I booked her to come out tomorrow. I am completely sleep deprived and have barely gotten any sleep for the last week. She tells me 24 hours in advance that I need to pay and have the check cleared before she'll show up. Which she never mentioned at all in the months before. Or when I booked her. So 24 hours before she's supposed to come over she lets me know that she would have to get the check and wait for it to cash before she would come out. ​ so you're supposed to trust her with your baby's life. But she can't trust you that your check will cash. Nor will she bother to tell you that she needs you to pay her in advance and have it clear the account before she'll even come over. She lets me know this 24 hours before she's supposed to come when I just had a baby Thursday. Absolutely unprofessional and completely unreliable. I booked her days ago, so I didn't book anyone else because she told me she would be here. I have counted down every second only to have her leaving me hanging because she needs to have all money clear her account by check or zelle before she'll even come out. But didn't tell me that months ago or even when I booked. Absolutely unbelievable. So you could trust her with your child's life. But she can't trust you that your check will clear. And yet won't tell you in advance. She'll tell you this when it's too late to pay her and have the ​ or sell cleared in time. Imagine doing that to someone that just had a baby and sleep deprived read more

Audrey is an amazing postpartum care taker. She loves new mothers and is so gifted with working with newborns. She is a fountain of knowledge and highly skilled in delicate situations. She has tons of experience working with preemies, multiples and high needs babies. She is a great listener and a joy to be around. Audrey is the kind of doula who knows what you need probably before you know to ask! She helped me with my baby and gave me great advice for helping with good sleep habits. I feel confident referring her to other new mommies! Audrey is very in demand and is often busy so if you think you may need her care, call her ahead of time. I hope you love her too! read more

Thank you Stacey for such an amazing weekend of learning! I had no idea what to expect during the 3 day training and was so nervous I wouldn't learn everything in such a short amount of time but my mind was blown at the end of it. I feel so prepare to get out there and start being a trained birth doula. Because of Stacey I have no doubt in my mind. Thank you! read more

Beautiful Beginnings - Lactation Services Near Me - La Mesa, California

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We could not have survived the first few months with a newborn without Ah-Ling Thayer. Our son was born 5.5 weeks premature and Ah-Ling was our saving grace. We were not prepared and Ah-Ling kindly helped us gradually become more and more comfortable with the transition into parenthood as well as giving us tips on child proofing our house. She helped us in organizing the nursery, recommended various supplies we needed, books to read, and taught us the tools on how to comfort our baby. We were fortunate to have Ah-Ling come at night so mom and dad could catch up on sleep. We have never slept better knowing that our son was in such great hands with Ah-Ling! Our son was having difficulty nursing and referred me to an Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor. Since this is my first baby, I did not know what my son's mouth should feel like. Ah-Ling watched me nurse and recognized that my baby might be tongue-tied. Her diagnosis was correct. Our baby had his tongue clipped and now I'm able to successfully nurse him. I am so grateful for Ah-Ling as she helped me through an extremely difficult and emotional time. It was very stressful for me and Ah-Ling kindly got me through it. She is a plethora of knowledge when it comes to babies and a tremendous resource! I highly recommend Ah-Ling and will definitely use her when we have a second child. read more

Fantastic collective of doulas who really care and ready to support San Diego parents. Beautiful website, resources and classes for the growing family :) thank you for having me apart of such an amazing group! Megan Ameral read more

As a first time mom I am blessed with plenty of support and advice from others, but I found myself struggling more than I expected with our 10 week old son who was having major sleep issues. Audrey was able to come in to our home and within minutes understood some key factors we were overlooking. She was tuned in to us and our baby and offered solid advice and techniques, but never pushed or pressured us into anything that didn't feel right for our family. She took the time to get to know our baby and tailored our plan to his needs. We are glad to have found her and happy to have her around as our son continues to grow. read more

