The Orchid Nest — Local services in Delray Beach

On August 14th, I was 39 weeks pregnant with my son , who was estimated to be weighing over 10 pounds. 99%tile baby. I started having contractions that morning and went to the hospital with my fiance. I was not dilated at all at this point when the nurses checked me. Also, I had opted for a planned C section that was scheduled for the following day, so the doctor asked me what I wanted to do, meaning see if I would begin to labor naturally and try naturally to have my son, or get the c section that the doctor i was seeing strongly wanted me to have. Even the nurse at his practice told me “you have to get a c section, your baby could die.” Which was unspeakably disturbing to me. I surrendered and consented to the fact that I would do the c section that day instead of seeing if I would dilate or not and try to have a natural labor like I initially dreamed of having. There were emergencies coming into the triage that I was in , and that reality made me feel absolutely selfish for feeling sorry for myself in the least bit for opting for having a c section instead of having a drug free natural birth. I was able to feel contractions naturally, and that was a blessing in itself to be able to get a taste of what it would be like. (i’m usually good with pain; but labor pain is not like any type of pain that i can compare it to. 😅) After the plan was set, My fiance Oscar texted Katelyn and let her know what was going on with me and she immediately drove over an hour to get to us (lots of traffic on that day) and made it on time to my 11:00 am C section that they squeezed me into. Only one person is allowed in the surgery room and Oscar and I chose Katelyn to be with me during it, which I’m so greatful for her being there because she just made me feel so comforted and peaceful and excited to meet my baby. The doctors and nurses even noted and commented on her respect towards them and they witnessed how comforted i was having her with me during the procedure and they liked that part alot because it made their job easier lol. Katelyn even cut my son’s umbilical cord. Lol. This is the level of trust that I have for her. My fiance included having the upmost respect and confidence in her. Katelyn also had walked me through situations that I was dealing with that my doctors office had put me through , that were absolutely unjust and evil, and that took a huge emotional toll on me. So without Katelyn and without my unwavering faith in Gods loving providence over my life, I would’ve been an absolute mess. But because of hiring her and trusting her fully, I had the best possible birth experience in the world. The section went fantastic as well which I’m so grateful for. By day 6 after the c section i felt fantastic and like myself and i was quite literally 30 pounds lighter. My son was born 10 lbs 6 ounces. That being said, Katelyn deserves double honor and I personally think she should raise her prices by 50% because she is unmatched in the doula world. No offense to other doulas. But sincerely. Anyone that goes to hire a doula, I would (with a sense of urgency) book Katelyn immediately, because her waitlist is about to be on overflow. She will have to begin turning away expectant parents because of how booked she will be, so get in with her, NOW. Downpayment as soon as possible. You will not regret it. You HAVE to have a doula; and Katelyn isn’t just a doula; she’s God sent. The classes at the orchid nest are wonderful and they are a blessing to the community. Love the orchid nest and would recommend it 1000 fold over. Wish them all the success and lots of positive...

If you are looking for an amazing group of ladies who care about you and your baby’s well-being and want to help you have an incredible, empowering birthing experience, then go to a Meet the Doula event at The Orchid Nest and find your Doula.

I first went to The Orchid Nest in January 2020 when I was pregnant with my second baby. My first baby was a c-section when we were stationed in Iowa, and I knew I wanted my second birthing experience to be different. I had already found an amazing midwife (Polina Goldenberg) who agreed to let me attempt a VBAC, so now I needed a doula to guide me through birth. I admit that my husband wasn’t completely sold on the idea, but I’d never given birth vaginally before, and he certainly didn’t have any experience in that department, so we agreed that I’d casually check out the Meet the Doula event they host every month.

