Love Letters

Lauren 

I put off writing this review for weeks—not just because I have a new baby that requires a lot of my time, but because I honestly couldn’t put together the words that would adequately sum up my experience with Colleen as my doula. I didn’t set out thinking I wanted or needed a doula present during my first birth, but then I met Colleen through my childbirth class, and I knew instantly that she would be the person to guide me through such a transcendent experience. Colleen is present, practical, nurturing, and supportive. But most of all, she is open, raw, and real, and let me tell you, that’s what you want from a doula. That’s what you need as you give birth to a child and to yourself as a new mother. You need someone who understands the duality that is motherhood: intense vulnerability and astounding strength. Colleen knew exactly when and how to coax both of these emotional states from me before, during, and after my delivery. With Colleen as my doula, my confidence going into labor and delivery soared—even as most of my birth plan fell apart when I had to be induced due to high blood pressure. Despite the unfortunate turn of events (and the Pitocin), her coaching helped me tap into my own internal strength, and I was able to have a natural, epidural-free delivery anyway. Then came the breastfeeding struggles (about a million times worse than labor and delivery), and she was an ever-present source of comfort who reminded me to follow my gut and intuition. It’s not that having her as my doula made me confident, it’s that having her as my doula helped me tap into the confidence and intuition that was there all along. She’s probably one of the most important people I will have ever met in my life, and I can’t do enough to thank her for the part she played in my experience becoming a mother.

Tara 

The moment Mike & I met Colleen we knew we wanted her as our Doula & that she was a kindred spirit who’d be in our lives forever. Our story is a little different than most. We met Colleen only once before she joined us in the birth of our sweet baby boy, bc I went into labor at 32 weeks. Fortunately, that 1 meeting was all it took to know we wanted her by our side. It was also all she needed in order to get a feel for who we were & for how we wanted to bring our baby into the world, which is pretty awesome. It all happened fast & furiously, but Colleen came to the rescue and was a true godsend. She had a great rapport with the nurses & is well-versed in the birthing process, exactly the person you want with you. Because I was in preterm labor, I couldn’t have a midwife as planned, but I never had to worry about anything bc Colleen jumped right in, making sure all of my wishes were respected. She was there for Mike, giving him moral support & helping to guide him. It was a scary time, but having Colleen as part of our team made it all okay. She took charge in the perfect way possible, so all I had to do was breathe & focus on safely giving birth to our baby. Colleen stayed with us until all hours of the night, offering her love, support, and expertise. She shared her knowledge of breastfeeding, by going above and beyond to show me how to hand express and build up a supply to feed my baby, which is priceless. She was there for us throughout our NICU stay, and still is to this day. She is a beautiful soul, full of great knowledge about pregnancy, birth and beyond. She herself, is an incredible mama of 3, so who else to be your Doula than someone who knows what it’s like firsthand. We are blessed to have had Colleen with us through our unforgettable journey & can’t thank her enough. We have so much love for her and so will anyone who is lucky enough to call her their Doula. 

Catherine 

Colleen was my doula for my second child.  I didn't use a doula with the first but after having a bad experience with an epidural, I wanted to go the natural route this time.  I cannot say enough good things about Colleen, regardless of what I write, it will not do her justice.  There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY i could have given birth naturally without her.  She helped me during my pregnancy so much, checking in, answering questions, excercises to prepare for birth, helping with my birth plan, comfort measures during labor, etc.  Then during the birth, she came as soon as i said i needed her and she did EXACTLY what I needed her to do when i needed it done.  It was truly incredible how she was always one step ahead with what I needed, both physically and emotionally.  My husband, who tends to be cheap, said it was the best money we've ever spent and that is HUGE coming from him.  She helped him be part of the birth by giving him tasks that he would have otherwise not known to do.  It was also a huge comfort for me that she knew my birth plan so she could help me stick to it so i could focus on getting through the contractions.  She made my birth exactly what I wanted it to be and a wonderful experience.  I still can't believe how smoothly it went but I know that it was mainly because of Colleen.  In addition to being an amazing doula, she is such a nice and genuine person who I really enjoyed getting to know as a friend.  

Jocelyn 

Colleen is an amazing doula. I went into the search for a doula only because the midwives at the hospital insisted I have one, and initially I was just looking for someone in my price range, but what I found in Colleen was priceless. She was great to meet with and easy to talk to and super informative on what I needed to prepare myself for. My birth ended up going a little different than planned, but Colleen was prepared to help me no matter how my birth plan changed. She was just exactly what I and my husband needed as far as support and was a pillar to lean on when we were unsure of how to proceed. She was so available to me even after birth, I felt I was a long lost friend rather than a client. 

