Katie Howser is the absolute best! She supported me through my journey of providing 100% breastmilk…read morefor each of my four children for a full year. While I was fortunate to have an abundant supply, Katie was always incredibly supportive of whatever path I chose, including transitioning to formula if needed. Her care goes well beyond breastfeeding--she is there to support you with whatever you need. Whether it's teaching you how to swaddle, showing you how to safely bathe your baby, or simply holding your little one so you can take a well-deserved minute to breathe, she does it all. I would recommend Katie to anyone. She is a truly amazing lactation consultant!

I cannot recommend Katie enough. She met us where we were -- no judgment, just warmth and genuine…read morecare. She helped us navigate feeding and into solids, but her guidance extended well beyond that and really shaped how we approached the entire first year. Every visit we left with practical, no-nonsense advice that we 100% subscribed to. She has a gift for simplifying things that feel overly complicated and overwhelming, and her knowledge is truly invaluable. We were always so thankful after each visit.

I cannot recommend Marilou at Doulas by the Bay highly enough. She was our postpartum night doula…read morefor the first few weeks after our son was born, and she was incredible. As new parents, the sleep deprivation is real, but knowing she was there allowed us to finally get the much-needed rest we required to function. Beyond just being a set of expert hands, she became a trusted guide for us and taught us invaluable newborn care tips that we still use daily. We trusted her implicitly with our baby from night one which was critical for us as anxious new parents. Marilou's calm, professional, and warm presence made us feel so at ease during a very vulnerable time. We truly loved our time with her and are so grateful for the care she provided. If you are looking for a doula who is knowledgeable, nurturing, and completely trustworthy, Marilou is amazing!

I reached out to find a birth doula and the initial meeting giving an overview of how they work was…read moreclear and straightforward. Doulas through this company are employees (not independent providers) and they stress that this is really good for always having a backup. We were then matched with 2 doula candidates and the scheduling process was easy and professional. However, we ultimately felt that these candidates were not properly trained or vetted. We never received any materials such as CVs for the doulas. The first doula said right away that she had never been a birth doula before and we would be her first birth. Her only experience was that she had been a night doula before. I was shocked that she had never even shadowed another birth doula as part of her training as a company employee. Bless her heart for being honest, but I did not want to pay to be her guinea pig. After this, I requested an additional candidate, but I was told the other one should be great. The second doula was also not a good fit. She kept emphasizing that at previous births hospital staff did not believe she was a birth doula (and thought she was just a family friend). It became clear why. I asked about her qualifications and she said she's working on her bachelor's degree even though she already has a master's degree. I thought this was strange and asked some follow up questions and ultimately could not determine what degree she had (maybe an associate's degree) or didn't have (definitely did not already have a master's). I also asked some basic medical questions about pain control and epidurals and she was not able to answer them. Ultimately we were able to find a wonderful birth doula through another matching company - experienced and with a real master's degree (in public health).

We've had such a wonderful experience with Lexie (Alexandra) from the time she was our lactation…read moreconsultant during our stay at CPMC Sutter through sessions at Newborn Connections post-delivery. She has been so kind, patient, and open to our million questions as first-time parents. In the hospital, her warm presence helped me feel calm despite not knowing what I was doing at all with breastfeeding. Even after leaving the hospital, we knew we wanted to continue seeing her and drove all the way back just to see her. She's helped me with my baby's latch, pumping volume, and most importantly, our feeding plan, helping to adjust based on our needs and goals. She's always encouraging and never makes us feel rushed. If only she was available for in-home sessions! The space at Newborn Connections is also great in that the store sells everything you could need at a reasonable price, and there's a community room where you can feed and weigh your baby. My only gripe is that parking is expensive.

I've felt very cared for by everyone I've encountered here throughout pregnancy and postpartum, but…read morewanted to especially highlight Ocean Berg. In just a couple lactation consultancy appointments, we've made so many breakthroughs in feeding with Ocean. I love how she attentively watches our baby for cues before trying to come up with a solution. She is super encouraging and strikes the right balance between being a great listener and getting right to the action, which makes for very productive sessions where we get a lot of practice in. We had also attended her childbirth class when I was pregnant, which I had found pretty educational. For example, she had made us feel very comfortable with fentanyl as a painkiller during labor, which turned out to be extra important for me since the anesthesiologist wasn't available to give an epidural before my baby came out so I had to rely on fentanyl during labor. My main complaint is that introductions took quite a while because every couple in attendance answers 5 or so questions, and it was hard to schedule the class online and also reschedule it when the dates changed. Lastly, I love that Newborn Connections has Saturday lactation consultant appointments available. And also the appointments end up very affordable after being billed to my insurance!

