Before Baby arrives I send over a list of items in 3 categories.

1. You need this.

2. This might make life with Baby easier.

3. You absolutely do not need this, but you might like it.

We spend 1 hour together discussing the list virtually. After you have had the time to order items I visit you in your home and help set up and organize items. We discuss environmental safety and you are welcome to ask any questions you have. If any additional questions come up before Baby arrives you are always welcome to send a text or email.

Either before or after Baby arrives I visit you in your home and you are free to ask me all your questions! I frequently demonstrate (either on Baby or a stuffy) diapering, bathing, nail trimming, soothing, bottle feeding, burping, diaper rash management, what to do when you get a blow-out diaper, and more!

This is similar to regular postpartum support, except it is in the hospital before discharge. Often the support parent needs a break to go home, shower, feed pets, gather supplies, or take a nap. I stay in the hospital with the birthing parent supporting them with their physical and emotional needs. I comfort and take care of Baby so that parents can rest. I teach skills that new parents have yet to learn, like diapering, burping, and feeding.

This is my most popular option, and my favorite! Daytime postpartum support is regularly scheduled, reliable relief and education after the birth of your baby. While I am in your home you will have the opportunity to nap, eat, shower, relax, and spend time with your partner. I will demonstrate and then stand next to you cheering you on as you master diapering, feeding, bathing, nail trimming, soothing, and playing with your baby. When you are confidently bonding with Baby, or Baby is calmly sleeping nearby, I manage light baby-related household chores like laundry, restocking and cleaning diaper stations, emptying diaper pails, bottle washing and sterilizing, pump washing and sterilizing, formula preparation, human milk storage, and general tidying/cleaning.  Emotional support, lactation support, and sleep consulting is all included if you desire.

I have a 4 hour minimum for each daytime shift.

Please note that I don't do any heavy household cleaning or family meal prep.

Overnight I focus on Baby so that parents can rest and be ready for the next day. I bottle feed, or bring Baby to the nursing parent, comfort, change diapers, and get Baby back to bed as soon as possible. If Baby wakes up I am right there to soothe them back to sleep.

Overnight I do not offer household support, as this tends to wake up both Baby and parents. If you feel like you would benefit from some household help I am happy to come an hour or two earlier to wash bottles/laundry while you care for Baby.

8 hour shift minimum, but most families prefer 9-10 hours.

If your healthy baby cries inconsolably for 3 or more hours 3 or more days a week they may have colic. After a pediatrician has ruled out any medical conditions I will support you by giving you a much needed break. Most crying happens at a predictable time in the evening and I usually spend my entire shift holding and comforting colicky babies. Parents are welcome, and encouraged, to take care of themselves during this time in whatever way feels right to them. Some families leave the home. Some watch movies in a different room. Some listen to audiobooks. Some nap with earplugs in. This is a very emotionally challenging experience and you do not have to go through it without support.

Sometimes environmental factors can contribute to crying so I always offer suggestions to help minimize stimulation.

We spend 1-2 hours together in the comfort of your own home. After we discuss your feeding goals I will observe a feeding and if needed I make latch and positioning recommendations, discuss ways to manage milk supply, talk about feeding cues, and safe human milk storage. I have a medical quality baby scale for weighted feedings which offers most parents a lot of comfort!

If you have any questions after I leave you can always send me a text or email!

We spend 3-4 hours together in your home discussing your sleep goals and any difficulties that you are having. I look at the awake and sleep environment, and might make suggestions regarding the environment, feeding, scheduling, and comforting methods.

For young babies not yet experiencing stranger anxiety I demonstrate a gentle method to comfort Baby in bed without feeding, holding, or rocking Baby to sleep. For older babies I describe the method and can demonstrate it on a teddy bear or other stuffy.

Within 24 hours of our visit I send a personalized sleeping plan for your baby and am available for a few virtual follow-up questions.

