A Birth to Remember

Labor Doula Services and Products to Support Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

About Me

I have been a doula for over 3 years.  Our family moved to Augusta, GA in September 2005.  Originally we are from the Washington, DC area.  My husband is a linguist in the Army and we've moved several times in the last 4 years before finally settling here in Georgia. 


My personal birth experiences have included a vaginal hospital birth augmented with Pitocin and an epidural, a c-section, and a twin HBAC (homebirth after cesarean.)  My first birth was a planned hospital birth with a CNM who practiced with a group of OBs.  One of the OBs ended up being on call when I delivered.  My second birth was a planned homebirth with a CNM but I had a c-section with an OB.  My third birth was a planned homebirth with 3 lay midwives.  You can read more about my births in the "birth stories" link.  I think it's safe to say that I have personally experienced a wide variety of births.  Any future children that I have will be born at home, God willing.  I hope to have a waterbirth in the future and am currently pregnant with another set of identical twins.


My professional experiences have included supporting mothers with natural births, births with pain medications and epidurals, home births, water births, breech births, twins, VBACs, and mothers who had cesareans.  I have references available upon request.


I am a LLL Leader and an ICAN leader.  I am DONA-certified and a volunteer doula for Operation Special Delivery.  I also serve as the treasurer of our local Mothers of Multiples club.


Click here to read about why I became a doula.


I strongly support breastfeeding and have experienced a lot in that category as well.  (See "Breastfeeding Tips" for more about lessons I've learned.)  I believe that nearly all mothers can succeed at breastfeeding with the proper encouragement, information, and support.  Sometimes there are challenges but the reward makes it all worthwhile.


I am a "cloth diapering addict."  I have a vast collection of cloth diapers in every form imaginable.  It was only recently that I finally able to part with some of the diapers that my oldest son wore as a baby.  I began using cloth when he was about 4 months old.  We've been hooked ever since.  My last 3 children have never worn a disposable diaper... we even use cloth when we go on vacation.  I love these diapers so much that I started my own business making them and selling them.  I have since sold my store (www.purplecaterpillarcreations.com) but I still sew custom diapers by request for friends.


I am currently homeschooling my two boys and plan to continue homeschooling all of my children.  I've included some information about it in the "Parenting Articles" section.  I attended public schools myself but I had some wonderful experiences in a program called SIGNET that our school system developed for gifted students.  I am drawing on my experiences there to get interesting ideas for teaching my own children.


Besides being a mom, wife, and doula, I also like to read, sew, knit, paint, sing, ski and skate.  Although there is not much time for reading these days, I do have an extensive lending library of books about parenting and childbirth.  I sew just about anything, including cloth diapers and clothing!  I also like to paint murals and children's furniture.


Holding my second child (Joshua)

My children