Testimonial for Grady Shipley
If you are reading this and are considering hiring Grady as your doula, the best advice that I can give you is to do it already! You will be incredibly lucky to know her and even luckier to work with her.
Grady joined us shortly after the birth of our second son (our oldest was 3 at the time), and continued with us over the next year. She fit in seemlessly with our family and was incredibly concientious about not coming in and taking over. Instead, she helped us to gain confidence in our own parenting skills. She had an innate ability to know when to step back and when to step in, and she always found a way to help out without needing to be given direction. Grady just always seemed to know what we needed, even if we didn't always know ourselves or couldn't have articulated it. She was also great at coordinating with our long-term nanny and other doulas working overnight, so that everyone was on the same page about what was happening with our baby. She is also a fantastic teacher, and was able to impart new skills and practices to our nanny with the upmost grace and respect.
Grady truly has a gift in the way that she communicates with babies and small children. She speaks to them and listens to them in the same way she would an adult, while still being able (in the case of our older child) to set clear boundaries. She was amazing at making sure that our older son didn't feel like she was only there for his little brother. Sometimes that meant taking him out on an adventure of his own, and he loved her for it. I can't tell you how much I feel like she helped ease our transition into being a familiy of 4.
Grady is intelligent, caring, responsible, fun, engaged, organized and completely professionional. She truly loves being a doula and that positive energy is contagious and wonderful to be around. She is absolutely one of a kind and we miss her terribly, although I know we will always be in touch.
-Aimee K
April 29, 2021
Birth Fee: $2000
Postpartum Rate: $50 to $65
