I could not imagine giving birth without Shauna's soothing voice and loving presence!…read more I had some previous experience with Shauna at a restorative yoga workshop and her warm and gentle nature helped guide me into a deep relaxation. Additionally, three of my friends hired Shauna as their doula and had amazing things to say about her, so once I got pregnant I knew that I wanted her to be my doula too. She met with us a few times while I was pregnant to discuss birthing plans and lactation, as well as offering a folder of information and helpful books. I also got an incredible restorative yoga session!! But it was the day of my second daughter's birth that she exhibited her true gift as a doula. Shauna acted as a lighthouse and I looked to her for guidance. From the moment when the wave of contractions got closer and closer together, I messaged her and she was the one who called my love to let him know he needed to come home from work to take me to the hospital. To the middle of labor when I wanted to proverbially "jump ship", she was there reminding me of my inner and physical strength. Her voice was gentler yet louder than the voice in my head that was saying, "I can't". To the hand delivery of my placenta to her colleague who created pills and a tincture for postpartum. Shauna was an integral part of my incredible experience giving birth naturally. I would definitely hire her again!!!

Shauna is such a lovely human being, both inside and out. We knew right away when we met her that…read moreshe would be the perfect doula for our pregnancy and birth. She's incredibly sweet, ridiculously funny, and is so comfortable to be around. She felt like family during all of our interactions with her. Thanks to the sessions that we had with her, I was able to have a pretty manageable birth experience. Our little one arrived early at 36 weeks. Everything happened so quickly that Shauna barely made it to the hospital before he was born about 30 minutes after her arrival. Due to some complications, things didn't exactly go as planned, but keeping the wisdom that she shared with us in mind, I was able to come out of the ordeal fairly unscathed with a healthy little preemie. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to have a positive and supportive pregnancy and birth.

We started working with Julia early on in our pregnancy and it was the best choice we could have…read moretaken. From the very beginning she was very helpful, cordial, and supportive. As a first time mom I had a thousand questions ranging from healthy eating to pain management (i have chronic lower back pain) and she helped deal with my anxiety/ worries. Her availability and response time made me feel comfortable and safe, I couldn't have asked for a better person to help us with our journey. Hopefully we are able to have her as our doula again for our next pregnancy! Highly recommend her!! My husband and I appreciate you very much!! Thank you Julia!

Julia has been a treasured part of our village as we welcome our second baby. She supported us…read morethrough prenatal, labor, delivery, and postpartum services, as well as with beautiful film photography. Julia has been nurturing, intuitive and calming throughout. She also has been adaptable, helping us through what each day and even hour brings. Some highlights... During the prenatal period, she helped me process my first birth, and create the space for a new narrative and experience for this one. She also helped us develop strategies for our transition to a family with two kids, suggesting ways to help us spend time together and bond, as well as rest. During labor and delivery, she astutely helped us make the transition from home to hospital--right in time! Julia helped me labor at home as long as possible before I delivered within a few minutes of arriving at the hospital. Right after delivery she helped me get comfortable and start resting and restoring energy. The postpartum fourth trimester period has been especially precious. Julia's healing touch and care has been invaluable for both baby and me. She's also been a trusted sounding board for lactation, sleep, baby carrier, play, bathing, and sleep, amongst so much else. Her incredible cooking has kept the whole family nourished, and she's helped keep the home organized, clean, and calm. Julia's artistic eye and skill as a photographer has also helped us capture this sweet time. Her photos are a keepsake we cherish. Thank you for everything, Julia! With your help, we now have a foundation to establish a new rhythm and routine as a family.

I had a truly wonderful experience at The Village. During my stay, I received an absolutely…read moreunimaginable level of support- far exceeding what I experienced in the hospital. At the time of my stay, we were doing triple feeding to help baby gain weight. The staff helped with bottle feeding and caring for our child when I was pumping - 10 times a day- always within minutes of being texted with a request for help. The team was always so kind and thoughtful with questions. I also really appreciated the on-site lactation consultant who helped me advocate with my medical team. The environment was also exactly what I needed- a super comfy bed, a relaxing nursing chair, and huge meals served three times a day. All with a cute themed decor that kept the room bright and welcoming. It was such a privilege to be able to focus only on my baby and recovering from birth - no meal prep, dishes, chores. The best part of the village is Jen, the owner, who is passionate about getting every detail right and sharing her extensive knowledge as a doula and nurse with each guest. Her hands-on CPR class helped me to feel ready for a variety of emergencies, and she was checking with me consistently to make sure everything- from our health to nursing to the room- was perfect and nothing less. I've recommended The Village to all of my expecting friends and would definitely return if I was expecting again. It's so amazing to have a resource like this during the chaotic but special first weeks with a baby - I know it made a huge difference for my mental health and confidence as a mother.

