A wonderful and kind woman with a incredible insight to the parenting. Thank to her advice and…read moreguidance my children can grow more happily and follow their own dreams freely and with enthusiasm. Our family is a peaceful and blessed place to live for all members. Thank you for the skype sessions and workshops! I am looking forward to see you again in person!

From the owner: Naomi Aldort is the author of, Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves and of hundreds of…read moreinternationally published parenting advice columns and articles.For free newsletter, teleclasses, CDs, articles, personal and family phone sessions and speaking engagements:www.AuthenticParent.com

Our family learned so much from Des. Her differentiated approach is amazing. I've worked in…read moreeducation my whole career and wanted someone who knew best practice and could speak to recent research findings. She knows that one size doesn't fit all and I really appreciated her tips and tricks as my son went through all his phases. She respected our '(semi) attachment parenting' approach and put a specific individualized plan together that worked for our family. We were against letting our son cry and Des was warm and kind. Sleep is tough and we had a tricky infant. We still have our phases (he's two now) but he has healthy sleep habits because of what we learned from Des. My only wish is that I contacted Des sooner !

#twins. Wow. We called Desiree when we realized we had developed some not so great sleep habits…read morewith our twins. In the early months we were in survival mode with two babies and a five year old! I distinctly remember sitting on the couch with our older daughter watching the WorldCup while the twins were sound asleep swinging in the swings, which we quickly came to rely heavily on. To be honest, SO much of the early days are now a blur, but something that truly sticks out was the help and support that Desiree gave us throughout the first 2 years. Right from the get go we knew it was going to require our commitment and effort - there were two of them afterall! Each step, each transition, each shift, the kneeling down double handed tap - she helped us truly understand why we were doing what we were doing, and how what we were doing would be contributing to sound sleep habits these monkeys would have as they grow. Something I can't emphasize enough is how calm, thoughtful and compassionate Desiree was with us both. There were times where things were going so well, then All of a sudden they weren't. A new development stage hit and it felt like we had gone off the rails. But as we may have been exhausted, ever so empatheticly and calmly Desiree reminded us that our girls were in fact just growing and changing, we discussed an adjusted plan, and that it would indeed be ok. And it was. We stuck to the plan, each and every time, and each and every time things continued to go well. Desiree was always available and full of sound advice. We would not have sanely survived these past three years without Desiree's help, and for that we are immensely grateful. Thank You!!

My husband and I were lucky enough to work with Cassie for the birth of our first child. I…read moreinterviewed several Doulas hoping to find the right fit and right from the first meeting I felt very comfortable with Cassie. Unlike some other Doulas I met who seemed to have stronger opinions about things (epidurals, role of the husband etc.) , she was clear that my labour was my experience and she was willing to support us in any way we preferred. I knew that I would not feel pressured at anytime to conform to someon else's expectations of the labour process. Cassie was very helpful in the weeks leading up to labour as she came for a prenatal visit to discuss our birthplan and ease our concerns. When we went overdue she visited us again to provide some suggestions to ease discomfort and encourage labour. She was always timely, professional and most of all supportive. Outside of our in-home visits, she was always available via text, email or phone. During our labour Cassie worked to support my husband and I as we navigated through our labour. She helped provide me with whatever I needed, and would also provide support to my husband. She would often have things ready (water, cold cloth) to hand to my husband so that he could be the one providing for me. This aspect was really important to my husband because he wanted to make sure that the role of the Doula did not take his place. She actively assisted and reassured me throughout the labour and in the end we were most satisfied with her support. After the birth, she helped by taking some family photos and made sure I was comfortable before she left us to be with our new family. She kindly followed up with us a week later and answered our new parenting questions. Overall, our experience with Cassie could not have been better! We highly recommend her to anyone considering using a Doula. She was caring, supportive and really helped us have a great birth experience.