This is ideal for parents who want to learn how to establish good sleep hygiene from the start, help their baby learn to fall asleep without rocking and/or eating, get longer daytime naps, get longer uninterrupted night sleep, or discontinue night feeding for older babies.

This is a premium live-in sleep-training service for families with healthy term babies 3 months and older who are growing well.

First we meet and discuss your values and goals. I develop a personalized sleep training plan for your baby considering your parenting values. I move in for 1-3 weeks and handle all daytime and night time sleep including naps, bedtime routine, night sleep, night waking, night feeding, etc. Parents are welcome to be involved as little or much as they like, and most parents want me to handle everything for them. This works best for bottle-fed babies.

When Baby is sleeping so do I, and I can sleep in the nursery with Baby or in a guestroom nearby with a camera to monitor Baby. If Baby and I have been up all night I will need a guest room to nap in during the day while Baby is awake with another care provider.

This is a great option for new parents who are nervous about coming home from the hospital with their new baby. I move in with you for a specified amount of time and am always available for any questions or to take care of Baby while you rest and recover from the birth. After 2 weeks most families are feeling very confident and ready to move on to regularly scheduled postpartum daytime support!

For this service I require a guest room with a bed and 4 hours a day off duty, unless you have an emergency.

Most of my clients are first time parents who find daytime support to be the most helpful. Unless you already have extensive experience with newborn babies you will probably have a lot of questions! During the day there is a lot more time for education, demonstrations, and shadowing.

I am also able to help out with household chores during the day, which is very helpful for parents recovering from birth. If you, or your partner, nap well during the day daytime support might be your best option! If you find that nights with a new baby are very challenging we can always discuss switching from daytime postpartum doula support to overnight postpartum doula support. Usually I have clients asking to switch from night support to day support, though!

I have postpartum doula training from Bastyr University, lactation counselor training from the Healthy Children Project, newborn care specialist training from Newborn Care Solutions Institute, and CPR/first aid training from the American Red Cross.

I also learn from every baby and parent that I work with! I am so grateful for everything I have learned over the last 25 years of caring for families!

Unlike the medical field, the doula industry is unregulated and anyone can call themselves a doula without any training, experience, or certificates. Make sure you ask candidates about their training!

Yes, I am! I maintain current postpartum doula, lactation counselor, and First Aid/CPR certifications. This means that in addition to my training I keep current with continuing education, mentorship, and exams!

Unlike the medical field, the doula industry is unregulated and anyone can call themselves a doula or newborn care specialist without any training, experience, or certificates. Make sure you ask candidates if they are certified! Some doulas or newborn care specialists are confused and think that their training certifies them, because they have a certificate of course completion. Being a certified doula or certified newborn care specialist requires much more than just completing a course!

While I can not bill your insurance directly, many families that I work with have submitted my invoices to their insurance and successfully received partial or full reimbursement.

This depends on what service you are looking for! Go to google maps and look at the time it would take me to drive from your address to this cross street during non traffic hours: NE 66th St & 329th Ave NE, Carnation, Washington 98014

For regularly scheduled daytime postpartum support, evening colic support, or night postpartum support I am happy to travel about 30 minutes.

For all consultations I’m happy to travel about 40 minutes.

For live-in postpartum support and white glove sleep training I am happy to travel about an hour.

If you live outside my service area but think we are a great fit I will consider traveling further for a travel fee.

Great! The first step is contacting me to make sure I am available on your due date and that your home is in my service area. Then we have a brief virtual meeting, usually over Zoom, to make sure we are a good fit for each other. If everyone wants to move forward we meet in person. I write up a contract specific to your family to make sure that we all are on the same page. When we sign the contract 50% of the entire contract invoice is due and your dates are then guaranteed in my calendar!

The remaining 50% of the total contract invoice is due on or before my first postpartum visit with you - so you can focus on recovery and bonding with your baby during your 4th trimester, not worrying about payment schedules.