NIGHTMARE. This review is only about Ah-Ling Thayer, she is the only doula I have used from Beautiful Beginnings. I feel I have to write this as an FYI/lesson learned for all doulas and parents out there. I have tiny twin girls (born at 34 weeks) they are 6 weeks old as I write this and now weigh about 6 & 7 lbs. Ah-Ling worked as our night nanny for two nights this week. The first night was fine, the girls were very congested so I told Ah-along she could use saline drops and a nasal aspirator bulb on their little noses before their feeds if it sounded like they were struggling to breathe (which is what the pediatrician told us to do). We have a Little Remedies "Essentials starter kit" which comes with a number of medicines, including a tube of saline drops and a tube of nasal decongestant drops (phenylephrine hydrochloride). Last night Ah-Ling came again and we didn't discuss their nasal decongestion (it was better), but I did tell her the girls had been gassy and that there were some gas drops for their tummys in the little remedies bag I left near the changing station. This morning I came into the room and Ah-Ling said the girls did great but that my smaller twin was still congested so she used the saline again on her nose before her midnight and 4am feeds. I said great. She left. When I went to change my bigger twin's diaper a few minutes after Ah-Ling left I noticed the phenylephrine tube open and lying on the changing table. I picked it up and it had obviously been used, since it had been taken out of the little remedies bag and the plastic seal/wrapping had been removed. These drops are of course NOT saline, and they say very clearly in the front FOR AGES 2-6. Again my twin is a tiny 6 WEEKS OLD. I panicked and called Ah-Ling (she didn't answer) and left a voicemail asking whether she used those drops and how many she used on my baby. She text me back about 20 min later saying "Only used a few drops!" By that time I had already called the pediatrician who connected me to poison control, who told me the decongestant is a stimulant and should not be used on infants and could literally have given my tiny perfect baby A HEART ATTACK. Long horrifying story short, it looks like my baby girl will be fine (although I had to monitor her for the next 6 hours - fun) but what a totally scary situation. Ah-Ling's excuse when I called her again to ask her some more questions about how the baby reacted when she put the drops in her nose was that "she used what was in the little remedies bag" and she said she was sorry. She seems like a very nice person and all, and I know people make honest mistakes, but this is ridiculous. No one should pay someone $35 an hour to be careless or reckless with your baby's health. You pay $35/hr for piece of mind that an experienced doula will be professional and take care of your children (not poison them!). I am posting a picture of the saline next to the decongestant so that you can all see the difference in size of the bottles and the fact that one (the saline) clearly says "FOR ALL AGES" and the other (decongestant) clearly says "AGES 2-6". Had Ah-Ling simply PAID ATTENTION to the brand new tube she was opening (or simply thought about it and thought, "that's weird that I have to open a new tube, the saline I used last time was already opened, maybe I should double check what medicine this is.") she would have noticed it's not what she thought it was. It's right there on the face of the BOTTLE! Clearly I'm very upset. I paid that woman $280 for a night that led to a nightmare morning. I'm an attorney and have half a mind to sue her for this ridiculousness (or at least for my money back) but I just want to forget this ever happened. read more

Beautiful Beginnings - Here are the two bottles of drops. Sure they look similar BUT COME ON. It's common sense to READ BEFORE YOU ADMINISTER MEDICINE TO BABIES! - Lactation Services Near Me - La Mesa, California