Jenn completely changed my postpartum experience for the better. We got home from the hospital and…read morewere lost when it came to establishing a feeding routine that would be sustainable and support our little one. She spent so much time and energy and thoughtfulness walking us through a solid schedule and approach that worked seamlessly in our lives. She doesn't provide a standard approach, but rather tailors her recommendations to the family and baby at hand. Jenn came highly recommended from a friend and our pediatrician said that she's one of the two lactation specialists that she relies on in her practice. Highly recommend working with Jenn.

Jenn made a huge impact on my breastfeeding journey with just one visit. I had been triple feeding…read morefor weeks and had contemplated giving up on breastfeeding. Pediatricians weren't able to give us a path off of supplementing and we had gotten a lot of overwhelming advice of various treatments to improve transfer. Jenn did a thoughtful evaluation and gave us a very straightforward and actionable plan to transition off of triple feeding. She really built up my confidence around breastfeeding and within two weeks we were exclusively nursing. She also checked in a few times in the following week to see how things were going. Overall a really positive experience!

11/10 highly recommend BAND and our night doula Margaret M!…read more BAND: We had a very positive experience using BAND. This was our first time looking for doulas and using BAND saved us time, energy, and anxiety. We provided our details and quickly got matched with vetted doulas. All in all, took us about 2 weeks from initial inquiry with BAND to signed contract. Our night doula: Margaret M helped us for 8 weeks, starting at just under 1 week old. After the first night, we knew we made the right decision for our family (second time parents with a 3yo). Margaret has a warm and calm presence and knows babies. We had forgotten things about the newborn stage but Margaret provided reassurance and shared her knowledge and encouragement. She was always on time, communicated well, recommended items and processes to improve baby's care and safety, helped mom with nursing sessions and later bottle feeding to extend mom's sleep, washed bottles and pump parts and even random dishes. She was flexible and worked with us, whatever came up. After 8 weeks, our baby is sleeping well at night. Mom and dad are well rested, allowing us to actually enjoy this precious time. Even our toddler would ask about Margaret on the nights she wasn't with us. We'll miss having her around! Thank you, Margaret!

I highly recommend Khatherine of Duyan Care! She was the first night doula we've ever worked with,…read moreand immediately put us at ease with her friendly, professional and knowledgeable demeanor. Khatherine took incredible care of our son for three weeks and also helped with breastfeeding tips as we'd been having a lot of trouble with our baby's latch; despite working with multiple lactation consultants, it wasn't until Khatherine observed and provided some helpful feedback that my latch drastically improved and pain subsided almost immediately. Khatherine was gentle and calm with our son, and treated our entire household with care and respect. She would wash our bottles, fold any laundry, leave our space tidy and provide in-depth notes on her night shift which provided invaluable information. It was evident she is passionate about her job and truly cares about the babies and families that she works with.

I called Caroline in full panic mode with my wife stressed and in tears as our newborn screamed and…read morecried refusing to breast feed. I asumed we were the unhelpable case. I was wrong. I always assumed that a baby was born and it automatically knew what to do when it came to breastfeeding. I was wrong there too. Caroline came to our house and within an hour had our newborn latched and feeding and my wife crying again, but this time tears of joy for being able to feed her baby. The journey continues and we learn something new every day but some order has been restored. Thank You Caroline!

