Michele Cooke,
Certified Postpartum Doula,
Certified Lactation Educator Counselor
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As your Postpartum Doula... |
I acknowledge each mother is different, and I completely support without judgement whichever feeding method you use. I make it a point to understand each client's goals and concerns, preferred routines and household priorities, so I can step in and make your life easier while you relax and bond with your baby. I'm here to listen, act as a resource for emerging questions, and brainstorm with you to resolve tricky situations that may arise. You can truly recover and rest, knowing that someone who loves your baby is providing skilled, attentive care.
Certifications
- Infant/Toddler care certificate
- Doula training certificate
- Adult, Child, and Infant CPR and First Aid certificate
- certification_for_lactation_education_counselor.pdf
- DOJ and DSS background check verifiable through Trustline by phone
Testimonials
"I owe a large part of my sanity over those first few months to Michele!" ~Mindy, April 2017
Michele came to the rescue when our son was just about six weeks old. My husband had gone back to work, and I was sorting out (the sleepless) life as a new mom. Michele is high energy, hard working, creative, and incredibly thoughtful about helping you adjust to your new life. She also has a great sense of humor and is very down to earth. She did it all for us - in addition to loving our little man and coming up with creative ways to soothe him (she's got some amazing tricks up her sleeve!), she cooked meals (made Coq au Vin from Ina Garten’s recipe her very first visit - something she'd never made before!), helped pack our entire apartment when we had to move unexpectedly, helped me research how to deal with clogged ducts, did laundry (even when we didn't ask!), and generally tidied up around the house, among other things. She provided both daytime and evening help, and was willing to do night doula duties for us as well.
The minute she walks in the door, she asks you for the list of what she could accomplish for you that day. I gave her a list longer than I'd ever expect to be done, and yet somehow she always managed to get it all done - even while having a great time bonding with our son. I have no idea how she did it! And it was so helpful for me to be able to escape for a few hours to regain sanity, run errands, or even nap.
She also has a “Spidey-Sense” for what it must be like to be away from your newborn. Without asking or prompting, she'd send adorable pics of the little one and what they were up to, or texts recapping exactly how much he ate or when he went down. She was so sweet to check in even when not caring for him - always wanting to know how he was doing, or to see the latest pic. She cares for your child and your family.
I owe a large part of my sanity over those first few months to Michele! When my husband came home after the first time Michele helped out, he immediately noticed my renewed spirit and said I was 'the most relaxed' he'd seen me in weeks. You can't go wrong with Michele! Your newborn and your family will feel it, too!
The minute she walks in the door, she asks you for the list of what she could accomplish for you that day. I gave her a list longer than I'd ever expect to be done, and yet somehow she always managed to get it all done - even while having a great time bonding with our son. I have no idea how she did it! And it was so helpful for me to be able to escape for a few hours to regain sanity, run errands, or even nap.
She also has a “Spidey-Sense” for what it must be like to be away from your newborn. Without asking or prompting, she'd send adorable pics of the little one and what they were up to, or texts recapping exactly how much he ate or when he went down. She was so sweet to check in even when not caring for him - always wanting to know how he was doing, or to see the latest pic. She cares for your child and your family.
I owe a large part of my sanity over those first few months to Michele! When my husband came home after the first time Michele helped out, he immediately noticed my renewed spirit and said I was 'the most relaxed' he'd seen me in weeks. You can't go wrong with Michele! Your newborn and your family will feel it, too!
"Hire Michele!" ~Andrea, February 2018
If money grew on trees I would still be living this dream. I hired a night doula for #2 because getting sleep is a game changer. I had no idea if my baby was going to be a sleeper or not (my first was not), so I hired Michele because she sounded open to doing other things to help out around the house during the night shift. She proved to be an incredibly hard worker, and a huge help. It’s probably best to just list all of the amazing above-and-beyond things Michele did:
- In addition to taking great care of my newborn...
- I woke up to hot coffee and breakfast made.
- She helped to plan and make meals for our family, which is a challenge with a breastfeeding pescatarian, a meat and potatoes loving husband, and a toddler. She brought terrific recipes, prepped and cooked so all I had to do was heat it up = amazing.
- Brought baby in to breastfeed with a hot cup of Mothers milk tea.
- Stocked the fridge with healthy snacks for breastfeeding (lactation balls which I am now addicted to, etc)
- Prepped frozen smoothie packets to pop in the blender.
- Packed my toddler’s lunchbox
- Folded laundry
- Organized my pantry
- Unloaded groceries
- Tidied up living room and baby’s room
- Played games with my toddler when he woke up at 5/6am
- **Cooked us Christmas Dinner y’all** I’m talking the works. We didn’t even ask, she just offered.
- Special surprise treats, like brought over her Belgian waffle maker, homemade pickles, blueberry pancakes, etc.
- Helped me through my first bout of Mastitis - was there with cabbage leaves, suggestions, etc.
" a great thought partner in helping us get into a better sleep routine" ~Jamie, April 2018
I hired Michele when my nearly 4 month old started having serious sleeping issues - aggressively resisting attempts to sleep and waking every hour (on the hour!) at night to either cry or feed. Michele worked with us 2-3 nights / week for a month and provided much needed support to keep my sanity! She not only provided relief from sleepless nights, but was also a great thought partner in helping us get into a better sleep routine.