My experience with Ashleigh Jackson was similar to Angela's (a previous review). I hired Ashleigh before the birth of my first son in September of 2010. She made a lot of promises that she never followed through on: we met just one time before my going into labor, and at the time she said that she would come to my house during early labor and even accompany me to the hospital. This didn't happen, but I'm not even holding that against her. Like Angela, Ashleigh made me feel guilty that I had called her as soon as I went into labor, which was my understanding according to our contract. She said I wasn't that far along. She arrived at the hospital from 6 am that morning and stayed all day, but she took frequent breaks-- she left for food, for phone calls, and even took a couple of naps in the waiting room, NOT staying in the room with me as she was supposed to. I remember being massaged a couple of times, but as soon as she was gone, the labor pains were quite unbearable. I asked for an epidural during one of her "breaks" because I couldn't take the pain without her massaging me through them. At the end of the night, I ended up with a C-section although it was not planned that way. My baby had pooped and we needed to get him out. I do not feel guilty about that; I just feel that Ashleigh was not there for me and my family as promised. After the baby was delivered, she took a few pictures and later emailed them to us-- but they were VERY SMALL resolution pictures. She promised me larger photos if I wanted them, and I said yes, I would like larger photos, please. She never sent them. She also did not come back after the birth to take more photos of me and my newborn as she had originally promised before the birth. A year and a half later, I contacted her again, asking for the photos. She responded that she would get them to me and she never did. I'm glad I read Angela's review because that tells me there is no point in trying to contact the head of the website to discuss my negative experience with Ashleigh. I will just tell every mom I know to stay away from them and save your 600 dollars. I am currently pregnant with my second baby, and will be giving birth in six weeks. I'm getting a C-section with this second baby because the doctor said it would be dangerous not to after having one with the first baby. There is no way that I would recommend Ashleigh Jackson. I wish I had asked around for recommendations of a good doula with my first baby because I think my experience would have been quite different. I rarely write such negative reviews of any business on yelp, particularly a person, but I feel that this review must be written. There are a lot of soon-to-be-mothers out there who will have high hopes for their birthing experience with a doula, and I do not want them to be disappointed as I was. If you're new to the doula experience, please ask around-- ask friends, family, check reviews, etc. before hiring someone from some website. I hope with all of my heart that your birthing experience will be a beautiful one. read more

We love BBBS. The birth and post-partum doulas are wonderful and there are so many to choose from to suit your personality and needs. Diana Kay was our birth doula and was simple amazing. She has great experience and was able to see us through 23 hours of labor. We also hired Leilani Wilde as our lactation consultant post-partum. She was very encouraging and knowledgable. We highly recommend both of them. read more

My family and I were lucky enough to work with Audrey! She came to us when our second child was born and simply put, he was a terrible sleeper! After immediately walking into our home, I felt as if she had him "figured out." She gave our family practical advise on how to work with our son and his sleeping habits. Well it worked, and our son was sleeping though the night by 10 weeks and he was exclusively breast fed. I was pretty impressed! Not only does Audrey understand babies but she was wonderful with our 2 year old as well. She is a straight shooter and very practical. Often times my husband and I find ourselves saying "what would Audrey do?" I completely trusted Audrey with our children, she is extremely professional and knowledgeable. Audrey also came to us with our 3rd child. She stayed with us a few nights and helped get my daughter on a routine. She would bring her to me for feedings at night and take care of the rest. I felt like a princes for those few nights and wish I could have had her more! I still call on Audrey for hard situations for my children and she always has a no nonsense approach that works! Audrey is the best and consider yourself lucky if you have the opportunity to work with her! read more

As first time parents we didn't know what the heck we were doing so hiring a postpartum doula gave us the peace of mind and help we so desperately needed. We met a lot of great doulas through this organization but ultimately decided that having overnight help was the most beneficial for our family. During those early months of total sleep deprivation, having someone we completely trusted to care for our precious daughter was priceless. We had Ah-Ling Thayer come for a couple nights a week and it made all the difference. She was always on time and would just take over so my husband and I could get as much sleep as possible. She truly cared about the well-being of our baby and of our family as a whole. She offered helpful suggestions and advice on everything from feeding issues and acid reflux to sleep habits . And when our daughter was finally ready, Ah-Ling helped us get her to sleep through the night. Life changing!! Always calm and kind, Ah-Ling was a comforting presence that we welcomed into our home with open arms. She always made herself available to us whether it was coming on short notice, or promptly returning our calls and emails (we had a lot of questions). She would also initiate ways to make my life easier by doing the baby's laundry and washing bottles. I would absolutely recommend her to any family looking for postpartum help. We worked with Rosemary Mason a few times and she is also wonderful. She has a relaxed, easy going personality that is a great balance for the neurosis of new parents. Her experience speaks for itself. She's terrific. Ann de la Torre is another doula I would recommend. We only ended up using her one time because I had my baby early while she was out of town so the scheduling didn't work out. Once the baby was born, we also realized that the overnight doula was what we really needed. However, if anyone is looking for daytime help, Ann is extremely professional and very knowledgable. read more

