It's rare that I'd describe a retail store as "life changing" but this little shop was. In my raw,…read morepostpartum days after an emergency c section and a ten day stay in a hospital, I was breastfeeding and desperate for clothes I didn't feel terrible in and that I could breastfeed easily in. I stopped here and not only did they provide a cozy, private place for me to breastfeed with a helpful Breast Friend pillow, they also had changing tables and a scale for me to use, which brought me peace of mind. Then the nice young lady working there (after giving me space and privacy to nurse) helped me find nursing bras that I love (bravado, sadly being discontinued) and I even found some great nursing shirts that I wear every day. Please support this wonderful women owned shop!

Healthy Horizons is a great place to get lactation help and they have such cute clothing as well…read more.... have to remember to stop here for the next baby shower! I am writing this review because Sheila Janakos doesn't just help new parents in her store/lactation support center but she is also a generous soul who helps the community. I have been on the board of a nonprofit for 32 years now called Nursing Mothers Counsel which provides free lactation support via phone with volunteers trained in lactation and counseling support. We are a great back up source for parents who may not need the expert support that Sheila and her IBCLC staff provide, or who are in need of support after business hours. We are so grateful to Healthy Horizons for donating 4 Medela Symphony Pumps to NMC for use as grant rentals for low income families we serve. This substantial donation will certainly help many low income families in the Bay Area and Santa Cruz County. Sheila has remained an affiliate member of our small non-profit and supported NMC with donations throughout her many years associated with our organization. Thank you so much Sheila and Healthy Horizons for your generosity and support!

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!

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!

We had an incredible experience with Sally for our son from when he was 1-3 months. She was…read moreconsistently punctual, professional, and incredibly kind. Beyond just helping with night feeds, she took the initiative with bottles and laundry, which was a huge help to our family. We felt completely at ease knowing our little one was in such caring hands. In addition, she helped with sleep training. Additionally, the office staff was a pleasure to work with. They were extremely professional and maintained a quick turnaround time on all our requests and paperwork. We highly recommend this team for anyone looking for top-tier newborn care!

As a new parent, the postpartum period is challenging enough without having to deal with the stress…read moreand disappointment of a difficult agency. While Stork and Sprout does have some excellent doulas on its team who provided great support and coaching, my experience with the agency's leadership was overwhelmingly negative. We had a particularly difficult time with Brittany. She demonstrated a pattern of manipulation, gaslighting, and lying, both to us and, from what I understand, to her own employees. Our contract promised consistent coverage, but the scheduling was erratic and communication was poor. We were left to wonder many nights if we would have support, and for several weeks, we only received 1 to 2 days of support instead of the 6 to 7 we paid for. When we requested a refund for the services not provided, Brittany refused and even fought our bank with out-of-context emails and more lies. She claims she "offered a refund" but is even today refusing to honor it as she says in the response. The lack of professionalism extended to some of the staff as well; one sick doula was sent to our home and intentionally caused our newborn physical pain. Brittany treated us like we were the difficult ones and responded with empathy-less chatGPT emails to manage the situation. We were also led to believe we would have one primary doula with a backup, but over the course of our service, we had seven different doulas come to our home. This complete lack of continuity made an already difficult period even more stressful. Based on my experience, I would advise new parents to skip Stork and Sprout and work directly with an independent doula. You will not only save the 30-40% extra fee the agency charges for scheduling, but you will also avoid the toxic and difficult management. This experience is unacceptable for a service that costs tens of thousands of dollars and demands payment upfront months ahead of providing the service. We were not able to switch easily due to the inflexible Carrot reimbursement process through the employer.

I truly couldn't have accomplished my VBAC goals without the incredible support of the Stork and…read moreSprout birth doula team. From the very first moment I needed them through labor and all the way until I was settled into the maternity floor with my new little boy, they were there every step of the way. Their calm presence, deep knowledge, encouragement, and advocacy made all the difference during such an intense and meaningful experience. I felt supported, empowered, and never alone. I am beyond grateful for their care and dedication and would wholeheartedly recommend Stork and Sprout to anyone preparing for birth--especially those pursuing a VBAC.

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.

