating and flexible with our schedule changes. (Amber also acted as our backup birth doula, when our doula was out of town).

Jeff McLean

10/10/2017

Words cannot describe how amazing Amber was in our birth process. Worth every penny. She was available immediately when needed, prepared for everything that came up, helped advocate on our behalf when needed and simply made the whole experience much more enjoyable and easier to cope with. Being our first birth, I was extremely nervous and Amber helped ease this transition. Would definitely recommend her to anybody looking for a doula.

Lennon Bronsema

10/3/2017

Amber was great. Right from the start her professionalism, care, and passion for her work showed. As first time parents she was able to answer our questions and guide us to additional resources. On the day of delivery she was our advocate and respected our wishes. She helped my husband and me through a very long labor, we are indebted to her.

Marissa and Lennon

Hannah McLean

9/30/2017

I am so grateful to have found Amber and have had her be a part of our baby's birth (our first). She was invaluable during my late pregnancy and birth and I cant say enough good things about the experience with her. From the first meeting she was so easy to be around and answered all our million questions. As issues came up during late pregnancy and early labor, she helped discuss the options I had and gave me information and recommendations when I needed it and was second guessing myself and my decisions.

Amber respected how I wanted to give birth and helped me have the birth that I wanted. She blended so well with me and my husband during labor and knew exactly what to say and do when I felt like I couldn't handle it anymore. She knew when to step in and provide more help and when to step back and let my husband support me more. Her gentle, calm presence was so reassuring and gave me the confidence and support that I needed to get through labor. She worked really well with our midwife and the nurses at the hospital. I am so truly grateful to have had her at my birth and I really don't know if I could have done it without her.

Tess MacDonald

9/23/2017

Amber put my husband & I at ease when we interviewed her. There was no time limit to her visit, we sipped tea, and talked about our pregnancy and birth experience and hopes. She made us feel very comfortable. We wanted to hire a doula to help us determine when to go to the hospital. It was important that we didn't arrive too early, stall labor, or be turned away. And we wanted someone to help us navigate decisions at the hospital if things became complicated.

My labor and birth ended up being fast. Because Amber lives on Vashon island, we knew we needed to take that into account for travel time to us. She hopped on the next boat over to Seattle once we gave her the request. We labored at home for a short while. She sensed things were picking up, and with her suggestion, we left for the hospital. She kicked into high gear, giving my husband clear instructions for loading us in the car, for my breathing through contractions on the drive, for driving safely and what to do upon arrival at the hopsital. Amber parked our car in the garage so that my husband could stay with me. She provided good hands on support before our son was born, checking in with both myself and my husband. Once were settled after the birth, she ordered us thai food and snapped some sweet first photos!

I would highly recommend Amber for her experience, soft voice, consistency and love of the birth process.

Erin Pitterle Erickson

9/22/2017

Amber is amazing! My husband and I decided to hire a doula when we were pregnant because I wanted to try a natural unmedicated delivery. My Dr suggested we hire a doula because otherwise we were unlikely to be successful (it was our first baby). After being in labor for 26 hours I made the decision to have an epidural anyways (and still didn't deliver until hour 34) but I know I wouldn't have made  it even that far without  her help. We so grateful to have found Amber and we cannot recommend her highly enough. She was there for us every step, she coached us through the whole labor and delivery, and made both my husband and I so comfortable and calm (as calm as you can be...) We also found her pricing to be quite reasonable. She is fantastic! When we have another baby we would love to hire her again.

Aaron Bradford Turner

9/22/2017

Amber Matusky was an indespensible support person during the birth process of our son child Ashley. My wife Faith and I were both very nervous, this being our first child, and we needed someone steady, calm, nuturing and well informed. Amber was all of those things. She met with us several times leading up to the birth to talk about our needs and expectations, and to make sure it was a good fit for all involved. When the day arrived, Amber got to us quickly, was unwaveringly supportive througout the whole process, and helped us in the post-partum period as well. Faith was very grateful for Amber's presence and I know she feels things would've been much more difficult without her. I'm also grateful for Amber's participation in our birth process - she felt like a welcome part of the family rather than an intrusive outsider. She encouraged Faith, and helped her relax during the hardest moments, and she took over completely when I needed a time out. I would reccomend her without hesitation to any Seattle-area resident considering hiring a doula for their birth.

-Sincerely,

Aaron Turner

Rananda Soltani

6/26/2016

Amber was exactly who we needed at our birth! From the moment I read her profile I knew she would be a great fit for us. Meeting her in person just confirmed it.  She is such a kind and pleasent person! She provided us with so much beneficial reassurance and even recommended a mid-wife when we were not satisfied with ours. The relationship felt more like a friendship and I was happy to invite her into our sacred space of birth. We trusted her whole heartedly.