Bekah

Words cannot describe how wonderful, kind and helpful Colleen was during the birth of our daughter. Before labor started with met with her twice and she was encouraging, supportive and so informative. She found out what we wanted for our birth and worked to make sure that she could help us in any way possible. When my labor started Colleen came over to our house super late in the evening and stayed with us trying to move things along. She was beyond encouraging and had had us try several strategies to help make progress. We went to the hospital together and she knew what to do, where everything was, and explained everything that would happen. It took many hours more of laboring in the hospital and Colleen stayed and helped us through. She explained what would happen, options, and was a voice of reason. She talked me through contractions, reminded me of what to do, helped manage pain, reassured me when I thought I could no longer do it, and truly took care of me (and my husband too). When it came time to push, Colleen was a wonderful cheerleader. She helped us have the natural birth we wanted. After our daughter was born, Colleen stayed with me and made sure I was okay as the baby was checked out. She was clear in telling me what was going on, what would happen and what to expect- it was so helpful and reassuring as a first time mother! Colleen stayed long enough to get us settled in the hospital and continued to check on us during our first weeks with the baby. She offered help with everything- she’s a fountain of information! Colleen even wrote up her version of our birth story for the baby’s book and took wonderful pictures for us. I’ve told everyone I meet what a wonderful help Colleen was during the birth of our daughter and have recommended that they too get Colleen to be their doula should they ever need one! Colleen is warm, caring and well prepared- she’s the absolute best.

Tara B.

Colleen is an amazing and heartfelt person and was instrumental to our wonderful birth experience. As a first time mom, she answered about a billion questions that I had. She was always available for any concerns that I had before labor or afterwards with my newborn. I was able to labor at home throughout the night with confidence because of Colleen’s guidance. When we decided to go to the hospital in the morning, I was fully dilated and ready to push! Due to Colleen’s familiarity with our hospital, she was able to help my husband get me checked in and into a room as I was beyond coherent conversation at that point. Colleen provided me and my husband with constant support and encouragement to help me through my unmedicated labor. Afterwards, we learned that Colleen also reinforced our birth plan to the midwife and nurses and ran interference for us when my mother-in-law tried to make her way into the room. She took the most amazing and tasteful pictures throughout the labor and delivery process that have made me cry every time I have looked at them. After the birth, Colleen was available for any and all baby related questions. Once you get home, and all the family goes away, it can feel like you have been left alone to figure out your changing mom-bod and this tiny little person. Once again, Colleen provided enormous peace of mind and answered questions about nursing, milk, and how my pump works that I never thought I would have. 

I don’t think I can describe exactly how instrumental Colleen was in ensuring that we had the birth experience that we were hoping for. She is friendly, caring, and loving and I am so thankful that we had Colleen with us throughout our entire journey

Erin+Richard

Our whole experience with Colleen was wonderful. She made us feel very comfortable throughout the whole process and provided us with information, techniques, and encouragement. She had several tips for inducing labor, and her guidance helped us avoid induction with Pitocin which was something I really wanted to stay away from. Throughout my early labor, she kept me calm and helped me to focus my breathing through each contraction. Then, when labor really kicked in and things got hard, she reminded me that “I can do this,” and, again, she helped me focus my breathing and concentration. My labor was relatively short, and Colleen almost had to deliver our baby! After our sweet boy was born, he was whisked off to the NICU for observation overnight. This was an incredibly hard time for us, and Colleen really, really helped us by equipping us with the right questions to ask. She helped us know what our rights were and how to appropriately and effectively press for information. AND she snapped some pictures of me holding my baby in the NICU, and I will treasure those photos forever. I would recommend Colleen to any and all of my friends, and we’ll be giving her a call for any of our future pregnancies and births! She’s awesome!

Colleen was great. She helped my wife Erin and I more than we could know. Throughout the whole process she kept us well informed, and we felt really comfortable to ask any questions we could think of. She met with us multiple times and explained many different exercises, stretches, and birth plans for us to discuss and have the knowledge that we would need.  In the delivery room she was great offering up multiple techniques to Erin to make her as comfortable as possible during birth. After Barrett was born we had a few minor complications that Colleen helped me handle while in NICU. She helped us understand our rights and gave us questions to ask the Dr's and nurses. She stayed with us until we were comfortable and could handle it from that point. She follows up with us still 6 weeks later. She is a great person and friend to have by your side. She'll stand up for you and provide you with whatever is needed.

Chris (Pav) C.

Colleen's prep work with us was relaxed, fun but still professional, and she gave us lots of things to think about. On the big day(s) she was amazing. She helped us make the difficult decision to go home, after our first visit to the hospital. She suggested the only position that brought Kim any rest after 20+ hours. Her knowledge of anatomy and how to relieve pressure brought Kim relief, especially through intense hip pain (and taught me to try to do the same. I gotta say, Colleen is much stronger than her skinny frame would appear, with arms of steel, I got a workout trying to do what she did). She was great for me as well. She subbed in and she and Kim's mother sent me to bed for a few hours Monday night. She then shocked me out of my 1am stupor with a shout of "CHRIS! We're leaving NOW! WHATEVER ISN'T PACKED STAYS HERE!" For some reason after being told it was time to drive Kim to the hospital my first reaction was to grab my bedside bag, then brush my teeth (very thankful Iris didn't eat the toothpasted toothbrush I dropped on the stairs while flying down).  She saw us safely to the hospital, checked in and made sure we were cared for, then later drove in rush hour traffic to be back just in time for the big moment. Then took many wonderful pictures and even got Erica in the right spot for her first meal. Plus Colleen is a VCU Alumni :) I started this process thinking that a doula would be unnecessary, what can she do that an attentive husband can't? Well, maybe if Kim had one of those Hollywood labors, but Erica is a good bit more stubborn than that (I know, shocker), and I will be forever grateful for her support.

If any of you are thinking of bringing a new life into this world, get in touch with Colleen.