I'll be honest: when my wife first told me she wanted to spend our first week as parents at a…read morepostnatal retreat, I didn't fully get it. I get it now. The Village was one of the best decisions we've ever made, and I say that as someone who was not the one who just had a baby. Jen and her team are exceptional: warm, deeply knowledgeable, and somehow able to anticipate needs neither of us even knew we had yet. From lactation consultants and infant CPR classes to massage therapy, couples counseling, and round-the-clock baby care, every detail is designed so that new parents can actually recover. My wife finally had people taking care of her, not just the baby, and watching that shift happen in real time was everything. She could sleep. At 7 days postpartum, we were having coffee on the rooftop together, which felt like a miracle! I also want to note, for the record, that the whiskey selection was excellent. The staff made me feel like an empowered, prepared parent rather than a complete disaster, which was not where I started the week. We did our baby's first photoshoot there, made friends with other new parents, and left with a level of confidence I genuinely didn't expect to have this soon. When we broke down the cost versus hiring night nurses and day nannies separately, it wasn't even close. I've already recommended The Village to every expecting parent I know. My wife says she'd have another baby just to go back. I'm not quite there yet, but I'd absolutely come back for the whiskey.

We loved having Leticia as our night nanny. She was very professional and knowledgeable. Leticia…read morehelped us diagnose and address any issues as we are first time parents. It felt like having a nurse supporting us through those early weeks. She communicated clearly and consistently, which gave us a lot of peace of mind. We recommend her to all of our friends to have some sanity during the newborn stage! Totally worth the investment.

Leticia was amazing from start to finish! She helped us put together a birth plan that included…read moreeverything we wanted to have a smooth delivery day and on our own terms. She listened to all our concerns and helped put us at ease. On the day of delivery and a few days prior to delivery she responded quickly and helped me figure out when it was a good time to go to the hospital. At the hospital she came right away and stayed with us the whole time. She made sure I had everything I needed to labor and deliver unmedicated, safely. I can't recommend her enough, she truly made that day feel so special for us and she knew exactly what I needed during my contractions. After labor/delivery she helped us out postpartum as well. She has the magic doula touch in figuring out what the baby needs, how to breastfeed, and allowed me to have some free time to myself as she took care of the baby. I'm very grateful we had her, she made the whole process feel wonderful and easy.

Michelle was my birth and evening postpartum doula for the birth of my daughter. Her nurturing wise…read morepresence eased both the UCSF L&D staff, my husband and myself during a most fantastic birthing experience. She knew when I may have pushed pain threshold too far and gently reminded me of alternative pain relief. Not to mention she used a technique called Spinning Babies to bring my daughter out of an awkward position. Once home, she kindly showed me changes in breastfeeding positions to diminish pain, cleaned dishes and watched the baby so I could take time alone. She held space for this incredible time and we love her like family.

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.

I'd like to give Caroline 5 stars even though I never paid for her services. She was nice enough to…read moregive me some pointers for free, on the day OF July 4th, no less. (Thanks again for taking time out of the holiday weekend just to talk to me!) I was desperate on the evening of July 3rd with my four month old baby going through sleep regression. I found Caroline through Yelp by searching for baby sleep consultants. I scheduled a free consulting call for the next morning through her site. Unfortunately, our timing didn't work out so I didn't end up using her as my sleep consultant - but she was so warm, easy to talk to, and genuinely cared about my situation. We talked for a good 15-20 minutes and she gave me some insights/tips at absolutely no charge.! You kickstarted my sleep training process and I am so much better now.