The day I went into labor, I called her early in the morning and she answered the phone in her pleasent calm voice and got ready to catch the next ferry. When she arrived to our house, her calming presence was what I needed for my labor that was progressing quickly. She provided affirmations, took some photos as requested, and applied counter pressure to allieviate the pain. She remained calm and focused and she made me feel safe and comfortable. She made us breakfast after the delivery and those were the best eggs I have ever eaten!

I recommend Amber to anyone who needs a knowledgable and kind doula! She is a great doula and an amlazing person. We are so grateful for her and cherish the time we spent together!!!!

Maria Porter

5/17/2016

Amber is wonderful! I really can't emphasize enough how perfect she is for the very intimate and important role she plays as a doula. She is calm, caring, intuitive, incredibly informative and fully committed to supporting you in your preparation for birth and in having a positive birth experience. She has a comfortable and comforting energy that is invaluable for all stages of birth preparation, labor, and post-partum support.

For my family, my husband's recent cancer diagnosis and treatment kept us from attending birth classes and added delicacy to our situation as first time parents - as well as the presence of many family members for all our meetings and our birth! Amber was supportive of all of us, answering our many questions and helping the whole family through my labor and delivery.

In our pre-birth meetings, Amber took special efforts to provide information and to help us to prepare and develop a birth plan in absence of birth preparation classes.

My labor was 22 hours and Amber was by my side providing comfort and support both at home and at the hospital. I think she was rubbing my back for most of that time! Her words of guidance and encouragement were so grounding and helpful. She also made sure my husband was taking care of himself throughout the long night and day.

We encountered several minor complications during my labor which necessitated decision-making and some diversion from my birth plan. Amber was a wonderful advocate and asked great questions of the medical staff that helped us to make informed decisions. I felt that I had a steady partner who was entirely dedicated to ensuring that I felt informed and empowered despite the complications - and with her support, I did!

Her follow-up meeting and post-partum doula support providing overnight nanny support have been equally caring and helpful. I am so grateful that we found Amber and can't imagine better support for first time parents like us!

Rebecca Allison

5/12/2016

I interviewed quite a few doula candidates before choosing Amber. Upon meeting her, I knew she would be our choice. She was instantly calming and very relatable (I knew I needed someone grounded, with a good sense  humor for my babies birth). from  first meeting, Amber offered insight, gentle advice (much appreciated for this first time

mama!) and soothing reassurance that I could do this. My husband met her during our first prenatal meeting, and  liked her right away. I think one of Amber's most powerful roles in this whole process was supporting my partner. She was able to answer  many of his questions, and ease many of his worries regarding the home birth. Her innate calmness seemed to really help him relax in to the idea (that, plus having some help in supporting me on the big day!).

Amber made it promptly to our home during the 4th of July. Both my husband and I were so relieved to have her there with us. I don't remember a lot

of details from my daughters birth, but the memories of love and support are strong. Amber quietly soothed me, (again probally most importantly) supported my husband, and in general just kept things moving smoothly (getting food/coffee

for everyone, tending to our cats-these things are important during a 20hr home birth!). Our post-partum visit with Amber was very helpful and reassuring (she showed us how to swaddle!). She has continued to check in with us over this year and seems genuinely interested in our daughter. We're thankful to have her in our lives and can't recommend Amber highly enough. I love that she was present for the most difficult, magical day of my life. If we do it again, Amber will be there.

Chingfen Hsieh Berleth yoikomama

5/8/2016

I met Amber through my midwife when I had my first baby. I remember she came to my house after the birth and quietly working in the kitchen. Holding a new born and felling very tired. Amber was talking to me and asking me how I was doing while she was working on the placenta. She made placenta prints, a heart shape dried umbilical cord ?? which I love and a jar of placenta pills!

Amber is very sweet, easy to talk to and always smiley. Even after 4 and half years since I had my first child, I still feel very blessing having homebirth and my placenta capsuled. After all, this is a gift that only women can have and it is so natural and healthy to take your own placenta pills. 14 months ago, I called Amber again! This time, she took placenta home and came back with a cute little bag that has all the special gift from the fruit of my womb. ??

Emily Kroman Huguet

5/5/2016

Justin Huguet

5/5/2016

As soon-to-be new parents, my wife and I were fortunate to have found Amber! She was a fantastic mentor and supportive guide throughout the entire pregnancy and birth, providing helpful tips, sage advice and comforting support every step of the way. I highly  recommend working with Amber as a doula!

