Postpartum Villages Are Unique
Think About Your Family's Needs
Comparison Will Steal Your Joy
Do you live far from family, are experiencing life as an only child, or have a spouse who needs to return to work fairly quickly? Are you someone who enjoys an organized living space and an empty sink every night, or a person who needs to sleep 8 hours to feel human.
Bringing home a baby changes schedules, energy and relationships. With step into parenthood, grandparents and siblings are also becoming someone different, and nobody has done it before with this baby.
A postpartum doula’s role is to support the family -your parents and they need to hear how sleep, feeding, and recovery have changed since they did it. Your pet needs some TLC to feel better about the change in routine that’s bound to happen. Big brothers and sisters love to know they deserve special time, too.
Structure & Scheduling a Postpartum Doula
Usually families have an idea about when support will be most helpful. If they are not sure, most have a better idea after speaking with a doula to learn the options. As a vintage doula with grown, adult children who run their own independent lives, my availability is flexible with and without advanced notice. My client choose Sunrise, Sunset, Days and Overnights.
Sunrise Support
Available in 4-hour minimum shifts between 5am and 6am.
These are day hours, so the tasks included involve Mother/Baby laundry, cleaning & sterilizing pump parts and bottles, restocking the nursery and baby care areas, warming and preparing foods with groceries in your home, support of breastfeeding when needed, safe formula preparation when needed, tidying of common areas of the home, teaching tasks related to feeding, baby care and comfort, facilitating your sleep with a combination of the above tasks.
Clients who choose this are typically aware of the long nights with a baby and appreciate the opportunity to go back to bed while baby is safely cared for and tasks to ready for the day are accomplished. This often results in a well-fed and clean baby, showered parent(s), workout or errands for partner, and an opportunity to share thoughts, concerns or questions in a safe space.
Day time Postpartum Support
Available in 4-hour minimum shifts between 7am and 3pm.
The tasks are the same as sunrise, but often include entertaining older children who are not in school, preparing breakfast or lunch for other little kiddos, keeping a watchful eye on the littles and well-behaved pets so new parents can feed a newborn, sleep, or have time for self-care. In keeping with the scope of the doula as prescribed in DONA, no heavy lifting, dusting, vacuuming or landscaping. Additionally, a doula can accompany you to appointments, but not drive you a personal vehicle. Unless you are at a medical appointment, a trusted adult must remain in the home over the entire shift.
Hourly Rate for Sunrise & Days is $80
Hourly Rate for Overnight is $85
Overnight Postpartum Support
Available only in 10-hour shifts between 8pm-6am with a 30-hour minimum booking.
The tasks during an overnight shift are different than during the day, with some overlap. This care is helpful to breastfeeding families because the baby will be brought to you for on-demand feeding. I will handle the changing, burping, and comforting of your baby at every other moment. If you pump, I will store, mark and safely handle the milk so you can go back to sleep, All pump parts will be cleaned and ready when you awaken.
If you have baby laundry next to the washer, and your family goes to bed before 10, I will wash, dry and fold that laundry in between wake windows whenever possible. Heavy baskets, unsafe stairs and dark spaces may prevent this option. I will tidy up once I understand your system, and make every attempt to leave the space neater than when I arrived.
No need to have a separate bedroom, if you have a couch, and safe sleep space (bassinet or basket) for your baby, as well as supplies for changing, I will close my eyes when your baby is asleep and my tasks are done. I will bring my own blanket and pillow. Feel free to have a camera in the space with baby and I, as long there is privacy in the bathroom.
An Apple note from me to you in the morning will include a photo of each wake window, notes on diapers, feeding, and recommendations on comfort that I hope you may find helpful.
If you sustpect that someone you love or know is experiencing Postpartum Psychosis, get help immediately and do not leave them alone. This condition is highly treatable – Call 911, Contact Her Provider or Drive to the Nearest Hospital.
Postpartum Support International can be reached by phone 800-944-4773 for English & Spanish speaking crisis support.
Understanding Infant Care Roles
SeeThis is an important topic to consider. Professional postpartum doulas are trained to understand and recognize typical postpartum recovery, as well as newborn behavior. This is the reason a doula will enter your home with the goal of sharing newborn care & comfort, teaching and supporting breastfeeding, as well as teaching safe preparation of formula. .
Night nurses are not usually with you for any task other than caring for the baby. If your budget is tight and you need help, find a trusted night nurse or a mother’s helper who can safely hold your baby while you rest. In my experience, if you have someone meeting some of your needs, you will feel better than struggling 24 hours a day, risking your mental health.
Night nurses are usually not nurses, and some have deep knowledge while others do not. If your budget or benefits cannot accommodate a doula, do careful research and background check your other options.