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 was so glad to work with Aki as part of my support team when I had my newborn. She is so…read moreknowledgeable and having her come to my home was extra convenient in those early postpartum days. She helped me feel much more confident in my breast-Feeding journey and shared great tips and advice for everything from nursing positions to introducing pumping. Thank you Aki!

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!

We're so grateful for our amazing night doula, Aishling M. She was kind, calming, knowledgeable,…read moreand such a huge support during those exhausting newborn weeks. Knowing our baby was in such loving hands helped us actually rest. She cared for our baby with so much love and professionalism, we are endlessly grateful for her time with our family. We'd recommend her wholeheartedly to any family!

Larissa was an amazing postpartum doula for our family. She helped us through 10 weeks of overnight…read morecare after welcoming our second child, our daughter, who came with some medical challenges around feeding. She was knowledgeable, calm, and always kept us informed about how our daughter was doing each night, which meant so much during such a stressful time. She also handled the little things, like washing bottles and pump parts, that made a huge difference while I was recovering. On top of all that, she was reliable, easy to communicate with, and just a genuinely warm presence in our home. We felt completely comfortable with Larissa caring for our newborn and would absolutely use her again. If you're looking for a compassionate, knowledgeable postpartum doula, we can't recommend her enough.

Larissa is a phenomenal doula that I highly recommend. She is very knowledgeable, caring, and…read morefosters a safe and supportive environment. In the short 6 weeks we had together, Larissa successfully started sleep training our baby. By the end of our time together, our baby was sleeping 4-6 hours through the night. We really appreciate how hard she worked for us. She brought us so many baby carriers to try, taught us how to baby wear, gave advice on breast pumps, and even taught us how to give baths and file nails. She is a hard and diligent worker and we appreciate her efforts! She is a wealth of knowledge and I'm always amazed at how much she knows. Larissa was so instrumental in our baby journey that I'm already hoping that she'll be available for my future pregnancies. I only wish that my baby could remember the love, care, and attention she was given by Larissa!

Sara is truly a baby whisperer. After our move to San Francisco from London, she helped our son…read moreadjust his jet lag and then guided us through a gentle sleep training approach that really clicked for him. Very quickly, our little guy was sleeping through the night and taking long, restorative naps. Before working with Sara, we were really struggling. He was waking regularly throughout the night, and we were doing everything to get him back down. It was taking a real toll on our whole family. What made Sara stand out immediately was how aligned she was with our values. We are very conscious of attachment, and any version of cry-it-out or Ferber felt far too harsh for us. Sara's approach was gentle, thoughtful, and deeply respectful of both baby and parents. She gave us a framework that felt humane, intuitive, and sustainable. She is incredibly patient, generous with her knowledge, and so perceptive. One of the most amazing things she taught us was how to really tune into the different kinds of cries and better understand what our son was actually communicating. That alone was invaluable. We are so grateful for Sara and all of her guidance during this chapter. She brought so much calm, clarity, and confidence into our home at a time when we really needed it. When we have a second baby, she will absolutely be our first call.

