Mama Jasmine, the biggest gift
The most helpful part of the doula support was having another brain filling in the easy to miss things for me. As a new mom and even during my pregnancy, I definitely developed "placenta brain", insomnia and general fatigue. Having someone like Iris who got to know me first and then was able to fill in the gaps was irreplaceable. Someone who is very experienced caring for others and was able to help me set my expectations and then figure out new ones was great. Prenatal appointments were very comfortable, Iris took care of me as a whole person, she got to know my husband, made sure I was eating well, supported me spiritually and understood my story. She brought her own gifts to my mess and prayed through all of it with me.
I knew that she was going to be giving me support during my unmedicated home birth but what I didn't expect was that her hip compressions were going to be THE BEST OF ALL TIME! With Iris included, I had a total of six individuals who attended my son's birth at some point. Aside from my husband, the other five women were experienced midwives, and birth workers but Iris' hip compressions were in a league of their own. With her compressions and prayer I made it!
Any mother birthing during Covid-19 has special challenges. Yet, Iris made every "special challenge" that I came up against a blip in the process. I know that so many of us were nervous in the early Covid days because we were all new to mask culture, had to be very careful who and what we exposed ourselves to, etc. As I was trying to be as careful as possible, Iris was doing the same to protect me, my family, energy and mental space. Right after my home birth, she cleaned up my home and the BIGGEST gift she gave to me was helping with my son's nursery. Unfortunately for me, nesting didn't result in the perfect organized home but Iris helped me with that. She sat with me and helped it go from way overcrowded storage room at best to a beautiful, peaceful, clutter free space for my son and I to retreat to.
I would recommend any expectant family Iris' services, this goes for the birth of a new baby but even families who are deciding to foster or adopt could really use her. I'm sure many people can be a doula but some are genuinely called to do so and Iris is walking in her God given calling. I'd tell friends who are thinking about getting a doula to that it is the investment that continues to give. As life would have it, I have lost both my mom and my mother-in-law so my chosen family, aunties and friends are those who I lean on when I have questions that all first-time moms have. Having a doula, someone who has taken classes on breastfeeding, birth, knows from firsthand experience from nannying for 10+ years the needs of families and babies was irreplaceable. At any time, I know that I can ask her questions that arise during the breastfeeding journey or whatever else I need help with. Specifically for Iris, I love that she is a believer and when she prayed during the birth, that God was working through her.
