Praise from Clients
Laura & Chris
We asked Birdsong Brooklyn to be our postpartum doulas before we even chose a birth doula. Their generous spirit and caring demeanor shone so brightly and there was an immediate connection.
It is hands down the best decision we’ve made throughout this birth experience.
We had an awesome chat before our daughter’s birth and immediately felt supported and less nervous. Erica came over the day we brought the baby home and laid down some serious knowledge and mama wisdom that kept us sane in those challenging early days. She has this way of generating confidence in you that you never knew was there. Her heartfelt compassion and empathy, as well as her unequivocal acceptance of all parental styles and whims, made us infinitely more comfortable as we embarked on this crazy journey of parenthood. I wish every new parent had the opportunity to feel as loved and supported as we did thanks to Birdsong.
Jordana
Fairy tales and myths often have a fairy godmother or Virgil-type who guide the hero through the most desperate of times. For me, that role was played by Erica and Laura right after I became a mother. I could not possibly itemize everything they did for me after we came home from the hospital, because much of it is a blur. However, I can recount the sensation. I felt saved, like rescue workers had arrived.
There was food, there was cleaning, there was practical help, there was nurture, there was an amazing back-rub that I am still deeply grateful for. All of this was necessary because I was breastfeeding around the clock, quite sleepless, recovering, unable to fix myself a snack, incapable of anything except holding my tiny son against my skin and feeding him. Laura and Erica enabled me to give my son the primal attention he needed during those early days. I was, for a time, freed from mundane tasks like prepping snacks and giant challenges like figuring it all out.
While I might, in other circumstances, feel self-conscious about accepting help, accepting back-rubs, accepting someone in my kitchen, I felt, simply, good.
Laura and Erica are generous of spirit, they have more than their share of wisdom, they are empathetic and understanding and I luxuriated in these traits when I needed them most.
Kate
I can't recommend Erica highly enough; the emotional support we received from having her as part of our birth team was literally priceless. I had a very traumatic labor experience with my first baby that ended in a c-section, so I came into this pregnancy extra sensitive and fearful. We planned a homebirth VBAC, and I believed that Erica's experience with two homebirths of her own meant that she would be a great support in that atmosphere.
What I hadn't anticipated were two things:
1. How incredibly valuable our prenatal appointments would be for me in clearing my fear/lingering trauma. If you have any fear, apprehension, anxiety, about your upcoming birth or even about how your family will change with the addition of your new little one, Erica is THE BEST at listening to your fears and helping you turn them into positives. I can't emphasize enough how much she helped me shift my attitude and left me feeling more capable and ready to birth than I had been the whole pregnancy.
2. That my little guy would decide to make his entrance 7 weeks early, thus forcing us into a hospital birth. So we didn't get the homebirth we were dreaming of, but Erica was instrumental in helping to keep me calm during the incredible stress of birthing a preemie and being back in a hospital setting that I was extremely anxious about. My birth went beautifully (yay VBAC!) and baby is healthy now, and Erica helped us through all of it with a clear head and loving, reassuring words. If you want to feel good about yourself right after having a baby, you need Erica there in your labor room telling you how amazing you and your family are. She brought me to tears multiple times with her kindness and love. She brought oils to help the room not smell like a hospital; even the nurses commented how lovely it smelled.
Now I have two little ones and no real need for a doula anymore, but still wish that Erica could doula my life! :)
Tara
Erica came to us about 3 weeks postpartum and she was a breath of fresh air and a soothing presence. I wish we had called her sooner! We were having some serious struggles with breastfeeding and she helped me with suggestions and ways to stay focused and bond with my baby.