I always knew I wanted a natural unmedicated birth and once I was pregnant I immediately saught out a doula to help me get there. Kathleen was recommended to me by my midwife, Karen Brock, and she said she was “the best,” so she was the one I contacted. I instantly felt comfortable with her. I felt like she was the right combination of nourturing, compassionate and tough, which I is what I knew I needed. I loved meeting with Kathleen throughout my pregnancy for checkins as well as going to her 6 week class with Jolie. I studied pregnancy in college to do birth/child development classes with teen moms and felt like I knew what I needed to know, but I was wrong and found the classes so beneficial, informative, and necessary. I learned so much about what happens in the hospital, which helped me create a birth plan I felt confident in. Kathleen also was a great about recomending different resources and people such as a massuse, a pediatrician, labor photographer (that I aboslutely love) and much more. My labor and birth happened exactly the way I wanted it to go, and I give Kathleen credit for much of that. She labored with me through every contraction, and pushed me to try new positions that I really believe helped labor progress and helped me to stay calm. She was constantly encouraging helping me believe that I was strong and capable even through the bleekest moment where I truly wanted to quit. Labor is exhausting but she didn’t let me give into an epidual (because I told her not to let me) and she helped get me there. She also was so helpful to my husband and mom, who wanted to help me, but didn’t exactly know how or what to do. Kathleen gave them ideas on ways to help me stay comfortable, and help my husband stay calm and support me. Looking back on the birth of my son I am so happy with how everything went. I can’t imagine doing it without Kathleen and she will be one of the first people I call when I decide to have baby number two.