From the owner: Hello, My name is Cassie Sutherland, and I am a Birth Doula and Herbal Medicine Maker, living and…read morepractising on Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver, B.C. I am passionate about empowered birth, strengthening community access to health, and supporting families throughout their childbearing year. I create herbal medicines out of either organically grown or personally and ethically wildcrafted plants, to aid Mamas, babes, and families during pregnancy and beyond. Having been raised between the ocean and forests of mid-north Vancouver Island, I look to plants as medicine and our natural environment as a teacher. I believe that your body is capable of birthing your baby and that you intuitively know how best to do so, I simply support you in discovering that process.

My husband and I were looking into prenatal classes for the arrival of our new baby and we are so…read moreglad we were able to find Samara Birth Services. Amanda was our instructor and she was informative and engaging. She also baked chocolate chip cookies for the class which was a nice touch! The environment was intimate as we opted to do the weekend classes, which was six hour each day for Saturday and Sunday, and there were only four couples in the class. We went through the stages of labour and what to expect and had a lot of our questions answered. There were a few videos shown in class that was helpful for us to gain an understanding in the labour process (I can assure you the videos are safe to watch!) The class also included some very useful information for breastfeeding and the choices couples could face during delivery. We felt good about having all the information presented to us to consider and felt it wasn't biased one way or another. My husband and I both agree that the we were glad we took Amanda's classes. We feel it helped with our understanding and addressed our fears and anxiety. I highly recommend this class.

Such a great class! Amanda is full of information and energy! Lots of useful information about…read morebirth options in a small intimate environment. Left feeling a lot more informed on how to make the right decisions for myself and the birth of my daughter. Highly recommend.

I so wish I could transport this school closer to my home! Head Master Tseng is great! My son…read moreloves going to school and has blossomed so much. From day one, he jumped right in on the day's activity and had a blast. I love the fact that the main language taught in Cantonese which we speak at home. (but the staff is also fluent in mandarin and english too and will communicate with the kids in all languages if necessary.) The staff been very flexible and accomodating, especially since we were only visiting for a short time. The monthly rates are incredibly reasonable. Though it's a small facility, its pretty well laid out. The daily curriculum provides music, storytime, topic of the week, art and meal time and much more. I had my son there for just the mornings, but in 2 hours they do so much. Yet the information and learnings really stick because my little guy comes home telling me stories and singing all the stuff he's learned that day, and from the day before and the day before that! It's a structured program and somewhat strict, but still incredibly child friendly. All which I wanted. Each of the activities and learnings are done as a group, so if there are any laggers, the teachers would help push them along which encourages the kids and those that seem ahead of the group are ackowledged which really helps their self esteem and gets them out of their shell. There's usually another teacher and/or aid there to help with the students and regardless of the number of students, they always seem so well under control. Parents are required to bring lunch/snack for their children and the staff will help heat, set up and even feed the children and puts away the dishes to lunchbags. They're open 7 days a week and classes start at 10am-12pm and they continue with afternoon sessions as well. There's other classes for art, music and mandarin, which would be interesting to take up in the future for my son. Aside from academic, music and art, I'm so grateful that they reinforced basic concepts that I teach like good manners, respect, patience, proper hygiene too. I'm saddened that I can't take this class, the school and the teachers back home to CA with me. But I'm looking forward to our next visit and so is my son.

Kira is amazing. Very easy going. I always get a good vibe from her when I have my life coaching…read moresession with her. I don't get that feeling with a lot of counselors, therefore, this is a huge thing for me to say. I'm gad that she moved her practice within the city. Very awesome at listening without judgement and very encouraging. She indulges me in my offbeat sense of humor which is appreciated. I feel good after her sessions with new goals and ideas that I worked out myself through openly talking and with her asking appropriate questions to get me thinking a little bit more outside the box so that I can creatively come to my own conclusions. I can't wait to see her again in March.

I've just finished reading Kira's book, Aches, Pains and Love and I loved it! It's honest, funny,…read moreheartfelt and gives a lot of practical advise to people suffering from a chronic illness. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition about six years ago and although I have a relatively mild case it was definitely on my mind when I was out in the dating world. I only wish I had Kira's book back then. It's worth reading for sure!