Specifically she:
Specifically she:
- Gave suggestions on different techniques to get and keep our baby asleep. For example, she found that we probably ditched the swaddle too early, so tried partial swaddling again. Made a difference in helping her nap and sleep longer.
- Helped us test different feeding and sleeping strategies. While Michele worked with us, our baby suddenly stopped taking my breast milk from a bottle (despite taking formula from a bottle and breastfeeding no problem!) She helped us test whether it was a timing issue / bottle issue / etc. until we found a solution.
- Kept detailed reports of feeding / sleeping / diaper routine at night
- Cleaned (and sanitized) bottles and pump parts
- Provided much needed household support: cleaned dishes, folded laundry, kept our apartment tidy (much of it without us asking!)
"took loving care of our little guy... the whole family as well" ~Sandhya, November 2018
If anyone is looking for a postpartum doula, I highly recommend Michele! She was with us for three months. She not only took loving care of our little guy, but the whole family as well so that we could all rest as much as possible and focus on enjoying our new family of four. She kept a continuous supply of yummy lactation balls and nutritious snacks, and tried everything under the sun with me to help increase my milk supply. She's a great cook, and once the baby was sleeping longer stretches she prepped meals for us- both recipes I found and things she suggested herself. She took a lot of initiative and was always finding things to do that made those first few months just a little bit easier.
"Michele brings an extra set of hands and proves two heads are better than one" -Erika, 2019
Michele has stepped in to help our family on a number of occasions over a few years now, including short-notice and traveling. More than a mother's helper, more than a babysitter, Michele brings an extra set of hands and proves two heads are better than one. She has shown herself to be highly responsible, responsive, adaptive, and anticipatory of the needs of my household and my two children, who were as little as 4 months old to as big as 4 years old. If the kids were napping, she was helping out, either knocking things off my list or seeing what could be done and doing it. I would highly recommend inviting Michele into your world during the postpartum period, and beyond. We miss you, Michele!
How I became a Postpartum Doula
As a kid who liked kids...
At twelve, when my friends were mowing lawns and opening lemonade stands, I started a babysitting business, dropping index cards with my resumé and rates into my neighbors’ mailboxes. Even during the years when I taught nursery school, I continued babysitting, working with children of all ages. I've always had an easy, natural connection with babies, and I understand the importance of providing an infant with a consistent sense of physical security while observing and responding to what the baby is communicating.
At twelve, when my friends were mowing lawns and opening lemonade stands, I started a babysitting business, dropping index cards with my resumé and rates into my neighbors’ mailboxes. Even during the years when I taught nursery school, I continued babysitting, working with children of all ages. I've always had an easy, natural connection with babies, and I understand the importance of providing an infant with a consistent sense of physical security while observing and responding to what the baby is communicating.
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Connecting with family...
My brother’s daughter was born prematurely in 2012, and my sister-in-law was still recovering from her Cesarean birth when the baby was scheduled to come home from the hospital. I was able to help out around the house, cook nutritious meals and support them as they adjusted to their new lives as a family of three. Spending those first days at home with my tiny niece was an experience of falling irrevocably in love, and I fully comprehend the need for those with newborns to make a warm and cozy nest where they can eat, rest, recuperate and spend time getting to know one another at long last. |
Tying it all together...
I realized I could make the care-taking experience I shared with my family into a career as a Postpartum Doula, and it suddenly clicked that I had found my niche. Being a Postpartum Doula provides the loving, familial type of support that new parents and babies need during that ‘fourth trimester’ after birth. It means being there to assist in whatever ways make life easier: from helping parents bond with the infant, to supporting breastfeeding and pumping, to assistance with using bottles and formula, to facilitating uninterrupted showers, meals or sleep. It also means checking in regularly and being an empathetic listener to whatever is on the new parents’ minds, and being someone who will provide resources, if needed.
I realized I could make the care-taking experience I shared with my family into a career as a Postpartum Doula, and it suddenly clicked that I had found my niche. Being a Postpartum Doula provides the loving, familial type of support that new parents and babies need during that ‘fourth trimester’ after birth. It means being there to assist in whatever ways make life easier: from helping parents bond with the infant, to supporting breastfeeding and pumping, to assistance with using bottles and formula, to facilitating uninterrupted showers, meals or sleep. It also means checking in regularly and being an empathetic listener to whatever is on the new parents’ minds, and being someone who will provide resources, if needed.
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Reaching out to all families...
As a longtime San Francisco resident with many LGBTQ friends and acquaintances, I recognize that they, too, need Postpartum Doula support as their new families are created through adoption, surrogacy and giving birth. I am enthusiastic about working with a diverse population of parents and eager to offer Doula services to those in the LGBTQ community. I've been a member of the Volunteer Doula Program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital for more than five years. It's been an invaluable educational opportunity, working with a wide cross-section of new parents and infants in their earliest days together. One of the nicest things that happened at the hospital was when a mother from Indonesia passed me her baby to hold, telling her, "Go to Auntie Michele!"
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The greatest satisfaction of being a Postpartum Doula comes when I am able to help slow the pace and ease the first transitional months for a new family, allowing them the time to rest and settle into comfortable routines, so they can begin living their best life together.
Please contact me here for references and any additional questions you may have.
