We used a doula with the birth of our first child and after she moved out of state we had to find a new one for the arrival of our second.....that's when we met Ildi. From the moment I met her, I knew she'd be the one to help us. Ildi is so easy to talk to and she is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to anything birth related. I kind of felt like she was an old friend I hadn't seen in a while.
I was nervous that my second birth would be long and hard, like my first, and that since I'd labored mainly at the hospital the first time that I wouldn't know what to do at home. Ildi walked me and my husband through a ton of relaxation techniques, positions, visualizations, and other tools that would help when the time came. She was extremely responsive whenever I had a question or concern before our little guy showed up. She was also very supportive, letting me know that I had the ability to have a natural childbirth, even though I wasn't able to attain that the first time around. She also let me know she'd be supportive no matter what happened during the birth, which I found comforting since some doulas we interviewed were quite obviously opposed to epidurals...even though every birth and body is different and you never know what you'll need until you are in the moment.
When the time finally came, my labor was incredibly fast and our son was born about 15 minutes after getting to the hospital. Ildi made it in right as I started pushing (we'd called her about 20 minutes before that!) and gave me the encouragement to get the job done. Afterwards, Ildi stayed with us until our son was feeding and she kept in touch until we met her a few days after his birth. I'd highly suggest Ildi as a doula and would use her again in a heartbeat if we had another child, she's awesome!
-Courtney Keen
February 19, 2015
The Budding Belly
Birth Fee: $3750 to $4000
Postpartum Rate: $65