As third time parents, we thought we knew what we were getting in to with a new baby in the family. Boy, were we wrong. Ah-Ling and Linda were our salvation with the new baby and a total game changer for us in the fourth trimester. Ah-Ling was there for us when we came home from the hospital and immediately noticed that our new son was tongue tied. She helped walk me through those first weeks in getting him fixed and keeping my milk production up. Both she and Linda were great at keeping him swaddled and happy through the night and sleeping regularly. They were very nurturing and from the first meeting I knew I could trust them with my new little baby. Ah-Ling and Linda were our saviors through those first three months as the sleep deprivation can be so difficult. They helped us not only keep our energy up during the day times with our two older children, but coaching us through things as "seasoned" parents we took for granted that we already knew. I would highly recommend them to anyone having a child whether they thought they needed help or not. Having them, even a few nights a week, was a total game changer and made having a new baby so much easier. We loved every minute of the nights they were with us and will always think fondly of their time with us! read more

Our "sleep angel" that is what we call our Doula Audrey - we met her through a friend that used Audrey right after she brought her twins home and she helped us sleep train our 7 month old (since we were too 'soft' to do it ourselves=) She not only had him sleeping 10-12 hours through the night by her 3rd night with us, but she helped me establish a day time AND night time routine which helped him eat better and NAP better during the day. Audrey TRULY changed our lives - she allowed us to start really enjoying being new parents because we were finally starting to get some sleep. But fast forward to now, my son is 18 months old and Audrey is still a part of our lives - she takes my calls and answers my texts 24/7 - she is a wealth of knowledge and is a caring shoulder to cry on when those times come too. Any family would be blessed and better off for knowing and working with Audrey - so I am sure any organization she is a part of must hold the same work ethic and values as she does. read more

I have referred all the doulas at Beautiful Beginnings. They are a professional doula group to help support you during birth or postpartum. It's always nice to get some additional information about your up-coming birth or now that you have a baby or babies at home. If you want a short consultation once you are home, call them and they will really boost your confidence. read more

Having a Doula help out with your newborn is a very important decision and one that takes a lot of consideration, especially when finding the right Doula you want to trust in your home and with your baby. I have worked with Beautiful Beginnings twice. Based on my extensive research, they have some of the most professional, highly trained Doulas. My experience with them was great. After several interviews with different doulas and companies, I chose to work with Ah-Ling and we hired he to help as a night post-pardum doula. As first-time parents, he need a lot of guidance on newborn care. She gave us great suggestions what we needed prior to delivery, helped us organize the nursery etc. When the baby arrived, she came every night for about a week from 10 pm - 6 am. She helped guide me on nursing positions, burping, feeding schedule, sleeping schedule, and other general newborn questons. When we went to sleep, Ah-ling would sit with the baby to ensure he was ok. She would quietly come wake me up when it was time to nurse. I would nurse, then she would take the baby, burp, change diaper, and put back to sleep. She made me light snacks in the middle of the night, did our dishes, and helped organize and fold the baby's clothes. My husband and I are both high energy/intense people, so we loved having Ah-ling help as she has a very calming touch and gentle soul. I referred her to one of my best friends who also worked with Ah-Ling and Mary Beth. I highly recommend their company and services. read more

