Kevin
Second-time Father

"O’Nell proved to be an excellent caretaker of our twins. She was very observant of their behavior and their moods and despite only spending two or three mornings a week with us, she was able to quickly pick up the rhythms of their days. Her skill and knowledge in caring for newborns, including premature ones like ours, was both reassuring and impressive.

Despite her caretaking skill and knowledge, she was never forceful in presenting what she knew, never impatient in manner, voice or gesture. She completely adapted to and supported the schedule that we had for the twins and quickly became a trusted friend/confidante/advisor to my wife.

O’Nell and her calm, gentle, and confident demeanor very quickly became a welcome presence in our house. I can’t say enough about how she integrated herself into the way our house operates.

O’Nell also has impressive personal initiative. While she was with us, she made us feel that her role was to support out family in any way she could. She would look to see if shopping needed to be done and would offer to go. She would see dishes that needed to be done and would do them. She would see laundry needing to be washed or folded and would do them. Once we found her disinfecting doorknobs to help prevent the spread of our two year old’s cold.

Within the first several days of O’Nell working with us, we realized that we didn’t want to live without her. Had she been available, we would have hired her for every waking hour of her day.

In the four months that O’Nell has been working with us, I can’t imagine a doula who could have been more caring, more competent, or given more love to our twins than she has. My wife and I both feel very privileged to have been able to have O’Nell work with us. O’Nell couldn’t have chosen a better name for her services. She deservedly earns my highest recommendation."

Julie
Second-time Mother

"It was so wonderful having O'Nell's gentle, warm presence during a sometimes difficult and chaotic transition! I especially appreciated her ability to enter our home and immediately join us in whatever activity/task – matching our energy/pace or offering a complementary alternative. She was also extremely flexible – able to switch tasks spontaneously – and efficient – able to whip up a meal in a few minutes! She was reliable and timely – so reassuring in a time when little was predictable!

It seemed like not a moment was wasted – O'Nell made such good use of her time with us – she struck a perfect balance of taking the initiative to complete tasks unprompted by me (packing a snack/water bottle for an excursion with toddler), while also following my lead and remaining attuned to my needs. O'Nell has a gift with babies, toddlers, and mothers alike. I so appreciated the time she spent with our family."

Tisha
Second-time Mother

"We are so thankful that O'Nell was part of the birth of our son, Alec! O'Nell supported our entire family in the endless days before delivery, a long and complicated birth, and the sleepless postpartum nights. My husband and our four year old son particularly benefited from her loving attention during the challenging transition of welcoming our second child into the family. O'Nell has enough love for you, your new baby, and your entire family! You will never be sorry you invited her to participate in this exciting part of your life. (p.s. Ask her for a massage and you will want her to move in with your family forever.) Thank you, thank you, O'Nell!"

 

Carrie
Second-time Mother

"Simply having an extra set of hands was useful, but O’Nell was always a tremendous source of comfort and knowledge about our babies (and their maladies) - as well as our toddler. I looked forward to her time with us every week and was grateful for the additional research she did for our babies. We felt very supported during her time with us and only wish we could have had her every day."

Angelina
Traditional Midwife

"O'Nell gives security and confidence to the mothers she works with. The mothers we worked with always commented to me on the bigness of her heart and her caring eyes. She is so tender and gentle with the babies and it is obvious that she has much respect and attention for each individual.

Many women came back multiple times for her postpartum massages and to gain help with breastfeeding. Her heart is full of joy for working with mothers, birth, and infants and I recommend her as a birth or postpartum doula to anyone who wants to feel supported and encouraged as a mother."

 

Holly
First-time Mother

"Every new family should be blessed with support for welcoming a new baby, however, some new mothers are left to struggle through the first few intense weeks alone. With no mother types, sister, or girlfriend available to offer daily support, I was intensely overwhelmed by being a mother. While I wanted to lay around and gush over my baby, my body and spirit had other plans. After giving birth, I was sore and tired to the core, but my baby needed to be nursed, burped and rocked in three hour cycles. Nursing was painful and difficult, which drove my anxiety levels up. Helping my baby to sleep often took 45 minutes of singing and soothing him, and could not be interrupted by things like needing to go the bathroom, answer the phone or eat. With this schedule, I couldn’t even lay down to rest or sleep for more than an hour! Post pregnancy hormones were also having a huge impact on my mood, body temperature, and energy. It didn’t take long for sleep deprivation, anxiety, and a desperate desire to meet my own basic needs for getting food and going to the bathroom to turn me into an emotional wreck.

As the months continued, I tried to find new balance in my life and adjust to life as a mother. With my son’s needs consuming most of my time, I could never get on top of the dishes, laundry, or grocery shopping. My husband tried to jump in and take over all of the chores, but with his work schedule it ended up that he had little time left to enjoy the baby and certainly no time to connect with me. My solution was to use all of the baby’s naps to scurry around the house cleaning like a madwoman. But no matter how I tried, I was still exhausted, behind, hungry, and worn out from being needed too much. I was also ashamed to have so many negative feelings instead of focusing on my son.

I was consumed with the idea that all of my friends had motherly types to support and encourage them. They had someone they could ask to cook a meal, fold some laundry, or watch the baby while they napped. Finally, I decided I needed to find someone to help me and O’Nell Starkey came into my life.

Now that my son is almost a year old, I finally have the support and help I need to feel balance in my life again. O’Nell has a wonderful relationship with my son, and he loves spending time with her. While they play, I am allowed to rest or to cross a few things of my to-do list. When my son naps, O’Nell makes us meals and helps with chores like laundry. I also use nap times to ask her questions about my son’s development, depending on her early childhood education background to help enlighten me. Most importantly, O’Nell is even able to stay with him in the evenings (baby’s hardest time without mommy) leaving me and my husband to go on dates and spend time connecting with each other in a way that was impossible before.

O’Nell’s services have revolutionized my life, and my only complaint is that I did not find her earlier! If I have another child, a post-partum doula will certainly be a part of my plan!"