Testimonial for Luci Gimenes
After interviewing a handful of doulas we selected Luci because she was very warm, calm, and practical, and she kept things simple and straightforward. We met with her a few times before the birth to talk about labouring and newborn care, which helped us to prepare, build our confidence, and reduce anxiety. When labour started, Luci came over to support us, and she made all the difference. As the dad, I'd tried to put into practice everything I'd learned from the pre-natal classes, but didn't feel like I was being effective, even with the support of our midwifery team. As soon as Luci arrived she got right to work and helped mom get into the "flow", for lack of a better word. This significantly eased the burden on mom, and helped us to find our rhythm.
But the real value of having Luci present came when she recognized that labour was actually quite a bit further advanced than the midwives (and us) initially suspected, and she advised us to call the midwives back and to consider a home birth. We took her suggestion and our son was born at home. Though it wasn't what we'd planned for, in hindsight we couldn't have asked for a better experience. Everything went smoothly and within two hours everything was back to normal and it was just the three of us - mom, dad, baby - in bed together at home: no interventions, no hospitals, no travel.
Although we're fortunate that everything has gone quite well for us, the first few days/nights were still a challenge and we really benefitted from Luci's calm guidance on everything. She really helped the three of us figure out breastfeeding and always had helpful suggestions of things to try and minor tweaks.
I can't imagine how differently things could have turned out without Luci, even with all the other support we had. Can't recommend her enough :)
-Dylan and Emily
June 11, 2021
Luci Gimenes
Doula and Lactation Consultant
Birth Fee: $1600 to $1750