NICOLE HALE

5/4/2016

Amber offered support to our family in a way that allowed us to be fully present with the birthing process.  As a first time laboring mother, I knew I wanted a doula to offer a pillar of confidence and knowledge to the process. Amber was always there when needed and created a quiet atmosphere where I was empowered to do what I wanted with minimal interference. She offered suggestions to make the laboring process more comfortable and effective. She has a very gentle demeanor and worked with care. She tended to my husband's needs so he could be an effective support for me. The two of them made an awesome team which allowed the entire process to be as relaxed as possible. The birth of our son was magical and her postpartum services were beyond helpful.  It takes a village and we were blessed to have her expertise and tenderness.

Faye Emmanuel

5/4/2016

Hiring Amber was the best thing I ever did and worth every penny. I hired Amber as a PPD and she was amazing. So much so, that I ended up keeping her until my baby was around 8 months old. She had so much useful information, but didn't force any particular method or view on me - rather she provided me with all the information about a topic and let me make choices and supported me. (For instance we talked about alternatives to using formula).

Amber also showed me a variety of techniques to help my baby sleep, learn, eat, etc. For example, she encouraged me to wear my baby (it totally works!), and showed me how to use a breast feeding pillow for tummy time! She had different and unique strategies for keeping my baby entertained. In addition to that, Amber didn't waste a second. If the baby was sleeping, Amber would do things to make my life easier - tidy, cook some food, organize things, etc. This is extremely important because I have hired other Doula's from this site, who were great, but when the baby slept they used that time to surf the internet or watch TV on their phone. Amber makes sure that every moment she is in your home she is helpful and that is a hard quality to find.

I would have hired Amber as my Doula during pregnancy if my circumstances were different (I moved to Seattle just before giving birth). I could see how Amber's approach and support would be beneficial for pregnant ladies.

Initially I was reluctant to let someone in my home, but Amber truly understood the importance of her role in my life and the importance of taking care of my child - another quality that seems hard to find in someone. I trust Amber completely and do not hesitate to recommend her. I am happy to provide more information if you need it! fayesuave@hotmail.com.

Kate Tonnessen

6/11/2013

Amber was amazing! She attended my second home birth in December and I could not have done it without her.  She was extremely professional and was promt at answering emails and thoughtful enough to take me on walks and contact me regularly as I went post date.  There was a time in early labor when I thought to myself"maybe I don't really need a doula since I've alredy done this before?"  :)  :)  But once it really started progressing her care and coping skills were invaluble and I realized that we always need doulas.  She also prepared my placenta into nice little pills that I took during my post-partum which was a real treat.  I had considered doing it myself and then remembered that being in the kitchen was the last thing I wanted to do with a new baby around.  I reccomend her with no reservations,  since my birth she has remained a friend that I really appreciate having!

Jitka

3/8/2013

Olivia Pendergast

9/16/2012

  In looking for a doula I wanted someone I could relate to even outside the birthing experience. Amber is a creative and kind woman. After the birth we have stayed friends which is exactly the type of person I wanted to have at the birth.

 She was  confident throughout the process, which was very important as this was my first baby. She never questioned any of my birthing requests and was so respectful of my choices. During the birth she was always there when necessary, calming and reassuring to both myself and my husband. She also stepped back at the right times and gave my husband and I the space I needed to connect or to bond with the baby once she was here.

 She had an enormous amount of information that she readily shared with us during the pregnancy and postpartum.

 She is also a kind, gentle, fierce mama to her little girl. I loved that she has been through this process herself.

 I am so happy I chose Amber (after interviewing three other doulas) to be present at my birthing.

 I highly recommend Amber as a doula!

Katie Kiehnle

9/14/2012

Amber was an amazing Doula. She came into my birthing experience exactly when I needed her and brought some very key things that helped make my labor so much easier and more relaxing. She was quiet and helpful and very 'behind the scenes,' letting things play out but helping where needed.

Afterwards was great  too- Amber brought the most amazing home canned peaches ever! I swear they seemed like the best thing I had ever tasted at that moment. She later came to my house and helped me encapsulate my placenta. I couldn't have asked for a better Doula or a better birthing experience, it was awesome...in the litteral sense. :) Thanks you Amber for being the person you are!

sucia sauer

12/15/2010

Amber rocked!  I was new to the birthing scene when I met her- I didn't even know what a doula was, or that I needed one.  But when my midwife suggested that she attend my birth, I felt really good about it.  I hadn't known Amber very long, but I felt comfortable around her and was excited for the chance to get to know her better.  Now we're good friends and she has an open invite to any and all of my future births!

~She was silent and attentive.  She did exactly what I needed and when I needed it.  And she applied the perfect amount of pressure on my lower back as often as I requested.  Her own back ached for days afterwards!  Thank you, Amber!~