I had Nova Conte help take care of me after my baby was born. She is an excellent postpartum doula. In fact, her breastfeeding support was invaluable. My daughter had trouble latching before Nova started helping me. Nova was able to think outside the box and did something called Austrailian hold to help my daughter latch. This did the trick and things went so well after that. She is calm and such a good listener. I could tell that she really wanted me to feel confident and that I was doing a good job. I'm so grateful for her help! read more

Marily Deméré is the best Doula a new mom - and 2nd and 3rd time mom - could ever ask for! Marily brings love, support, guidance and all the tools I would have never known to help my babies transition from being in utero to living in the outside world. Without Marily I would have been a lost soul - and not to mention completely exhausted. If anyone is ever questioning whether or not to use a doula stop questioning and call Marily immediately! read more

I'm taking a Doula training class with Stacey Scarborough and I absolutely love her! She's awesome at what she does and makes me want to become a Doula even more than I did before I started this class. I'm learning more and more and it's so awesome! I cannot wait to be a certified Doula! read more

Audrey is one of the best post-partum doulas you will find in San Diego. We were fortunate enough to call out to "Beautiful Beginnings" for help when we had our twins and Audrey responded to our call. It was amazing when Audrey settled down our crying newborns the first night she showed up to our home. Audrey is definitely a baby whisperer. We have learned what to do and what not to do when it comes to feeding, caring for, and managing twins. Audrey has put us on the fast track to doing things right when it comes to caring for two babies and keeping them on a synchronized schedule. We have learned best practices with nursing, bottle feeding, developmental exercises and sleep scheduling. Audrey has also helped us with what to buy and what not to buy when it comes to the plethora of stuff they sell for babies. Audrey is a competent, experienced, and plain speak doula that helped guide us from the beginning. Our twins have been sleeping thru the night since they were eight weeks old. Working with Audrey has been one of the best experiences we have had and if it wasn't for her, we would have been struggling with our twins. Audrey has been on call 24/7 for us and we highly recommend her as a doula. She has been a loving advocate helping us raising our babies and we have also found a new friend in the process. Ming and Chani, Escondido, CA read more

I am a labor & delivery nurse and hired Ashleigh Jackson as my doula during my own delivery and my experience was poor. I hired her for her massage capabilities, not so much to be my advocate because I didn't need that with my nursing experience. To sum it all up she made me feel guilty like I had called her too early to come to my home in early labor. She was on her cell phone talking to family or googling a lot of the time. She wasn't prepared for a long first time Mom's labor-didn't bring extra clothes, toiletries, food, etc. She wasn't encouraging & actually said you're not that far along after I had already been in labor for 8hrs at that time. She was at my house for 24 hrs total-I had a long early prodromal labor, which is common for first time labors. My own husband was more supportive than her-she would sleep on our couch while he was doing most of the work. She also threatened to go home and come back(2 hours away) just before I started going into active labor for a break. All in all-total waste of $600! I tried connecting with her afterwards to talk about my experience & to try to get a partial refund, but she didn't return my email. I still believe in doulas, but maybe not through this organization. I called the head of the program to vent about my experience & she basically backed up everything Ashleigh did & told me there really wasn't anything I could do about getting a partial refund. I ended up with an epidural after 32.5 hrs of labor at home, then C-Section due to my baby's heart rate wasn't looking good on the monitors, which by the way has no part of my anger towards this doula. I have absolutely no epidural or C-Section remorse, which is probably what Ashleigh thinks that's why I'm mad. I'm not using her as a crutch-my labor is what it is and I still have a beautiful baby boy! read more

Ah-Ling Thayer was my postpartum doula after giving birth to triplets! She was a blessing to me during a time of major transition and challenges. I'm so grateful that I found someone that I could count on, trust with my 3 precious babies and that easily blended into our family. We had excellent communication and I felt that I not only found someone that cared for my triplets through the night, but also answered my parenting questions in an encouraging and gentle manner along the way. Ah-ling will always hold a special place in my heart! read more