I enjoyed listening to all the doulas and how they’ve helped in births over the years. Then I met Julie, who had a calm, confident and steady presence I knew I needed in my L&D room. My son was born July 2020 and Julie was not only by my side while I labored at home from the afternoon and well into the evening, but was also with me in the L&D room. She was just as much there for me as she was my husband, talking us through the labor phases and helping decide when it was time to head to the hospital. She definitely kept him calm - and between not being allowed up with me to L&D for an hour because of covid protocols, and not being used to seeing me in pain, he was for sure freaking out.

When we found out we were expecting our third baby in 2022, my husband’s first words were “get Julie”. She was available through phone call, text and of course coming over for an initial chat about my birth plan. There was a high chance I’d have to be induced with my third baby, something I really didn’t want to do, but understood the medical necessity of it. Julie was by my side to guide me through what an induction would look like and assured me that she’d be there for me. The day of the induction came and thankfully I was already progressing naturally and my midwife let Julie step in and help me along. Julie knew exactly what to do to get labor really going and soon put me through a Miles Circuit and had me walking and doing lunges around the room. She found out what worked and didn’t work for me and baby (the moment I stopped moving my contractions stopped - completely stopped) and set up the room so I was comfortable. Hospital rooms are very bright and sterile and not exactly conducive to relaxing for labor to progress. She turned down the lights, played music, started her essential oils machine and even got out small flickering (frameless) candles.

I went without any pain meds for both births that Julie attended and she was right by my side encouraging me and talking me through the phases of labor and reassuring me. Even after birth, when I started getting the shakes, I looked to her first for reassurance that it was normal. She also worked so seamlessly with Polina that they could communicate about how I was progressing and bounce ideas back and forth without me having to get involved. She even took photos of me and baby right after birth in that golden hour that I will...

If you’re looking for a doula (or even if you didn’t know you were) I can not recommend Julie enough! She’s been there for both of my births and was such a special part of them both. I had always wanted a home birth, but had my first baby in the hospital with a midwife, this time around, because of covid, they wouldn’t let me have my husband and Julie both there, and I could not imagine laboring without her support, so I made the choice to switch to a home birth for this baby so that I could have her there, and have the birth I wanted. It was the best decision.

I had started to have some contractions on my due date in the late afternoon, just slightly noticeable and happening randomly, they would start up and then stop a few times, but I let Julie know what was going on and that we might be having a baby that day. She kept in touch with me throughout the day, and decided to have some dinner near my house just in case. I kept her updated with occasional screen shots of my contraction counting app so that she knew what was going on, but told her I was still doing ok, and that I didn’t need support yet (ps- Julie is “all knowing” and so intuitive) but she told me she was going to head over to the house anyway just to check in on me. She took over talking with my midwife once she got to the house so that I didn’t have to worry about that, she helped me to work through contractions in some uncomfortable positions to help baby down, and made sure to include my 2 year old, who wanted to do everything she was doing. She made sure to keep giving me water and helped me with my breath work, and knew when I needed hip squeezes, or when I needed to work through things on my own. A little while later, as I was working through a contraction, I remember thinking I was ready for the midwife to come, but I didn’t know if I could vocalize that while breathing and focusing on finishing out that wave and breathing, but as I was thinking that, she told me she had just texted my midwife and she was on the way. Seriously, I’m telling you, she knows things before you know that you need them! She kept me relaxed while my birth tub was being filled and held my hand while I worked through more waves in the tub, knowing when I needed a hand to hold, a sip of water, a cold cloth, an encouraging word or just a minute to breathe. She held my hand and reminded me to breath my baby down as baby was coming out and then stood back to take some pictures and while my husband and mom and I looked over the baby. She got a great video of me realizing we had a second baby girl and my husbands face. She held my water cup for me to drink while I nursed my new baby and warmed up food for me to eat and fed me while the baby and I were being checked out. I couldn’t imagine a birth without her there, my husband loves too that it takes some pressure off of him so that he’s able to enjoy the birth of our babies and not worry that he’s not doing the right things. If you’re not sure a doula is for you, it’s for everyone, and I would highly recommend going to a meet the doula night and seeing who would be a...