The first step is contacting me to make sure that your home is in my service area and that I have availability in the time frame you need. It is very helpful if you briefly describe your concerns and goals. I will offer you a few appointment options, usually within 1-4 weeks.

Payment, cash or check, is due at the beginning of our visit. I ask that if you need to cancel you give as much notice as possible so that I can offer your appointment slot to another family. If you, your baby, or anyone in your home is exposed to a contagious illness please reschedule!

For daytime postpartum doula support I need a way to monitor Baby while they are sleeping in their crib or bassinet. I will probably make other suggestions to make things easier for everyone, but they won’t be required.

For overnight postpartum doula support I require a comfortable flat surface to rest on while Baby is sleeping. I need a safe place to put Baby while they are sleeping like a crib or bassinet. I need a way to monitor Baby while they are sleeping, even if I am room sharing with Baby, that way I can comfortably leave the room to go to the bathroom. I can bring my own bedding, and a chair to put next to the crib to make it easier for me to comfort Baby or you can provide them.

For consultations I do not have any particular requirements, though I might make some suggestions to make things easier for everyone.

For evening colic support I need a rocking chair. I will also suggest other items like swaddles, a balance ball, pacifiers, a sound machine, and blackout curtains - but these are optional.

For live-in postpartum support I need a guest room with a bed and a way to monitor Baby while they are sleeping.

For white glove sleep training I need a guest room with a bed, a way to monitor Baby while they are sleeping, and various props in the nursery like a safe crib, blackout curtains, a white noise machine, and sleep sacks.

Nope! I will bring everything that I need to stay fed and hydrated during my shifts! You don’t need to take care of me at all.

If I am providing live-postpartum support or white glove sleep training I will have grocery delivery for myself.

Though I admit… occasionally clients make me coffee and I am so very grateful.

Once we sign a contract and you pay a non-refundable retainer I put your specific shifts in my calendar and they are guaranteed! I stop accepting other clients for those dates/times.

Because Baby can be quite unpredictable I typically offer families between 1-6 weeks of free 24 hour notice on-call support around Baby’s due date. The exact amount of free on-call support I offer varies depending on how long our contract is.

Most families choose a start date 1-2 weeks after their due date and then choose one of the following:

1. Hope that if Baby arrives early, before the free on-call support starts, I will have availability to start early or squeeze you in. This option works best for parents who are feeling a little more confident and/or have nearby family to support them.

2. Hire me for additional on-call days at 25% of my regular rate. Your on-call days are guaranteed in my calendar and I do not accept other clients during that time. If Baby arrives early, give me 24 hours notice and I can support you in the hospital or meet you at your home after discharge.

Because different families have different needs and comfort levels you get to choose what our official start date is, and how much on-call time you have.

I typically offer 1-6 weeks of 24 hour notice on-call postpartum support for free to clients who hire me for daytime support, night support, or 24-hour live in support.  

I also have 2 on-call options for families who want to reserve extra on-call support.

1. 24-hour notice on-call support. This is great for postpartum daytime, postpartum night support, and 24-hour live-in support. You pay 25% of my regular rate to reserve my time. Most parents know 24 hours before they leave the hospital so I can meet you as you arrive home with your new baby. This also works well for families who are looking for in-hospital postpartum support the day after they give birth.

2. 1-hour notice on-call support. This is often the best option for families who are looking for guaranteed immediate in-hospital support or evening colic support when their baby has less predictable crying. You pay 50% of my regular rate and your shifts are guaranteed in my calendar. I will be standing by ready to leave my home 1 hour, or less, from the time of your call.

For both on-call options you pay a portion of my regular rate as a non-refundable retainer in advance to secure those dates in my calendar. If you end up needing me you pay full amount, less the retainer.

If needed I reach out to a few doulas I have met and worked with before. The way I structure contracts and on-call support enables me to always be available for you for the dates we agreed on, so thankfully I have only needed to do this when clients want to extend our contract and I am unable to because I have a new contract starting.

