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Vail Valley woman hopes to serve new moms

Scott N. Miller
Vail, CO, Colorado
Vail Valley Doula Marcy Tracy holds Jasmine Farrer, left, and her grandson Wyatt Hooker on Monday as they play with a scarf that Tracy made and sit next to blankets that she also made in her Eagle-Vail home.
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EAGLE-VAIL ” Marcy Tracy loves babies. That’s why she’s making Vail Valley babies her business.

Tracy is a “doula,” which means she helps moms and babies in just about any way possible, from advice about labor and delivery to lending a helping a new mom get a little needed sleep.

No license is required to be a doula ” the ancient Greek word for “woman who serves” ” but Tracy has been certified through the Doula Organization of North America and has taken classes in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, breast feeding assistance and other areas of baby care.



“There’s a lot of reading involved,” Tracy said. But Tracy brings a lot of experience to her work, too. Besides raising her own kids, Tracy has helped her daughters with their own babies, moving from the east coast to the west, then to the Rockies in the process.

That experience as a mother and helper can be valuable to a new mom, especially those who haven’t had children before.

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Before a baby’s born, a doula can explain labor and various medical procedures, and provide a clear head in the delivery room if there are complications.

Things don’t get any easier after a baby’s born.

“Post-partum, people think that everything will be wonderful,” Tracy said. “But it can be tough.”

As any new mom can attest, sleep becomes a rare commodity when babies need feeding and changing every few hours. In other places, family members are nearby to lend a hand to new moms.

“We don’t have that here,” Tracy said. When new parents don’t have relatives handy, a doula is a good person to have around. And for a new mom with a baby who isn’t starting to breast feed, it’s nice to have someone with some ideas close by.

“Marcy feels like family now,” new mom Linda Lebid said. Lebid and her husband have family in New York and Texas, so they’re alone that way in the Vail Valley.

“She really put us at ease,” Lebid said. “She brought a sense of calm. It’s nice to know she’s just a phone call away.”

Tracy has to charge for her services, of course, but uses a sliding scale so she can work with as many new moms as possible.

“I need to make a living, but that’s not my primary goal,” Tracy said. “This is really a calling, so I need to keep myself going and stay involved with moms and babies.”

Beyond her doula services, Tracy is also an accomplished seamstress and has a separate home-based business, Sew Fantastic.

She has some commercial clients for alterations. She’ll also custom-make slipcovers for furniture. Her small Eagle-Vail apartment is full of blankets, slip covers and other handmade items. She’ll usually give a blanket or similar item as a gift to her new moms.

Tracy’s sewing work predates her time as a doula, and in those years, she specialized in designing nurseries and making baby clothes and window covers.

Tracy believes her artistic side blends well with her doula work.

“There’s always a creative solution for just about anything,” Tracy said. “I’m available to help find those solutions.”

Business Editor Scott N. Miller can be reached at 748-2930, or smiller@vaildaily.com.

http://www.vailvalleydoula.com

http://www.sewfantastic.net


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