Bud to Blossom Doula Services

Dawnell is not only a compassionate woman with a heart of gold who believes passionately in her work, but she is a professional and skilled doula who can make any pregnancy and delivery easier. When I was pregnant with my first son, I had the honor of being the recipient of Dawnell’s services, and since I was going through the pregnancy basically alone, I really needed her. From the day we decided to work together, she demonstrated concern about me, and helped me build my birth plan and develop confidence in having the kind of delivery I had always dreamed of. She was always there to be empathetic about all my many odd symptoms during pregnancy and offered suggestions and tips to work through each of them. As my pregnancy progressed, she became more and more invaluable as a true partner in the ultimate birthing of my son. She helped me replace my original doctor when I felt uneasy. She sent me multiple reference guides to support my natural childbirth plan. But the thing she did that I needed the most, was support me emotionally, without fail. I never thought I would be pregnant and alone. Dawnell made it so much easier. Right up to the point when I reached 42 weeks, she was a true partner to me, checking on me daily and genuinely caring about my feelings. She was by my side within an hour of my water breaking and didn’t leave my side after that; she was awake with me all night while I labored and only rested after my 28– hour ordeal was over and my baby was finally in my arms. She is a wonderful doula and I would never hesitate to recommend her to anyone– particularly those longing for natural childbirth or experiencing any form of loneliness or uncertainty during pregnancy.

If you are looking for a doula, hire this wonderful woman!
Dawnell met with my husband and me a few weeks before my due date to develop our birth preferences and review labor positions. She was very down to Earth and welcoming of all the questions we had. She has so much knowledge to share. I was nervous about delivering my second child naturally but she was so confident and reassuring I was happy to have her on our team.
My decision to work with Dawnell was reaffirmed when my baby started showing signs of distress in the final weeks of pregnancy. She has a wonderful circle of references including chiropractic and massage services that eased the discomfort. I called her in tears after multiple doctor appointments and non stress tests. Her loving and calming spirit gave me strength to focus on my baby and keep our goals in mind.
After my 39^th week appointment, my baby needed to be born. I called Dawnell and she whipped into action to be by my side as quickly as possible. I was not allowed to leave the hospital despite being in the early stages of labor. Dawnell walked the halls with me for hours. She guided me through countless positions to help me progress through labor. She easily befriended the nurses at the hospital and helped me to communicate my preferences. My doctor, who was skeptical of working with a doula, later told me she was very pleasantly surprised at how well we all worked together. I think her experience with Dawnell changed her perception of how having a doula could enhance the birth process.
In all, Dawnell was with us at the hospital for over 24 hours. She never faltered in her support and confidence in me. She was able to match my ever changing mood with just the right thing to say to keep me motivated. I am profoundly grateful to her for helping me to achieve this wonderful goal even though all the odds were stacked against us. My husband was especially glad that she was there. In the early hours of the morning it was nice to have a team mate to keep up morale and focus.
Dawnell has every ounce of my support in her services as I had all of hers during the birth of my son.

First things first, Dawnell gets five golden stars. Dawnell is partners with my primary Doula who oddly enough had two clients laboring in the same 24 hours. I went into labor one month early, her other client I believe was a week late. These things happen. I am so grateful that Dawnell was there.
I had never met her, but she showed up at 4 o’clock in the morning like a little ray of sunshine, ready to be back up Doula in case my other doula had to leave my side. I felt like I had known her my entire life. Although my other doula didn’t end up having to leave me, Dawnell stayed by my side the entire time. It was about a 24 hour process.
She brought such a nice calming presence to the room. She was confident, and sweet, and very supportive. She worked so well with my nurses and my doctors, I know they were also grateful for her being there. You don’t realize it until you’re in it, but the person helping the laboring mother whether it be husband, nurse, it’s a lot of work. Not only was Dawnell a positive voice in my ear, she was physically supportive as well. She helped me get into better positions so I would be more comfortable, she rubbed my back and helped my husband help me as well. I honestly know that she never gave up on me. She knew I could deliver this baby, even when I wasn’t so sure. And I did!
My husband also felt that she was incredibly supportive for him.
We would highly recommend Dawnell and her services, and hope to have her at our next birth.

Dawnell was an amazing doula! I am a first time mom and was nervous about what to expect during labor, so I really wanted to have a doula after hearing about them from friends. I picked Dawnell after meeting with a few and am so glad I did! She has kids of her own and that was important to me in a doula. If you are on the fence, use a doula!
Dawnell was there for me through the whole labor process. It was important to me to labor at home for as long as possible, and she came to our house and labored with me for about six hours. I’m so glad she was there to help me through the moaning and visualization techniques! When we got to the hospital I was already 6 centimeters and was able to deliver a 9 pound baby later that night. I couldn’t have done it without Dawnell. She helped reassure me about what was normal and helped my fiancé be at ease also. When I have another baby I’m definitely calling Dawnell!

