Meet Abby
certified Postpartum Doula
Welcoming 2 babies in 2 years, Abby’s love for babies and motherhood has blossomed into a desire to care for others to provide the postpartum care she has enjoyed with her 2 littles. Fresh from the trenches of babies 17 months apart, her concerns about postpartum recovery were removed with the large amount of local support she was provided by her extended family, and Abby now wants to care for others in her community who might not have this built in support.
As a recent new mom herself, Abby is resourceful, organized, calm and patient—all qualities that are prized in doula life. Serving Whidbey Island, WA, Abby offers overnight care to families with newborns as they recover from birth, establish breastfeeding, and navigate newborn broken sleep.
More About Abby
In her 10 years since leaving school, Abby has explored many avenues of service after graduating with a dual degree; being a passionate barista, running a cafe, working in a bakery, and cleaning and maintenance with a local construction company. But her favorite role is stay a home mom to her two little ones (now 3 and 1.5) that also happen to be Kimberly’s beloved grandbabies.
Being around a postpartum doula for the past 8 years has exposed Abby to what doulas do, how they care for others, and what kind of impact a doula can make on a community. After welcoming her first baby Abby got to experience doula support, as well as extended family and partner support that buffered her postpartum experience. She also prepped extensively for postpartum recovery and meal prep, anticipating the difficulties and wanting good nutrition, adequate rest, and a balanced mental health routine to ease the transition to parenthood.
And it worked! Getting sleep with splitting the night between her and her husband, and having grandparent shifts in the early morning hours (sunrise shifts) as well as extended family meal and baby breaks support, Abby enjoyed a rested postpartum, a robust breastfeeding relationship, and bounced back so quickly that she decided to welcome the next baby only 17 months later.
In the process of adjusting to the huge shift of newborn life, Abby discovered many gentle ways of soothing babies, helping not only her own but also friends who have welcomed babies in the past few years. Friends of Abby’s know that she will research and dig for the answers needed, and even in a more remote area like Whidbey Island, will find everything that is available to new families. In a Navy community, many are away from extended family benefits so Abby is looking forward to caring for those who might not already be surrounded by a supportive village.
You will find Abby calm and gentle, a quiet presence at night when you are exhausted after birth and in the early months. She follows the gentle rhythm that babies teach us, and integrates the approach that fits best with parent goals at every stage (as she knows these change quickly). She is a quick study and learns each baby’s nuances, anticipating their needs and creating a seamless routine that makes for a peaceful night.
One of the areas that Abby got a crash course in was learning to breastfeed both of her babies while adapting to tongue ties (both her babies encountered this at different levels) and pumping and storing milk. She now has an array of skills that can support lactation, including problem solving with latching, milk supply, breast clogs, oversupply, inflammatory mastitis, and milk collection and storage. While not a lactation consultant, Abby is a quick study and resourceful at finding help nearby (or off island if needed) to solve breastfeeding challenges.
One of the side benefits to the postpartum overnight shifts with Abby is her cooking skills. She’s very comfortable cooking and baking and loves to put together a menu/cookbook of nourishing meals for families specifically for postpartum. She can bring or follow recipes, is an adventurous cook, and able to adjust to allergies or food intolerances. She makes a mean postpartum muffin, fantastic breakfast bagel sandwiches, and delicious egg skillets. Having Abby make you breakfast after a rested overnight is a huge bonus to having an overnight doula.
Now that both her babies are not only sleeping through the night, but are in a smooth toddler routine (they are 3 and 1.5) it creates some space for her own work and Abby is excited to provide overnight care to local families on Whidbey Island. It can be hard to find local overnight care in Island County, so Abby can travel up to an hour to reach families who are recovering from birth and in need of some respite and recovery.
Abby currently lives in Oak Harbor, WA with her husband Ariah (the one that inspired Kimberly’s doula work decades ago) and their two beloved toddlers. She is surrounded in love from her local parents, grandparents, aunt/uncles and cousins, as well as friends who call Whidbey Island home. Abby and Ariah are also artists, and Abby does commissions of pets, portraits and creates all kinds of art mediums including charcoal and watercolors. You can find her on IG at @abbybeplerart.