Hi! I’m Jacqueline, also known by my clients as “Jace.” I’m a biological mom to six, bonus mom to four, and grandmother to two, all ranging in age from toddlers, tweens, teens, and twenties!

My career began in 2001 as a private-sector investigator, and throughout the course of the 20 years that followed, I specialized in complex files related to unexpected and emergency scenarios. In doing this work, I developed a strong understanding of different aspects of the medical field, managing crises, and empathetically working with families through difficult times. While I loved the diverse and complex nature of the work, I recognized that what I enjoyed most was my time spent with people and frequently wished it entailed a more directly supportive role.  This desire prepared my heart for what would later become my work through Douluxe Doulas. 

I moved to California in 2018 from the east coast to pursue my investigative specialization in Fire, Arson, and Explosion Investigations. Less than one month after moving with my family to the opposite coast and away from our familial support system, I learned I was expecting baby number five, that it was a complicated pregnancy requiring bedrest, and I would ultimately need to deliver my baby via an emergency surgical birth. With a preemie baby in the NICU and fresh c-section incisions, I had to check myself out of the hospital early to split my time between caring for children at home as well as a baby still in the hospital failing to thrive. There was no allowance for my recovery, healing, rest, self-care, processing the events that had just taken place, or even medications to mitigate the pain because I needed to coordinate many moving pieces within the emergency to be available for everyone who still needed me. It was through this physical and mental stretch that the gaps in resources available were glaringly evident. This realization is what laid the foundation for the formation of Douluxe Doulas, as I empathized for families facing similar scenarios and wondered how I might one day offer support.

In 2021, I had the privilege of seeing a doula’s work in action (who also happened to be my amazing daughter!) when I gave birth to my sixth baby via another c-section. The drastic difference that having this support available made sparked conversations and insights that helped roadmap Douluxe Doulas’ care model: supporting individuals, families, and households through challenging circumstances, or who face obstacles when a primary caregiver requires downtime. After shifting careers to begin my journey as a caregiver, I acquired the additional skillset to specialize in postoperative, whole-family care so that this type of resource could be available to those who needed the added layer of care. 

My current clientele consists of postpartum parents, postoperative parents, newborns, preemies, older siblings, and those recovering from surgery, Covid, or illness. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have found caring and knowledgeable caretakers who are equally passionate about providing support in the areas of surgical aftercare, newborn and postpartum care, well and sick family care, household management, and healthy meal prep to promote optimal wellness and recovery. 

I wholeheartedly love what I do, and I’m thankful for the difficult journey that taught me ways to better care for you!

I started out as a mother’s helper to a mom on bed rest when I was 13 years old and knew from then on that I wanted to take care of families and children. In fact, when I was 5 years old, I would volunteer to “babysit” all the babies in the playroom during any community events I attended.

I worked full time as a nanny until I got married and had my first baby and little Sean did not make things easy for me as a first time mom! After that I realized how important help is for postpartum mamas, babies, and really the whole family. I struggled so much with my own recovery and taking care of special needs newborn that I wanted to find a way to provide families all the support and care you need in those early weeks and months.

I got certified as a Birth & Postpartum Doula, became a Lactation Educator and Sleep Trainer.

So for the past 17 years and counting I have been providing nighttime postpartum support to families of singletons, twins, triplets, adoption and surrogacy. I’ve also focused on caring for mamas during post-operative recovery and have taken care of sick kiddos at home or rooming in at the hospital with them.

As a single mom of three, I know how easy it is to only focus on our kids and neglect ourselves and want to provide a nurturing space to care for you when you need it most. My talent is to figure out what you need and tailor my services to your unique style.

I am always continuing my training and education and am currently working on getting my BS in Psychology so when I complete my degree and have my MFCC, I will be able to provide counseling services to my families as well.

Life has thrown many obstacles my way but I truly believe that’s what makes me the person I am and why I’m so very good at my job!