I am 26 weeks pregnant with my 3rd child. I had an epidural with my first and it was a loooong process. My second came very quickly and I didn't have time for an epidural (even tho I wanted one). I think I may want to try to go natural with my last one but am a bit nervous about it. I would like to meet with a doula and ask questions, etc to possibly get more comfortable with the idea. Any advice or referral anyone can give me is appreciated.
Go to www.centxdoulas.org. They have biographies of all the doulas that belong to their group right there. You can narrow it down from there. They are a great group of doulas.
If you think you want to go with a midwife, April Bullock with Birthwise is a GREAT midwife. She has done one of my niece's births and will be doing the next one in January.
Sam Evans was my midwife for my last two pregnancies. I gave birth the first time at a birth center in San Antonio, and the second time I had a planned home birth. (I gave birth in bed and she almost didn't make it cause I waited too long to call her!) ____@____.com She also does doula work. You can email her and ask if she's taking on new clients.
Congrats on the pregnancy! Giving birth naturally (especially when it's planned) is amazing.
Yes my friend Stacy Wooster, she was my doula and was wonderful. She is certified yoga teacher, massage therapist and very knowledgeable about natural and herbal care. Here is her web and contact info: http://www.whitedaisybodyworks.com/
Amanda is a fabulous doula. Hopefully this is still her current email. Good luck. I loved working with Amanda!
____@____.com
Shelley ( www.shelleyscotka.com ) has been my doula for all four of my births. She is a childbirth educator, doula & lactation consultant and has become a dear personal friend. I HIGHLY recommend the idea of a doula and Shelley specifically. Happy Birthing!
My doula for my first pregnancy was Steph Scott and she went above and beyond the call of duty. I had a 37 hour labor and she was there the whole time. Plus, she brought over all kinds of good, healthy food to last us the first week, which we really appreciated. Her contact info is: ###-###-####. Austin, TX. ____@____.com://www.getbabied.com/ Tell her K. J. referred you. :)
I just wanted to say that I just recently gave birth to my 3rd and after my first two being born in the hospital with epidural's I decided to go natural and I am so happy I did! I gave birth 3 months ago at the San Antonio Birth Center under the care of the wonderful midwives there. It was the best experience of my three births and I would recommend it three times over. I would be happy to talk with you in more detail if you want, feel free to email me. Unfortunately I don't know anyone in Austin but one of the midwifes there does do home births in the hillcountry ( don't know where you are in austin or how far she goes ) I would suggest you contact them to see if maybe they could suggest someone. There # is ###-###-####.
If you're thinking about going natural, I'd recommend taking a class in Hypno-birhting. I had such great experiences with both my hypno-births. I never even considered an epidural. And my second was 10.5 pounds. <g>
Also, my duola was fabulous!!! Her name is Dawn Martin. if you can't find her online, email me privately.
This is a friend of mine:
____@____.com
website is www.supportingmom.com
Darlene MacAuley is an excellent one! And from what I understand she recently moved closer to the heart of Austin to serve the birthing community there, as well as all the awesome mama's like yourself! She also teaches Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypnosis, which might be an excellent program for you since your last birth went so quickly and you might want to be prepared with this one.
Her website is: http://withheartandhands.net/default.aspx
Hope that you find this info useful and all the best!
Cheers,
V.