I recommend AH-LING THAYER without reservation to all parents of newborns, whether their first or fifth child! We used Ah-Ling for 5 nights/week for the first 6 weeks and then 4 nights/week for the next 6 weeks. She was punctual, cheerful, patient and accommodating. I felt like she was a baby whisperer with our baby because the baby was so comfortable with her and Ah-Ling was able to settle her down so easily and naturally. Just a few of the many ways she helped us: 1. Ah-Ling helped us get so much more sleep than we had with our first two. I co-slept with my first two for easier nursing, but it made transitioning to their own beds a nightmare. With Eva, Ah-Ling kept her through the night and fed her pumped breastmilk from bottles. At first, I woke up to pump to keep from becoming engorged, but after the first month, I was able to get 6 solid hours of sleep a night! 2. Ah-Ling helped me understand and cope with my postpartum anxiety which I had shrugged off with my first two as "mere baby blues" but which admittedly did make me an irritable, tightly-wound mother and wife for months. It was such a relief to put a name to my feelings (I never felt "depressed" as in postpartum depression - just dreaded the nights and felt the need to micromanage everything and everyone in my family.) 3. Ah-Ling also helped when our daughter started to prefer first the bottle (at about 3 weeks) and then later started to shun the bottle and try to wait to breastfeed (at about 10 weeks). Ah-Ling gave us tips on how to help the baby maintain a balance of breast and bottle for maximum flexibility for all of us. 4. Ah-Ling taught us how to get Eva to go down easily into the crib for bedtime and after nighttime feedings with minimum fuss and crying. We would not hesitate to hire Ah-Ling again in the future to help with sleep training when Eva is ready. Ah-Ling also gave me great tips on how to maximize my milk supply -- practical tips I had not seen on baby websites or in baby books. 5. With Ah-Ling's help, my husband did not have to help with the baby at night so he could get a good night's sleep and be ready to get our older kids off to school in the morning (and pick them up, play with them, make dinner and put them to bed!). In sum, forego that vacation, hold off on home renovations or do whatever is necessary to have Ah-Ling help with your baby. The benefit to your own sanity as well as your marital and family harmony cannot be overstated! She goes such a long way toward making you the happy, rested mommy you want to be! read more

My wife and I chose Beautiful Beginnings for the birth of our first child. Stacey Scarborough was our doula and we don't feel like we simply hired a doula, we feel like we made a friend for life and someone who will forever be linked to the most important day of our lives. Stacey met with us a number of times in our last few weeks of pregnancy to review our birth plan and advise us on the process once we started labor. She also introduced us to her back-up doula, which was a feature of Beautiful Beginnings that really impressed me. Stacey is in high demand as a health care educator and as a personal doula and she's trained many of the doulas doing business in San Diego. Knowing that if anything were to happen to Stacey (or if she had two clients giving birth at the same time) there would be someone we already knew and trusted there with us was very comforting. When my wife started labor, Stacey was there with us on the phone, texting with updates, and over at our house once the contractions got longer, stronger, and closer together. She accompanied us to the hospital, guided us when we had questions, and supported us through the entire birth. She not only stayed by our side for most of a full 24 hours, she slept in a chair from midnight to five, after my wife's epidural had taken effect. But Stacey's greatest strength was her birth coaching. I honestly don't know what I would have done if Stacey hadn't been with us in the final hours of labor. She took charge of the situation when it came time to push, she was steady and supportive for my wife and for me, and she was respectful and worked well with the doctors and nurses the entire time. The decision to hire Stacey Scarborough and Beautiful Beginnings was by far the best one we have made as new parents! I hope all our decisions as parents turn out this well. I'm honored and proud to recommend Stacey to anyone seeking a doula in San Diego. read more