We used Caroline from the day we brought my daughter home from the hospital till she was around…read morefour months and derived so incredibly much value from that. I am a first-time mom, a former techie, older (42!) and single. Part of what I'm trying to communicate through that sentence is that I had extremely little experience caring for babies. What's more, I didn't really even know what I didn't know. That is, until I got to the hospital and had an emergency C-section for my two-weeks-past-due-date baby. The awesome part about getting a C-section is that you get four nights in the hospital. The best part about that is the team of nurses who are there to help you breast-feed your baby, soothe her, diaper her, swaddle her. Typically babies who are full-term, sleep pretty heavily the first couple of days. This can lull new parents into a false sense of security - "we got this!" Only to have the baby become fussy shortly after leaving the hospital (which is perfectly normal of course but part of what makes new parenting stressful)! Another benefit of C-sections is that you get to witness your baby after they've gone through this stage and are their fussy, wonderful selves! Newborn babies by and large fuss for at least an hour a day regardless of whether you are doing everything perfectly. Some babies fuss much more. Anyway, I had my daughter via emergency C-section on in early January 2016. On about day three or day four in the hospital, my daughter was fussing and fussing and nothing I was doing would soothe her. It was around then that I realized how little I knew about what I was doing. That's when I first reached out to Caroline who was - to my great good fortune - available. I hired her immediately, on the spot, after a brief phone conversation from my hospital bed. It was one of the best decisions I've made. Caroline is an expert in caring for newborns and brings a warm, soothing approach not only to your baby but to someone equally deserving of and needing such care and that is you. Because we had Caroline on our team, the first few months of my babies life or wonderful and incredible and emotional. They were not a nightmare, stressful or very anxiety-producing at all. Of course there were moments but far fewer of them and many more moments of joy because I had Caroline on my team. If you're thinking even a little bit of hiring her, do it. It will be one of the best things you've done for yourself and your new baby - providing support as you get to know one another.

Working with Carla and her team was an amazing experience. We were paired up with Eduarda (Duda),…read morewho we got along with right away. Not only is she incredibly professional and punctual (she would show up early and leave late for every shift), but her communication style was perfectly aligned with what we were hoping for: patient, warm, and very knowledgeable. Our newborn baby girl seemed to absolutely love her and was very calm in her care. For anyone considering Nurturing Hands, I can't recommend Duda enough. She set the bar so high, and we're excited to continue working with her (hopefully even in the future if we decide to have kid #2).

We had such a great experience with Nurturing Hands Doulas! Carla is great and matched us with a…read morewonderful doula, Leticia. She was our night doula and provided us with the rest and recovery that we need to make our days feel more manageable and less overwhelming. She was very professional, offering advice/guidance, as needed. We highly recommend working with Nurturing Hands and Leticia.

Heather was an integral part of our birth experience as we welcomed our first baby into the world…read more She is absolutely amazing! Words truly cannot express how grateful my husband and I were to have her by our side. From the moment we spoke with her, we knew she was the doula for us. Her calming, grounded presence was exactly what we needed. Our prenatal sessions with Heather were so informative and reassuring. She provided guidance and encouragement that helped us feel confident heading into labor and delivery. Throughout every unknown and scary situation, Heather was our constant. Her zen energy brought calm to even the most stressful moments and she always seemed to know exactly what to do or say. Heather was an incredible advocate for us at the hospital. Our birth ended up being not so straightforward but she made sure we felt supported and informed every step of the way. In the early postpartum days, she checked in frequently to make sure we were physically and emotionally okay and helped us navigate early recovery with compassion and warmth. She became like family, even our dogs could not wait to see her! From her amazing cooking that nourished us after birth to introducing us to amazing overnight support when we found ourselves in a pinch (especially with no family on the West Coast), she always came through for us. Her love, intuition, and genuine care made all the difference in our experience. We already miss her so much. Heather will be our first call when it's time for baby number two. Trust me, you want Heather by your side. She is a true gift!

Words aren't adequate to convey how important, amazing, and supportive Heather was in helping us…read morewelcome our first baby boy this October. From our initial Zoom call, Heather had a calm presence and warmness that put me and my husband at ease right off the bat. She is confident, kind, so knowledgeable, and helped us both feel comfortable entering a new realm that we knew almost nothing about! The two home visits we had to prepare for the birth process were incredibly helpful, collaborative, and confidence-inspiring. We delivered at Kaiser Redwood City and had an incredible experience between the midwives and the way Heather worked closely with them through a long and difficult labor that left me feeling empowered in the end. I call Heather my angel now! In the delivery room, Heather's presence was calming, gently assertive when needed, and she coached me and helped me make the right decisions alongside the medical team. We signed up for three postpartum visits which we highly recommend opting into - her cooking is otherworldly! When it was time to say goodbye to her, I cried... I am so grateful that we had her by our side and cannot imagine going through birth any other way. Anyone who gets to work with her is incredibly lucky!