In the quiet hush of the labor & delivery room, where the air is charged with anticipation and the scent of earthiness and birthyness, a new chapter in your life unfolds. The rhythmic cadence of your breath is mirrored by the gentle whispers of your doula, a reassuring presence in this oh so sacred moment. The culmination of nine months… maybe more, leads to this: the first hour with your newborn.
When I was selecting items for my baby registry, it was really important to me to not go overboard. As a doula of 14 years, I’ve seen families get overwhelmed with the amount of stuff in their homes and nurseries and I knew I wanted to keep things on the simpler side. I also wanted to be mindful of the impact on not only the environment, but also my baby’s microbiome - which meant finding a lot of eco-friendly products to keep waste down and keep our home as “low tox” as possible. Here you’ll find some of my favorite sustainable and most useful items that I registered for.
The Doulas of Orange County office phone rings.
I pick up. “Hello! Doulas of Orange County. Lauren speaking.”
A strained voice sounds relieved to hear me, and it sounds like she has been crying. She’s an exhausted new mom of 12-week old twins and a 20-month-old toddler (who won’t let her out of his sight). She’s drained from her twin pregnancy, a difficult birth, and breastfeeding challenges. She struggles to keep up with laundry and wash enough dishes to have plates for the next meal. Her partner has been trying to feed the baby at night, but she’s still waking up to pump for multiples and can’t help but feel guilty about how tired her partner will be at work the next day. She really needs a postpartum doula in Irvine, CA.
“Can you help me, even though my babies are so old?” She asks.
DOC is a doula matching service, providing prenatal, birth and newborn parenting support to families in Orange County, California. We have a wonderful team of dedicated Birth and Postpartum Doulas, Sleep Coaches, Newborn Care Specialists and Parent Educators who provide compassionate care through every step of our client's journey.
You've taken the classes, you've read the books and you have created a birth plan complete with your personal preferences for your baby's birth. But as we all know, things don't always go as planned. And while we are big proponents of doing your research to establish some expectations, we also recognize that birth can be unpredictable.
Because of this unpredictability, we believe in the importance of being aware of your options as well as your right to informed consent and refusal.
You may have heard by now that Doulas of Orange County has moved to Irvine! Our bigger, more accessible class space provides the perfect setting for Parenting & Childbirth Education, Yoga, Play Groups and more!
We are proud to offer a full schedule for the month of August with additional classes being added to the calendar in September!
Weekly yoga classes are the newest addition to our calendar! Taught by co-owner and yoga instructor, Lauren Jacobs, our weekly prenatal yoga class gives you regular opportunities to relax, stretch, and bond with your baby as your nurture your pregnant or postpartum body. Classes begin late August! Registration is now available!
Michelle Swaney of The Potty School is now teaching regular classes at our office in Irvine as well! Featured on NBC, ABC, CBS, and MSN, Michelle's expertise and techniques are a must have for all parents looking to gently and effectively teach their children how to potty train. Classes are appropriate for ages from 0-18+ months and include Elimination Communication, Potty Training 101 and Parent+Me Potty Training. Classes begin August 28th!
We've had the joy and delight to meet many of you at our weekly New Mama Cafe gathering on Tuesdays! We always love seeing your smiling faces and watching your sweet babies grow week by week. As the weeks & months have gone by, we know that some of you have returned to work or varying nap times make it a challenge to come to the Tuesday mom & baby group, so we are excited to announce a monthly gathering for new moms in OC. We call it the Weekend Edition of New Mama Cafe!
Held on the 2nd Saturday of the month at 9:30am at Tewinkle Park in Costa Mesa, this group offers an opportunity to meet other new moms and share the ups and downs of mom life! Check out the Dad version held on the 3rd Saturday of the month at Mariners Park in Newport Beach!
Doulas of Orange County offers the largest variety of prenatal & parenting programming in all of Orange County. Our monthly classes include Babywearing 101, Breastfeeding 101, and Baby Care Basics. Other classes, such as our Confident Birth 4-week series and Comfort Measures workshop are offered every other month.
With curriculums developed by DOC owners, Lauren and Chelsea, these informative and enjoyable classes provide you with all the knowledge and skill you need to walk into your birth & parenting journey with confidence! Group classes are great for those that are interested in creating community and meeting new parent friends, while Private classes are fully customizable for those that want to focus on the topics that matter most to you!
Check out our Classes & Workshops page for more information and to register!
This is just a glimpse of what August holds here at Doulas of Orange County! Stay tuned for more offerings in September like Infant Massage, Infant & Family CPR, movie screenings and more!
Orange County has the luxury of having a wide variety of birthing options. Based on your health & criteria you can have a hospital birth with an OB or a Midwife, a homebirth with an OB or a Midwife or a birth center birth with a Midwife. As Doulas, we don't take these options for granted and our team has the distinct privilege to be able to learn and support families at any number of these birthing locations with any number of care providers.
Call us biased, but one of our favorites in this group of esteemed care providers is Lauren Slak, owner of Wholistic Women's Healthcare and Licensed Midwife. Lauren sees her homebirth midwifery clients at our office in Costa Mesa, so we have the honor to collaborate with her and learn from her quite often. She provides compassionate midwifery care, pre-conception counseling, and nurturing support to families throughout Orange, San Diego, & Riverside counties. Her calm yet confident presence is so refreshing and her knowledge and passion for birth is inspiring.
We hear a lot about how wonderful and magical and beautiful breastfeeding is. We hear about the benefits to mom and baby, the cost effectiveness, and the incredible bond it can form.
What we don't often hear about or talk about is how challenging it can really be. We don't hear about the sleepless nights, the cracked nipples, being attached to your kid 24/7 through a growth spurt.
We believe and amplify the glamour, but shy away from the messy.
Well, I'm here to tell you that if breastfeeding was or is a challenge for you, you are not alone!
Doulas of Orange County recently posted the following picture on our Instagram feed and the response was surprising to say the least.