After we sign a contract I do not offer refunds except for 2 very specific situations:

1. You have a loss of pregnancy.

2. I am unable to work and unable to reschedule those shifts.

After we sign a contract together and your days are reserved in my calendar I have likely turned down several other potential clients and lost significant potential income. If I were to offer refunds I might not be able to find another client at short notice. Because of this I can not make exceptions to my refund policy. When I guarantee shifts for you I ask that you also guarantee them for me.

You can always ask! If I have availability, and I often will, I will shift my visit with you to an hour or two later or earlier to accommodate appointments, shift our visit to a different day, or I can wash bottles and laundry while you are out.

You are also welcome to take me with you! Some families really appreciate this option so that they can focus on the conversation with the pediatrician while I hold Baby. If you have twins you would probably benefit from an extra set of arms at appointments!

This varies greatly and there is no one right answer. Most families start feeling confident with their baby after 2-6 weeks, but still appreciate relief and household help for longer. Most families who have less than 4 months of postpartum support ask me for an extension. Clients often book me well in advance so I am typically unavailable for extensions at short notice, though I would love to stay longer! Because of this I recommend signing up for as much postpartum support as your finances allow in advance.  Most families book me for 3-6 months.

For daytime postpartum support I recommend 5-6 hours per shift 3-5 shifts/week. This allows plenty of time for naps, questions, and “resetting,” the home by washing bottles, laundry, ect.

For night postpartum support I recommend 9-10 hours per shift 3-5 shifts/week. Most parents appreciate 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, and this gives us an hour or two for the hand-off, questions, demonstrations, and some time for parents to shower and eat before bed.

I don’t have one! My shortest postpartum support contract yet has been for just 3 weeks.

Most families book me for 3-6 months.

Yay! This is wonderful! You have 2 options:

1. I will continue coming overnight and be available to help your baby if they wake up. Sometimes sleep regressions, teething, or vaccine discomfort will disrupt a baby who is typically sleeping very well.

2. We can shift our schedule to daytime support - if I am available. This way I can help out with household chores and give you a daytime break!

I don’t do both at the same time! When I work nights I come home and sleep a solid 8 hours during the day. My stepchildren are adults now so I have minimal home responsibilities and always get enough rest so that I can be my best for your baby overnight.

If I have a night client for only a few nights a week I might accept another night client for a few nights a week, but I would not accept a daytime client.

Similarly if I have a daytime client on my calendar I would only accept other daytime clients during that time.

When Baby’s needs are all taken care of and Baby is happily sleeping nearby I try to nap a little bit here and there. I’m pretty bad at it though as my brain is very aware that I am working and might need to respond to Baby at any moment. Usually I listen to audiobooks or knit while Baby sleeps.

If Baby wakes up or has a need I am always available immediately.

Typically I don’t provide planned awake care overnight. Though if Baby is having a rough time and needs me to comfort them all night I am absolutely awake and attending to them for my entire shift. For the typical baby on the typical overnight shift there is really no benefit from me sitting in the dark and staring at a sleeping baby all night long. If you have a medically fragile baby and there is truly a need for awake care I highly recommend that you hire a registered nurse, for the safety of your baby.

The standard rate for postpartum doula awake-care overnight is 2x the regular overnight rate.

Unfortunately, yes. If you want to breastfeed you will need to either feed your baby directly, or pump while I bottle feed to maintain your supply.

Most parents find that if I bring Baby to them in bed they are able to get back to sleep much faster than if they get up and come to the nursery. Some find pumping less disruptive to their sleep than feeding Baby directly.

If you choose to breastfeed your baby I take care of diaper changes, burping, swaddling, and comforting so that you can quickly get back to sleep. If you choose to pump overnight I can bring you clean pumping equipment, take away and safely store your milk, and wash your pumping equipment for the next pumping session.

Absolutely, please do! Breastfeeding babies are the cutest thing ever. Birthing parents are welcome and encouraged to breastfeed, pump, and take care of themselves in any way they need to. I do ask that supporting parents wear a minimum of pajama shorts when I am in the room.

