. . . want to physically and mentally prepare for birth and parenthood?

. . . want your birth experience to be powerful and the love and support to be palpable?

. . . want to know the research, weigh your options, and make choices about how you want to birth?

. . . want the same for other (all?) families in our city?

Book Your Free Consultation

** Book Early to secure limited dates and to take advantage of my support longer in your pregnancy!

Your Doula Package Includes:

Phone, Text, and Email Support throughout pregnancy to share updates from your appointments and talk through any questions you may have or resources you may need. ​

Video Chats monthly throughout pregnancy to connect on how you are doing and how I can help. The earlier you hire, the sooner you get to take advantage of this great resource!

Two In-Home Prenatal Visits  where our goal is to get to know each other, discuss your fears and dreams, build your knowledge, build confidence in your choices, and build trust in the strength of yourself, your baby, and your partner.  Together, we do this by exploring and creating an A, B, and C Birth Preferences Plan, discussing physical and mental ways to prepare for birth, practicing comfort measures, creating a communications plan for family and friends for labor, and planning for life with baby.  

Labor and Birth Support:  I’m on-call 24/7 starting in week 38.  During this time we stay in touch about how you are feeling.  In the early stages of labor we will chat over the phone to make sure you are feeling comfortable with resting, comfort measures, and when to go to your birthing place.  I support you in-person throughout active labor. My role is to listen to what you and your partner are needing in the moment, which is very individualized and varies throughout the stages of labor. 
Some of the supports I use are:

• Physical Supports:  Comfort measures such as positioning, hip squeezes, massage, counter pressure, steamed towels, etc.  Spinning Babies techniques to ensure your body is facilitating proper positioning of baby. 
  
• Environmental Support:  I facilitate creating the environment you desire and help to maintain it across your birth team.
  
• Emotional/Mental and Information Supports: Sometimes this is assurance.  Sometimes it is an explanation about what is happening. Other times it is helping you to revisit your options and make new choices.  Depending on our discussions in prenatal visits, we may do guided breathing, affirmations, or other focus techniques.  

Throughout my time with you, I honor the connection between you and your partner and am never there to take their place.  I lean in and step back when most helpful.  
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Once your baby is born, I remain with you for 1-2 hours after birth to support with the final stages of your birth plan and help with the transition to begin to care for your newborn.  In this “golden hour” I support you in skin-to-skin, breastfeeding positions, baby latch, and family bonding.  

One In-Home Postpartum Visit:  One to two weeks after the baby is born, I visit your home and we chat about your birth experience.  I check in on how life with baby is going and we talk through feeding, sleeping, baby wearing, managing home with baby, etc. 

​Let's Connect
A portion of every package provides doula support services to underserved families in our 615 community.  ​

I am so glad you're here! From personal and professional experience, I know that birth, though sometimes unpredictable, can feel connecting, loving, and powerful. I love supporting families in creating their birth story, and I look forward to potentially being a part of yours!

SAY HI

A friend recommended Nicki; and then after meeting her, we thought she was a great fit for us.  She is amazing and has a lovely personality.  
We did a lot of research on our own but really felt lost and overwhelmed.  I was actually terrified to be pregnant and give birth (even though it was 100% planned).  Nicki seemed to really know her stuff and she made us feel at ease. I don’t know what I would have done without her especially when things didn’t go according to plan.  
Even my nurse stopped to tell me that she is one in a million.  She said that they see doulas often but none seem to be as knowledgeable as her.  The nurse said it was really great to witness how Nicki truly had our best interests at heart.  
We will definitely use her next time.

I chose Nicki as my doula because she was a perfect blend of science and granola. She was so knowledgeable on the research around birthing in general. I felt safe planning for an unmedicated birth, knowing that scientific data was supporting my decisions.

The most helpful part of Nicki supporting me was that she helped me to write a "Plan C". I was certain there wasn't going to be a c-section. This was my 2nd baby. This was going to be fine. Instead, I had an emergency c-section and because of Nicki I had already thought through this situation in my mind. With my first baby our birth plan also went out the window, but I harbored guilt and confusion around it after. This time, I had already begun to process an unforeseen change and had no guilt after. It was simply what had to be done in that moment for my daughter.

Not having a doula with my first baby is a huge regret. I believe the birth would have been different if I had someone there advocating for me. I cannot recommend having Nicki enough. In the chaos of a birth, neither you or your partner are thinking clearly. Everything you learned in those birthing classes may as well have been in another language. Having someone knowledgeable and there to represent and advocate for YOU can make a world of difference. Nicki presented options to me that the hospital staff had not. I felt fully informed in every decision I made because of her.

Nicki was an invaluable resource throughout my pregnancy, and her support during labor contributed to a positive experience for my partner and me. We both recommend Nicki without reservation, and we would definitely retain her services again in the future.