I logged into my Yelp account for the first time JUST to review Sara, because I can't imagine doing…read morethis first-time mom thing without her. She just knows absolutely everything about babies, and knowing that I could call on her gave me so much confidence and comfort. Some of the best things about Sara: - Most importantly, Sara gets results! Our baby was a pretty good sleeper from the get go, but as soon as the doctor gave us the go-ahead to stop waking him to feed every three hours, Sara had him sleeping six hours a night. By two months after his due date, he was sleeping 10 hours, and at six months, he's sleeping 12 hours a night with no noticeable regression. - Hiring Sara doesn't just give you relief for one night. She gives you a game plan to develop good sleep habits that you can implement on the nights she's not there, so that your baby becomes a good sleeper every night. We had done all the reading and online courses (Taking Cara Babies, etc.), but it's just different doing it in real life, and Sara can show you how to apply that generic wisdom to your specific baby. For example: She figured out--without us having to experiment for months--that the best thing for our baby was firmly tapping his hip so his whole torso jostled slightly. It relaxed him and got him right back to sleep. We theoretically knew that movement/rocking helped babies, but would never have thought to apply that to our baby by patting his hip! - She has literally seen it all and can help with any kind of baby. Our baby was a preemie who spent weeks in the NICU and had to take a cross-country flight very early and then adjust to a new home. Sara put us instantly at ease with caring for him overnight, despite his special needs, and had very concrete ideas about how to adapt the conventional sleep wisdom to his specific circumstance. - You will face no judgment from Sara. She's seen it all and knows way more than you, but she is super deferential to your decisions on parenting and will share hilarious stories about her own child-rearing experience to make you feel comfortable. - She's attentive to all facets of your baby's well-being, not just his sleep. On the very first night she came to us, she noticed that the way we were mixing baby's formula (shaking instead of swirling) was likely to worsen his reflux. Literally overnight, our baby went from shrieking in agony and arching his back after every feed to having bad reflux symptoms maybe once or twice a week. For that alone, I would have paid Sara any sum of money. - Having Sara in our Rolodex has made us much more adventurous and confident parents. We took a trip to Hawaii and are planning a trip to Japan; I doubt we would have done either without Sara's assurance that she'd get our baby back on track and over jetlag in a night or two. - She gets results fast. After five months of ignoring Sara's nap/daytime recommendations and winding up with a baby that required hours of movement/snuggling/very specific sounds to fall asleep during the day, we finally caved and asked Sara for a daytime consult. In literally a single two-hour stretch, she got our baby falling asleep easily in his crib for naps and has freed up hours of our day. - She's not at all doctrinaire about baby sleep philosophies. She's not a hippie dippie doula who makes you feel guilty if your child fusses or cries. But she also doesn't use crying it out or Ferber or any of harsher sleep training schools. She meets the parents where they are comfortable and is happy to use whatever method they think is best. But we deferred to her recommendation (for naps; she got us full nights of sleep with zero crying)--which involve some crying, but never more than a minute or two, and never without you cuddling and comforting when it felt right--and it worked really well for our baby. I could go on and on, but send me a message if you want more details. I know she's expensive, but it's one of the best investments we've made. It was worth every dollar to get enough sleep; it made us happier people and better parents.

As a first time Dad I was not the one doing the hard work, but for all the dad's out there, the…read morewhole process is not, I'll just say, the most straight forward for anyone involved. Going into the process there is so much unknown and so much that makes you unsure. The most important person to be comfortable in my situation was my wife. In order for her to be comfortable it was very important for me to be comfortable. I understand that having a doula is not necessary, but it sure did help me and my family. The preparation conversations we had made the experience digestible. The advocate we had in Michelle during the process was incredible. The support we had post-partum was so helpful. Michelle has done this so many times and is so familiar with everything going on. To have her on your team allows for everyone to be present and just helps so much. Technically: She knows her stuff. For instance, Michelle is trained in baby spinning and to the doctor's surprise we avoided a c-section at the final hour. It was nothing short of a miracle. Personally: Michelle is solid, levelheaded, caring, fun, patient, prepared and will advocate for you when you need it. She has a short questionnaire to get on the same page earlier on in the process and she stands by what you discuss. I can't recommend Michelle enough, and if you would like to discuss further please ask Michelle to put us in touch.

Michelle was our birth doula for both our first and second child. I cannot imagine having the birth…read moreI dreamed of without Michelle's guidance and expertise. Her knowledge and experience shined through during our labor experience. During both labors, she knew exactly what positions to put me into to progress my labor along. I had planned for an unmedicated natural birth, which was what we ended up having for both births all thanks to Michelle. Michelle was always focused on getting baby in an optimal position by making me stay active during each contraction. I felt her full presence and support through each contraction, which put me at ease and made me feel like I was fully capable of getting through it. Michelle goes the extra mile to support her clients in every way possible. When I had a question, she was quick to respond and made herself available for a phone call to lend an ear and provide information to help me make a decision without any judgment. When our second baby was borderline jaundice, she went out of her way and drove to our house on a rainy evening to assist with breastfeeding issues we had, which helped to get my milk supply up and allowed our 3-day old newborn to sleep 3-4 hour stretches during the night - a miracle! Because of Michelle's guidance, our baby was back to her birth weight within a week and no longer had jaundice. Michelle is not just our birth doula, but a lifelong resource and support for new parents going through the trenches of parenthood. Her wisdom and encouragement provided me with the confidence to make my dream birth a reality and become the mama I envisioned myself to be. If you have an opportunity to work with Michelle in any capacity, I would not hesitate to jump on it!