Yes! My lactation counselor courses covered a wide variety of infant feeding topics including bottle feeding, supplemental nursing systems, hand expression, electric pumping, and more!

Parents who are bottle feeding often have questions about formula preparation, bottle washing and sterilizing, milk temperature, human milk pumping and storage, using donor milk, feeding positions, burping, keeping Baby awake long enough for them to eat, keeping Baby focused on eating and not distracted, and more!

This depends on how many shifts and hours each client wants per week. Usually I am supporting 1-2 families per week with regularly scheduled postpartum support.

I also work in 1-2 consultations a week.

If you are exposed to a contagious illness I ask that you let me know as soon as possible. Because I am often working with more than one newborn baby at a time I usually do not care for families who have a contagious illness. The only exception is if you are my only client and you have no other support.

If you or your baby have a non contagious illness I am happy to support you at home or in the hospital.

If you are scheduled for a consultation and you, your baby, or anyone in your home is exposed to or experiencing a contagious illness I ask that you reschedule. If I arrive at your home for a consultation and someone is sick I will leave and not reschedule.

I am dedicated to the safety of my clients and their babies. I maintain current vaccinations, mask in appropriate situations, and avoid socializing with anyone who might be sick. If I am exposed to a contagious illness I inform all clients immediately and reschedule in a way that feels comfortable and safe for everyone.

Yes I am! I am current on vaccines for Flu, COVID 19, MMR, Tdap, and Hepatitis B. I had chicken pox as a child. I am happy to provide proof of vaccination.

I ask that you and your family also vaccinate to protect me and the other newborn babies and families in my care.

I love this question! Infant safety is a huge passion of mine.

To keep your baby safe I start by taking care of myself. I get vaccinated. I avoid sick people. I trim my nails short so I don’t scratch your newborn’s delicate skin. I get a full night of sleep before every shift so I can be at my best. I do not use any scented laundry or personal products. I shower immediately before leaving my home and put on clean scrubs. If I see two clients in one day I change my scrubs and socks between clients. I wash my hands the moment I enter your home.

I keep up-to-date on the latest infant safety recommendations from the AAP and CDC. This includes safe sleep, environmental safety, appropriate bottle washing, appropriate temperatures, appropriate clothing, bath safety, and changing table safety.

If you are concerned about infant safety I would love to talk more about keeping your baby as safe as possible!

Absolutely! After we have met in person and you are ready to sign the contract I am happy to offer references for you to talk with. If you would like to hear about experiences with me before then I encourage you to read reviews of mine on Google!

If you hire me I will always contact you directly and ask if I can give future potential clients your information for a reference. I know what a huge favor this is and you can always say no.

Not a problem! Part of maintaining my certification as a postpartum doula is getting a simple Washington State criminal history check every 3 years. I am happy to send along my most recent one to you after we have met in person, or you can pay for a more comprehensive check.

Wonderful! I love pets! I have been a cat person since birth, but I also love it when my clients have dogs, goats, bunnies, birds, or pocket pets!

If you have a pet who might be aggressive I ask that you keep them in a separate room while I am in your home. Otherwise please let them out so I can give them love and admiration!

Unfortunately, I’m allergic to horses. :-( If you have horses I ask that you store items that have touched horses in a different room than I will be working in.

Absolutely! Feel free to call, email, or text me anytime. I can not guarantee that I will answer immediately, unless you have contracted with me for 1 hour on-call support. I might be at the movies, with another client, or hiking without cell reception, but I will respond as soon as I am able.

Yes! I would love to get updates on how you and your family are doing after our contract is completed. I have some clients who send me regular photos for years and ask me about potty training and other parenting questions!

Sometimes I have sleep consultation clients that I met with once sending me photos of their children years later. I absolutely love watching them grow!

Typically I provide postpartum support and care for new parents and newborns up to 6-months-old. Most babies are more robust and ready for a nanny by the time they are 4-6 months old.

