Thank you gift for Doula -- ideas?

[Momma Aimee]

I have a great doula, who has already made the pregancy better, i can't wait for delievery.

I want to get her a thankyou gift.

Any cool idea out there?

She and I are both Christian, and thus a lot of the birth godess stuff doesn't feel right for us. I am having toruble finding much that I feel fits.

Thoughts?

What did you do -- are you doing??

Aimee

[Hayes]

Honestly, my favorite gifts are gift certificates. I can get just what I want. I am not a collecter, so I don't care for figurines. I am a Christian as well, so the birth goddess thing is an issue too.

[Momma Aimee]

a gift care to where -- just something local? or something birth / book related?

Thanks

Aimee

[ldsapmom]

Gift certificates are nice, but you kow what I have appreciated even more? Money. In a few cases clients, when paying the remainder of their balance, have added onto the amount they owed. It is always a surprise, and it is always appreciated. One client, when I called to thank her for this unexpected bonus said, "Well, we know you love to read, and we thought about a gc to a bookstore; we thought about a spa; and then dh just said, 'Christmas is coming and she has kids -- let's just give her money.'" It is always touching when a client tacks on an extra $50-100 I wasn't expecting.

But there are still good ideas out there -- a gc for a bookstore would be appreciated by almost any doula as there are always books we would like but often we can't justify just buying them for no good reason.

Something she is presonally interested in might be nice -- a membership to LLL which she can add to her list of groups she supports when giving clients information, or a subscription to Midwifery Today to give her additional resources in this area.

A gc to an eating establishment is nice. Another thing I have enjoyed was a gc to a hospital cafeteria, lol -- it was nice to know I could grab a bite to eat and not worry about writing a check (I so rarely have cash), and they don't take cards at this cafeteria.

One thing that I always love receiving is a card or note where mom shares with me her feelings about having me at her birth -- I save them all and reread them often.

[zoe398]

I have an Amazon "wish list" and if someone asks, I'll let them know about it. It's mainly there for DH so he can get birthday presents and such. I can't afford to buy all the books and videos I'd like, so this is very much appreciated!

[katenyc]

My doulas (one DONA certified, one not) are friends of ours. Even though we offered to pay (the certified one), she refused. So we got gift certificates for each of them--one to Origins, one to Williams Sonoma--based on what they like "in real life" :LOL

Not that this is a gift, per se, but we talked about our doula-assisted birth ALL THE TIME in a community where it is not at all common, and our doula has had (so far) at least 2 referrals for paying clients directly from us.

[Momma Aimee]

I will look and see if mine has an amaxon.com wish list -- great idea.

I have a few things i have gathered (a litle keychian tha tis a cloth diaper cuz she cloth diapers her kids and so on) but am lacking, still, the heart of the basket.

Aimee

[Hayes]

I got a GC for the local mall, which was perfect for me. I could use it for dinner with my husband, or clothes for me, or my children, or a few good books.

[MamaTaraX]

Gift certificates to a restuarant or bookstore are great. The more you know about her, the more you can tailor it to things she likes. I appreciate the thank-you nhotes as much asanything. One family gave my family a nice gift certificate to a restuarant. We used it as a dinner to celebrate fidning out we are expecting our 3rd :) Doulas don't do what we do forthe gifts, so anything we get is appreciated. If it comes from your heart, it is a worthwhile gift.

Namaste, Tara
mama to Doodle (6), Butterfly (2), and Rythm (due at home 1/06)

[KalamazooMom]

I gave my midwife gift certificates to the movie theater. I figured most people like a night out at the movies.

[ZeldasMom]

There was recently a thread in the homebirth forum about midwife gifts that might be helpful:
http://69.20.14.30/discussions/showthread.php?t=334626&page=1&pp=20