Marjorie is INCREDIBLE!!!! I wish I could give her ten stars. From the moment she walked in our house my husband and I knew she was the perfect choice to help with our newborn. She is so loving and caring and you can tell that she loves working with families. We were having a difficult time transitioning to life with a baby and none of the classes we took prepared us for the sleep deprivation or what to do if your baby would not stop crying even after you do all of the swaddling and shushing. Marjorie showed us several techniques to help soothe our baby so she was sleeping and eating better. Everyone in the house is less stressed because of her. She helped me with my breastfeeding techniques and never made me feel silly or stupid for the endless amount of questions that I asked. The best gift she gave me was helping me to feel confident that I was doing the best thing for my baby and that nothing I was doing was "wrong". The doctor said my baby had colic and I would just have to get through these crying fits. Marjorie had her calm within minutes. She comforts our baby and allows both my husband and I to get some sleep. Even my mom was excited to learn everything that Marjorie was teaching us and she has already raised three kids. Marjorie is like a baby whisperer. We are having to move for our jobs soon and I wish we could pack Marjorie up with us. She is by far the best decision we made for our baby and everyone in our house is happier and better prepared because of her. read more

I worked with both Rosemary and Audrey as post partum doulas and thought they were both amazing. I am a first time mom and don't completely know what I'm doing in every single aspect in raising a child. I especially was at a loss in figuring out how to get my 6 month old to sleep. I think that what makes things so difficult is that you can read a lot from varying sources but it's all very contradictory. I needed someone who knew what they were doing whom I could trust. Thank God for the doulas who were sent into my life. Rosemary helped me figure out how to put my son on a schedule, and Audrey taught me how to put my son to sleep. After being sleep-deprived for so long I feel like a whole new person. Every single mother that I encounter who confides that they feel like they need help with their child, I tell them about Beautiful Beginnings. For me, they were a God send. I just wish I knew about them sooner! read more

I used Beautiful Beginnings to find a postpartum doula with experience with premature twins. Ann De la Torre was fantastic - efficient, calm, encouraging, and very knowledgeable. She didn't make me feel judged or pressured in any way - just so helpful and supportive! She was a tremendous help to me not only with the twins but with my mom, who had come to lend a hand but was a bit over zealous. Ann's expertise with babies helped my mom feel that we were doing things properly. She provided advice when asked, but also made suggestions about things that would have never occurred to me (efficiency, baby health/safety, etc.). I only wish I could have afforded to use her even more! I highly recommend her. read more

I am writing to express my gratitude for Stacey and her wonderful Birth Doula Training Workshop I attended in Costa Mesa In July. She was such an inspiring teacher, full of knowledge,energy and passion for what it means to be a doula! She kept things fun and interesting the entire weekend, answered our many questions with patience and grace, and has continued to be available as a resource. I can't imagine a better instructor and I am so grateful her class was recommended to me! Sincerely, Tina S read more

As first time parents, my husband and I tried to sleep train our son ourselves but were unsuccessful. He was a terrible sleeper and we were at our wit's end. A friend referred us to Ah-Ling Thayer and it was a game changer. Ah-Ling stayed overnight with us for three nights to help us with sleep training. She had a very calm, easy going, and lighthearted demeanor, which helped ease my anxiety about the process. I was a wreck and needed all of the reassurance I could get! My son started to sleep through the night after the third night with Ah-Ling and we are all much happier for it. We have our sanity back, thanks to her! read more

My husband and I were blessed with a surprise pregnancy (she was born 04-17-2011). My mom had passed away 5 years prior and therefore we had no one to help prepare us for what was to come. Sure we had other soon to be grandparents, but none of which were capable of helping us or teaching us the ins and outs of parenthood. So... we were pointed in the direction of hiring a doula. Through all my research, I narrowed my choice down to Beautiful Beginnings. The level of expertise combined with the true passion for helping others sold me. What I really loved seeing is that the goal of the doulas were to TEACH us new parents unless the new parents wanted someone to more fully care for their child. As new parents, we were eager to learn. We chose to go with the beautiful and loving Teresa Weinstein. She was amazing! She was so flexible with our schedule, especially have a child who was 9 days late after a 42 hour. My labor came with many complications as well as everything to follow. Teresa was an angel. Not only did she teach us how to bottle feed, clip nails, give baths... she was there as emotional support as I struggled through so much. There were times I went in my room just to cry, feeling like a failure, and Teresa was my biggest cheerleader (next to my husband of course). Teresa's guidance truly set us on the right path to parenthood. We are so thankful for Beautiful Beginnings and especially Teresa, who still to this day stays connected to us. read more