Caroline is the truly the best! Stop reading other lactation consultant reviews- she is your…read moreanswer:) She is amazingly knowledgable, has years of experience (and raised four kids of her own!) and is the most kind and supportive person you'll ever meet:)  When my son was 3 weeks old I developed a blocked duct. I was concerned and decided to contact Caroline for some help. The blocked duct turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I met Caroline and she completely changed my life as a Mom:) Caroline helped me resolve the blocked duct but more importantly helped me learn about my baby! I spent an hour with her and after practicing her techniques for a few days I felt like a new person. My son was sleeping better and I felt like we really understood each other! She continues to be fabulous resource for all things involving babies! I can't imagine life without her:)

I am sure I *could* have gotten along without Caroline, but thank goodness I didn't have to…read more Caroline is amazing. She's one of the best teachers I've ever met--gently guiding and encouraging you to find your own best answers with unparalleled patience and good cheer. I didn't think I'd need a lactation consultant but hired her as a postpartum doula--I knew a lot of new moms who had trouble with breastfeeding, though, and I am so so glad that I was lucky enough to have Caroline around from the very beginning. With her help I got breastfeeding going smoothly and experienced very little trouble. You'd think breastfeeding is the most 'natural' thing in the world, and it is! But having a friend there to help you over the bumps in the beginning is invaluable. I also joined the new mamas group and loved every minute of it. Whatever reason you have for seeking Caroline's services, you will not regret coming to her. Do it now! You'll only regret any delay once you've worked with her.

Caroline is amazing. There aren't enough words to express or quantify how she has helped us. We met…read morewith her before our baby was born to get advice on breastfeeding after delivery and talk about our questions and concerns. She then came to our house several times after our baby was born. We had a very difficult birth, with several serious complications for both my baby and me, resulting in a week in the NICU for my baby and an extra week in the hospital, including readmission, for myself. We received some lactation support in the hospital, but it paled in comparison to the care and support we received with Caroline. Her advice not only covered breastfeeding, but also in recovering from the physical and emotional trauma of our birth. She also helped me navigate my seemingly low supply and was the only provider to listen to us when we were concerned about our baby's low-ish weight gain. After charting his weight, confirming my output, and checking our baby, she identified that the issue wasn't about supply; our baby had tongue-tie. Even our pediatrician didn't check for this and didn't seem to bat an eye when our baby's weigh was almost the same between two visits that were several weeks apart. After meeting with a specialist and resolving the tongue-tie, our little guy was able to nurse much more efficiently and his weight got back on track.

I highly recommend Aki as a lactation consultant. I'm a first time mom and Aki really helped me on…read moremy breastfeeding journey. I felt very comfortable asking Aki all of my questions. After triple feeding and with Aki's help, my daughter and I are exclusively breastfeeding.

I feel so lucky to have found Aki and have her great support through my breastfeeding journey. Aki…read morehelped me and my little one navigate many feeding challenges including a tongue tie, but Aki always made me feel confident and comfortable through the process. Aki gave great advice on nursing positions to help with shallow latch and tips to navigate breast rejection. I highly recommend Aki to any breast feeding moms.

TLDR; YES if you're a first time mom considering Kinspace, you need to sign up. It might seem…read moredaunting (another thing I need to do NOW?) but trust me it's worth it. My baby and I started at 2 months postpartum, have done a full year of Kinspace, and just "graduated." We've learned so much! Susan is phenomenal. The community is amazing and supportive. You'll meet local moms with babies of the same age, and together tackle a bunch of parenting "firsts" in the first year. I can't imagine going through it all without Susan and our mom group.

Hands down, this was the #1 best thing I did for myself and my baby postpartum…read more Susan has created such a safe and welcoming place for moms to meet other moms and learn about all things motherhood. Motherhood can be incredibly lonely and isolating and meeting up with the other moms weekly was truly a blessing. We learned so many tips and tricks and Susan always answered all of our questions. I not only came out of the group with so much knowledge but now I have a whole group of mom friends and friends for my son! I am so incredibly happy I joined Susan's group and I encourage every new mom I know to do it too.

Sarah provided me with compassionate and expert support in my journey feeding my kiddo. I greatly…read moreappreciated her warm, non-judgmental approach and her wise advice. She was able to meet with me on short notice, followed up via text to check in on me after our first appointment, and has fielded several questions via email, even while she was traveling. I am very grateful for her support and would highly recommend her!

At 5 days postpartum, I was feeling incredibly stressed and overwhelmed, but Sarah came to our home…read moreimmediately to help. She spent several hours with my husband and me, teaching us everything from the basics of breastfeeding and milk supply to the specifics of breast anatomy. Her calm demeanor was exactly what we needed; she completely eased my anxiety and gave us the confidence we were lacking. This was truly the most helpful support we've received since coming home from the hospital. If you are looking for an expert who is both knowledgeable and deeply compassionate, look no further.