Consultations are usually for children under 12-months-old, but I occasionally do sleep consultations for toddlers or older children.

Between birth and 6 weeks of age we can’t sleep train Baby, but we can gently encourage sleeping, waking, and eating patterns that eventually lead to Baby sleeping longer.

Starting around 6-8 weeks old we can nudge Baby a little bit more in the right direction while still being very cue based.

Most healthy term babies can start formal sleep training around 3-4 months old. At this age we stay respectful of cues while also recognizing that parents and their needs also matter.

Most 3-4 month old babies who have been learning good sleep hygiene since week 1 naturally start sleeping longer and eating much less at night.

Common sleep concerns that I help parents with are:

• frequent night waking

• short naps

• reducing or discontinuing night feeds

• discontinuing contact naps

• discontinuing rocking to sleep

• safer sleep practices

I’m happy to! Newborn nails and bathtime can be pretty tricky! I am happy to put my 25 years of experience to good use and handle anything that you don’t feel confident with. You are welcome to watch, get coached through it, or leave the room and come back to a manicured and sparkly clean baby!

The same goes for anything else that is difficult, like nasal aspiration!

Yes, I do! I am happy to work on all holidays including Christmas and Thanksgiving with no change to my rates.

I loved being a nanny and the amazing relationships that I built with the children when I spent 1-5 years with them. But inevitably they would all outgrow me and go to kindergarten. It was pretty difficult for me emotionally each time, though I was so proud of them. Since I love babies so much I thought that having shorter positions would give me a good balance.

I also had many families over the years tell me that they wished they had found me earlier, so it made sense to start supporting families from the very beginning. :-)

And oh my gosh I love babies so much.

Is it cheating if I say everything?

I absolutely love the babies. The itty bitty tiny ones who are like, “omg I was just born!” and the 6-8 week ones who are starting to smile and coo, and the 3-4 month old ones who are really engaging with their environment! It is so fun!

I also absolutely love seeing cautious new parents come home from the hospital and transition into confident skilled parents who could change a diaper with their eyes closed.

Definitely saying goodbye at the end of the contract, no question!

I will be in your home in a time that is naturally very intimate and vulnerable. I respect that your personal family details are absolutely not mine to share. I will never post about you or your family online.

When referencing previous experiences with other clients I always leave out identifying information.

For my own safety I always let my partner know the addresses of where I will be and I have location sharing on at all times with him only. This is non-negotiable.

No problem! I am happy to sign an NDA if it helps you feel more comfortable.

For my safety I need the NDA to specify that I am allowed to share your address with my partner, and that I am allowed to have location sharing turned on and share my location with my partner. This is non-negotiable.

Sometimes!

If you are comfortable with me taking photos in your home I very much enjoy sending parents adorable photos of their babies and pets. I promise I will never post photos of your baby/home online or share them with anyone aside from you.

I find photos incredibly useful for monitoring rashes and I sometimes snap photos of questionable poop for parents to discuss with Baby’s pediatrician.

If you prefer that I don’t take any photos that is 100% ok! But, think about if you really want me to wake you up from your nap because of a weird non-emergency poop when I could just show you a photo of it later. And what if you are taking a bath when your baby rolls over for the first time? Would you like me to capture it on video?

Absolutely, that is not a problem. Most families have at least one camera, and I find them very useful for knowing when I need to go help Baby out!

I sometimes intentionally have parents use cameras to watch me while I am putting Baby down for a nap so they can see my technique while not causing a lot of excitement in Baby’s room.

I ask that you disclose all the locations of cameras in your home. I get spit up on a lot and I don’t want to change my shirt in front of a hidden camera!

I support all families with new babies.

I welcome families from any religion, faith, or no faith at all. I support all families regardless of skin colors, cultures, sexual orientations and gender identities. I support single-parent families, two-parent families, three-parent families, adoptive families, and families of every shape and size.

If you have a new baby I’ll be there for you.