Beautiful Beginnings referred me to Audrey when I called to get help with my 3 month old baby that was rejecting the bottle and I had to return to work. I had tried everything from various bottles to holding her different ways to not being in the house...you name it, we tried it with no success. Audrey came into our home and helped us get our baby on a sleep/eating schedule and was able to get her to take the bottle! She came to work with us a few times and gave us the tools we needed to succeed in our efforts. We continue to reach out to Audrey for her advice and extensive knowledge on all things baby. She is truly amazing at what she does and I would definitely recommend her services to anyone! read more

This woman is a miracle worker and a saver of life and sanity. My husband and I engaged her services in anticipation of the birth of our son Joshua, so she was with us from the day we brought him home from the hospital. I cannot imagine what the transition to parenthood would have been like without her. Because of Audrey, we learned more about parenting, slept more each night, and functioned more effectively as people than we could ever have done without her. She helped us become confident in our ability to take care of our little one and allowed us to avoid being zombies for the first few months of his life. Because of her guidance our little one is happy, healthy, and an excellent sleeper! We will definitely be using her services again when we decide to expand our family - adequate sleep is priceless, and she makes it possible! read more

Marjorie was our night doula one or two nights a week for the first two months at home with our pre-term twin daughters. She came highly recommended by numerous parents of multiples and she was as wondeful as they all said she was. From the first night Marjorie stayed with us she was able to put our entire family at ease. The babies were always soothed by her and we could actually SLEEP!! She is kind, knowledgable, loving, and funny! She was extremely flexible with the nights that we needed her, she was always right on time, and she was always so happy to see the girls. She was a wealth of knowledge and support when one of my girls was struggling with reflux and weight gain, and she always celebrated the little things with us like feeds without spit-ups or a few ounces of weight gain in one week. I would recommend Marjorie to any family looking for a looking for a loving and confident doula who is wonderful with babies and parents alike! read more

Couldn't have managed without the amazing expertise of Karolyn Malmin. As a first time mother of twins who was as exhausted as she was clueless, Karolyn made everything soooooooooooooooooo much easier for me with her wealth of knowledge, delightful demeanor, efficiency with the babies, and eagerness to help wherever she could. She gave me the peace of mind I needed, valuable instructions in infant care and hands on assistance that allowed me to catch up on sleep. I can't imagine what my experience would have been like without Karolyn, and don't want to know. I was so happy with her help that I've only got three words to describe her: EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT!...Highhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhly recommended! read more

I was very happy that I discovered night doulas when I was pregnant with my 2nd child (I honestly had no idea they even existed before). I wanted to explore the option in case taking care of a toddler and a newborn became very challenging. My acupuncturist referred me to Beautiful Beginnings, and after making a few calls, I was connected with Ah-Ling. We lined up her start date for 3 days after we got home from the hospital. I could tell that my husband wasn't 100% sold on the idea of a night doula; however, the first 2 nights at home with our newborn were rough and were ready to welcome Ah-Ling into our home to help us. Having her over 2-3 nights a week allowed my husband and I to catch up on sleep on those nights and reenergize. In addition to taking care of the baby, Ah-Ling would cut up fruit for us (a lot of fruit!) so we would have healthy, fibrous food to eat. She was always punctual, reliable, and offered great advice on breastfeeding, sleep training, and even potty training (my toddler). It was during the holidays when she came to work for us and I consider her the best Christmas present we could have received. Subsequently, I recommended her to a good friend of mine, who ended up also hiring her. I can't speak highly enough of Ah-Ling and would recommend her to anyone. read more