Offbeat Doula

Our family refers to Andi as "Angel" and we believe wholeheartedly that she was divinely sent to be a part of our birth story. Andi has extraordinary intuition, she met with me several times prior to the birth of our third son to discuss my hopes and help me prepare. After our first short visit, I felt completely comfortable ~ as though we had been friends for years. We rented a beautiful birthing tub that was all she promised, large, easy to set up, comfortable and clean. While we had a few complications in our home delivery Andi was professional, compassionate and instinctual ~ she worked alongside our midwife tirelessly. She encapsulated my placenta and made me the most beautiful birth story book that is cherished in our home. My husband reflects on our birth story and often says how Andi was the best money we ever spent! She is forever part of our miracle story. If you are considering a Doula ~ don't go any farther~ Call Offbeat Doula right now. I promise you won't regret it!

In 2012, pregnant with my first child, I contacted Andi to be my doula. We had no family close by, my husband commuted for work and I wanted to make sure I had an extra support person. My husband also was uneasy about delivery so she was there to support him if he needed it. Most people ask what a doula even does when I say I hired one, so here is my experience:



Throughout pregnancy Andi was very informative and lent me books and offered alternative information to coincide with my desire for an all natural labour and birth. We met several times throught my pregancy and developed a birth plan, and she answered questions I often felt my doctor did not have time for. She recommended a birthing class she thought I would like and ended up attending the class with my husband and I, teaching us and the other couples about baby wearing, a topic on which she is very knowledgeable.



When things didn't go as planned and I was scheduled for an induction 8 days overdue, she showed up with coffee for my husband after an overnight induction that resulted in my water breaking. She provided suggestions for pain management throughout labour, even bringing props like stress balls, or knee pads for me to kneel on in the shower. A nurse commented on how prepared she was. She put hands on pressure where I needed it for some relief and reminded me to stay relaxed through contractions. She gave my husband some much needed breaks and advocated for my choices with the nurses when I was too occupied to do so. If not for Andi I am sure the nurses would have convinced me from the get-go into drugs that I was not ready for. I wanted to do it as natural as possible, but it is hard to think clearly amongst contractions.



I ended up deviating further from my birth plan after a long induction, and Andi validated my choice, which made it much easier. The birth was a bit difficult and both baby and I needed medical care afterwards and this is when I think Andi was probably most needed, as there is no way to really mentally prepare for things going wrong. When my husband followed the baby's cart to NICU, Andi was holding my hand and explaining to me what the doctors and nurses were doing to my baby and to me. She kept me calm, informed and kept me company. Looking back I realize how important she was to my emotional wellbeing in those hours. My husband was able to stay with our son and know that I was not alone. It wasn't until 6 hours after our baby was born, in the middle of the night and over 18 hours after she first arrived at the hospital, that Andi finally went home once we were all settled together in our room and our little guy was nursing well.



Nurses change shifts and your doctor isn't always on call, but a doula is with you from the beginning and makes the transition from pregnancy to motherhood a lot easier. My husband said he would never have a baby in a hospital without a doula after our experience with Andi, she is fantastic and clearly loves her role in bringing babies earth side.



Andi also encapsulated my placenta, which she took directly from the hospital. She brought the pills to my house once I was out of the hospital and they lasted for about 3 months and made for a very stable emotional recovery postpartum.

As much as I loved Andi, my boyfriend is the one who says he couldn't have done it without her. She help me through the pregnancy with information, books, stress relief techniques etc. During the delivery it was like she was reading our minds, anything that was needed she was helping out, she took so much pressure off my boyfriend and helped me so much, I couldn't imagine having done it without her. The placenta pills where amazing and I did not experience any postpartum depression, and having the photos that she took of the birth is such an amazing memory to have. I would recommend her to any of my friends whether they are having their first child or fifth she was amazing

Our family refers to Andi as "Angel" and we believe wholeheartedly that she was divinely sent to be a part of our birth story. Andi has extraordinary intuition, she met with me several times prior to the birth of our third son to discuss my hopes and help me prepare. After our first short visit, I felt completely comfortable ~ as though we had been friends for years. We rented a beautiful birthing tub that was all she promised, large, easy to set up, comfortable and clean. While we had a few complications in our home delivery Andi was professional, compassionate and instinctual ~ she worked alongside our midwife tirelessly. She encapsulated my placenta and made me the most beautiful birth story book that is cherished in our home. My husband reflects on our birth story and often says how Andi was the best money we ever spent! She is forever part of our miracle story. If you are considering a Doula ~ don't go any farther~ Call Offbeat Doula right now. I promise you won't regret it!

In 2012, pregnant with my first child, I contacted Andi to be my doula. We had no family close by, my husband commuted for work and I wanted to make sure I had an extra support person. My husband also was uneasy about delivery so she was there to support him if he needed it. Most people ask what a doula even does when I say I hired one, so here is my experience:



Throughout pregnancy Andi was very informative and lent me books and offered alternative information to coincide with my desire for an all natural labour and birth. We met several times throught my pregancy and developed a birth plan, and she answered questions I often felt my doctor did not have time for. She recommended a birthing class she thought I would like and ended up attending the class with my husband and I, teaching us and the other couples about baby wearing, a topic on which she is very knowledgeable.



When things didn't go as planned and I was scheduled for an induction 8 days overdue, she showed up with coffee for my husband after an overnight induction that resulted in my water breaking. She provided suggestions for pain management throughout labour, even bringing props like stress balls, or knee pads for me to kneel on in the shower. A nurse commented on how prepared she was. She put hands on pressure where I needed it for some relief and reminded me to stay relaxed through contractions. She gave my husband some much needed breaks and advocated for my choices with the nurses when I was too occupied to do so. If not for Andi I am sure the nurses would have convinced me from the get-go into drugs that I was not ready for. I wanted to do it as natural as possible, but it is hard to think clearly amongst contractions.



I ended up deviating further from my birth plan after a long induction, and Andi validated my choice, which made it much easier. The birth was a bit difficult and both baby and I needed medical care afterwards and this is when I think Andi was probably most needed, as there is no way to really mentally prepare for things going wrong. When my husband followed the baby's cart to NICU, Andi was holding my hand and explaining to me what the doctors and nurses were doing to my baby and to me. She kept me calm, informed and kept me company. Looking back I realize how important she was to my emotional wellbeing in those hours. My husband was able to stay with our son and know that I was not alone. It wasn't until 6 hours after our baby was born, in the middle of the night and over 18 hours after she first arrived at the hospital, that Andi finally went home once we were all settled together in our room and our little guy was nursing well.



Nurses change shifts and your doctor isn't always on call, but a doula is with you from the beginning and makes the transition from pregnancy to motherhood a lot easier. My husband said he would never have a baby in a hospital without a doula after our experience with Andi, she is fantastic and clearly loves her role in bringing babies earth side.



Andi also encapsulated my placenta, which she took directly from the hospital. She brought the pills to my house once I was out of the hospital and they lasted for about 3 months and made for a very stable emotional recovery postpartum.

As much as I loved Andi, my boyfriend is the one who says he couldn't have done it without her. She help me through the pregnancy with information, books, stress relief techniques etc. During the delivery it was like she was reading our minds, anything that was needed she was helping out, she took so much pressure off my boyfriend and helped me so much, I couldn't imagine having done it without her. The placenta pills where amazing and I did not experience any postpartum depression, and having the photos that she took of the birth is such an amazing memory to have. I would recommend her to any of my friends whether they are having their first child or fifth she was amazing