There is one word to describe Dawnell’s doula services, AMAZING!
From our first meeting, I knew Dawnell was the doula for me. It was my second pregnancy but unlike my first, I wanted to have a drug free birth. My husband and I knew we needed the support of doula to help us achieve that goal.
When my labor finally started, it was nothing like we had imagined. I was in early labor a couple of nights in a row. During that time, Dawnell remained in constant contact with us.
Once things picked up, she came over early in the evening and helped me work through different positions to help my labor continue to progress. At one point, it was time to walk and she didn’t hesitate, even though it was late at night and raining. Once we got to the hospital, they informed us I hadn’t progressed enough to be admitted. We decided to walk and help things progress. This is where Dawnell really shinned. We had to improvise because we had left ALL our supplies in the car. She employed different techniques, at one point, even using furniture in the waiting room so that I could work through my contractions. She continuously offered positive reinforcement and assured me I was doing a great job.
My son was born within a short time of being admitted. Dawnell was a great advocate in the labor and delivery room. As I was working through the final stages of labor, and unable to really speak or make decisions, Dawnell ensured my birth plan was followed. Her and my husband were great coaches and she really helped me focus during those final moments of the birth. She took pictures of the birth and stayed an hour or so after my son was born to ensure we both got the proper care. She was so reassuring through the entire process!
Dawnell knew exactly what to say and helped me achieve my goal of a natural unmedicated child birth, even when I thought I wanted to give up. I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for a doula. Because of her, I was able to have the birth experience I really wanted.

When the doula I had hired had to go out of town during my labor (Julie Mitchell, also wonderful… see my review of her under Blissful Bellies), Dawnell, her backup, took over and was the doula present at my daughter’s birth. Dawnell was amazing and I feel very fortunate to have had her help through a trying and lengthy labor, which, as is often the case, didn’t go as planned. She is indefatigable — walking what seemed like hundreds of laps around the labor ward as we tried to speed things up, getting me through some very difficult back labor with countless hip squeezes, suggesting different positions, making sure I stayed hydrated… She also worked wonderfully with the nurses (very important for a doula!) to enable me to move around and try as many techniques as possible to get through labor without medication. When I did finally end up getting an epidural, she stayed awake for 12 hours while I dozed in and out, watching the monitors to make sure my baby stayed stable. Dawnell was strong, supportive, a wonderful guide and cheerleader… all I had hoped my doula would be. She also took some really fantastic photos both during labor and delivery.

My husband and I decided to hire a doula after takIng childbirth preparation classes through Scripps. We wanted to avoid a c-​section and go as natural as possible for the birth of our first child. We interviewed a few doulas and felt very comfortable with Dawnell. She was very easy to talk to and was very straight forward with her answers. She also came with lots of tips and handouts even if we didn’t hire her.
Well it was money well spent as my water broke 2 weeks early and I was caught unprepared. I called Dawnell first because I wasn’t even sure what had happened exactly since I wasn’t having contractions. She confirmed my suspicion and came to support me and my husband at home and then at the hospital. She had made it easy for me to make a birth preference plan with a template, asking questions about hospital procedures that I hadn’t even considered.
So armed with her help and support, I labored for 18 plus hours but stalled at 6 cm. At that point she remained supportive when I opted for an epidural and pitocin. Then I eventually progresses to 10 cm and had a vaginal birth after 28+hours. At the end the old school doctor wanted to do an episiotomy and she helped me stick up for myself wanting to tear naturally instead if needed. Bottom line, I had a healthy baby and strongly feel that if I had left it in the doctor’s hands I would have ended up with a c– section since my water had broken over 24 hours before the actual birth. Dawnell also took lots of photos of the birth process as we had requested. After the birth, Dawnell followed up with phone calls and a visit. And she remains available to answer questions as needed. We found out she also will have a reunion pot luck with her clients twice yearly. Again, I can’t thank her enough for everything she did for me and my husband and new baby.

Dawnell was our backup doula that day/​night and we were sooooo glad to have her. At first we were nervous having only met her once before in our hypnobirthing class but the whole experience was so wonderful with her. She was a rock for my husband whom would’ve been lost without her. She became out advocate and made sure the midwive and nurses were going to follow our birth plan (the hospital was pushing to induce and Dawnell had actually helped us convince them I didn’t need to be because I was fully in labor) She was patient and understanding while meeting my needs while I went through my contractions. She helped me try all different positions to find one that I liked and made sure my husband was taken care of too. She even helped the baby latch and I had my first successful breastfeeding session! if you are debating whether to hire a doula or not for your birth, I would highly recommend Dawnell to make your experience, as well as your husband’s, much easier.

We could not have done it without her! Well, of course our son would have been born even if we didn’t have Dawnell, BUT, her support at labor and delivery was what made the experience so amazing and we wouldn’t have had it any other way!
Dawnell helped us create a birth plan prior to delivery. We understand that not everything can go according to exactly to plan all the time but Dawnell’s support and encouragement was invaluable to helping us come as close as possible to our goals for labor and delivery.
Looking back on how things went with labor and delivery, We would not have changed a thing! Dawnell was our rock, she was the person to remind us of our goals, and was the source of encouragement throughout. She was always professional, genuine, and an advocate. Her experience and natural characteristics are what make Dawnell such an amazing Doula… thank you Dawnell!!!

I highly recommend Dawnell. We hired Dawnell primarily because we wanted help with laboring at home before going to the hospital. Well, labor never happened. At a routine check-​up, I failed the non-​stress test and was told I needed to be induced right then. Dawnell met us at the hospital. Inducing didn’t go well and I needed an immediate C-​Section. Had Dawnell not been there, hubby and I would have been confused, overwhelmed and terrified, but Dawnell kept us calm and informed. She interpreted medical language into English so we could understand what was going on, made sure that the doctors used the safest drugs (they weren’t going to), and that they didn’t disregard our birth plan altogether because it wasn’t a natural delivery. Dawnell also informed us about all the options available versus the only options the doctor was recommending. We went forward with the C-​Section, confident it was truly medically necessary.

I don’t know what I would have done without Dawnell! Giving birth was a wonderful experience with her help. My plan was to have a natural birth for my son and she was supportive the whole way through from meeting up with me prior to the labor and visiting afterward. She remained professional and never pushed any views on me. I am looking forward to having her present for my next baby!