Charlotte DeHaven Giovanni

5/9/2017

Dani Dudeck

8/23/2016

I'm so delighted to provide the strongest possible positive recommendation for Lidia. Over the last few months of her working with our family, we have developed an unmatched trust and level of comfort in her abilities and approach. Lidia has a unique way of helping parents exhale and relax with a stronger sense of confidence and calm. She is intelligent, highly experienced, empathetic, calm, a life-longer learner (always taking new classes and has a true appreciation of being great at her craft), understanding, professional and loving.

Her approach is supportive, non-judgemental, curious and helpful - especially for new moms. I feel lucky to have developed such a trusted partnership with Lidia and get her point of view on issues ranging from transitioning back to work to breastfeeding to post-partem stress management.  I found her to be an incredible partner and advocate who's helped me and my husband create a more thoughtful approach to help our daughter be a more comfortable, happy baby.

Each night with Lidia feels restful and productive - not just because as a mom I'm sleeping soundly without worry and with complete trust in her abilities - but because we discuss things for us to work on with a trial and error energy that feels solution-oriented. She has a non-judgemental way of making suggestions in areas where she sees an opportunity to make things better for our daughter. For example, she suggested a new formula that might help her sleep more soundly and a different type of swaddle that might improve her sleep throughout the night. Our daughter suffers from acid reflux and gas but Lidia's suggestions (e.g. using a new formula, my change in diet, overall patience in approach) has made such a difference in her temperment. After our first few months with Lidia, I personally couldn't imagine life wtihout her. We are so incredibly lucky to have found her - she is in a league of her own!

Cassie Cooney

8/22/2016

Lidia was referred to our family through a close friend and helped us with our newborn daughter from 1 week of age.  Lidia was a godsend, we could not have felt more comfortable with her.  Our daughter immediately took to Lidia and her soothing presence.  Lidia is warm, professional, punctual and extremely reliable.  Her knowledge of infantcare is extensive as well as her training and qualifications.  My only regret with Lidia is that we didn't have her with us for a longer time, we are truly going to miss her!

Yashvinee Adarkar

8/4/2016

My baby came two weeks earlier than planned and the doula that we had contracted with was abroad at the time. She recommended Lidia to provide some help until she was able to return. I had never met Lidia, never checked any references, or even spoken to her on the phone. Needless to say, I was nervous.

Within minutes of meeting, Lidia put me at complete ease and I quickly realized that I had absolutely nothing to be nervous about. I would highly recommend her to every family that is looking for a night doula.

Experienced: Lidia is extremely well qualified and has years of experience and knowledge that makes her an excellent resource. Her quiet and calm demeanor was so helpful to me (and the baby!) in those early days when you are in a haze and have pretty much no idea what you are doing (at least, I didn’t!) She was able to provide great suggestions, resources and draw on her knowledge to help me and my baby make it through the early months

Non-judgmental: As experienced and qualified as Lidia is, she is equally non-judgmental and pushy about her suggestions and ideas. I never felt that I *had* to do something a certain way or even try any of her suggestions if I didn’t want to. (I always wanted to, though!). She was always positive, encouraging and always told me that I was doing a good job (Validation that I badly needed in those early days!)

A wonderful person: Lidia is just a wonderful person. She is friendly, warm, caring and calm. I always looked forward to her walking in the door. I consider her a part of our family and I know she will be in my son’s life for many years to come.

I recommend Lidia without reservation and I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Please ask Lidia for my contact information.

Lindsay Millar

7/17/2016

I highly recommend her because: Lidia takes care of our 10 week old, and we've used her since our first night home from the hospital. She is kind, loving, patient, and extremely helpful with recommendations and tips but also honors our requests for night care, she is a great partner in those first days/weeks/months for exhausted parents who need some rest. She is always right on time or early, never a minute late which was lovely at the end of a long day of work knowing we would get rest soon! She is great at communicating via text or email.

She provides assistance with feedings, burping, diapering, soothing our baby and putting him back to sleep, washing bottles and pumping parts. It was also so comforting to have a knowledgable caregiver around when we brought first newborn home.

**Lidia is also wonderful with pets. We have two scaredy cats and they are very comfortable around Lidia and love her.

Susan Guillet

4/7/2016

My partner and I could not have been more happy or satisfied with Lidia as a our post-partum night doula.  She exceeded our expectations in every way imaginable and truly set us up for success as new parents.

We chose Lidia as our post partum doula after interviewing several other candidates.  We instantly felt very comfortable with her from the first time we met her and we were confident that we had met the right person to care for our daughter. She has a very calm and grounded demeanor to which I think our baby definitely responded positively.  My partner and I referred to her as the "baby whisperer" because of her special and soothing way of caring for our daughter.  She also really paid special attention to me as a a new mother.  It was overwhelming for me in the beginning and she was there from the day we brought our baby home from hospital, offering care and support and guidance.  I had no idea how to use a breast pump or when and how often to feed my daughter.   Lidia taught me everything and gave me very useful tips for specific brands of nursing supplies to use, useful websites outlining key milestones for baby,  etc.  She always made sure I was well hydrated and brought me water at each pumping session.  She  sterilized the bottles and supplies after each use and she always had everything set up in advance for me when I needed to wake in the middle of the night to nurse or pump.  Our daughter absolutely loved Lidia.  The first time she smiled was when she was swaddled in Lidia's arms.  We have it documented in an adorable photo.

I could not recommend Lidia more highly.  She is absolutely cut out for what she does as a career - she is a natural with babies and she clearly loves what she does as a profession.  We feel so lucky to have been matched with her.  I'm a more confident mother because of Lidia.  It was 100% worth the investment.

Nicole E.

1/22/2016

Lidia was referred to us by a friend when our son was 2 months old & experiencing very painful reflux. Not only was this tough on our baby it was exceptionally tough on us as new parents - we were up every two hours with him. We quickly engaged Lidia to visit us and see how she could help and after the first night we saw great change. Lidia is such a wonderful Brazilian/Japanese lady - softly spoken, incredibly respectful and least of all she doesnt pass judgement, instead offering excellent suggestions for you to choose to take on board if you like. We eagerly tried all of Lidia's suggestions and found we saw marked improvements in our baby's sleep patterns which in turn gave us our sanity back again!

Best of all Lidia helped us to manage our baby's reflux and gave us advice on how we could assist him with managing his pain. Thankfully he outgrew the reflux at 4 months however we were exceptionally greatfiul to Lidia in all of her help.

Without a doubt my husband and I can highly recommend Lidia - she is nothing short of amazing and a wonderful human being who can help make the journey to new motherhood much, much smoother by offering her guidance and care. She really is one of a kind and genuinely cares for your baby as if it were her own.

Cathy Yip

9/30/2015

I am a second time mom and I had the pleasure to work with Lidia with my infant while I take care of my older one at night. Lidia completely exceeded my expectations. You have no idea how great it is to have someone who's intimately familiar with everything infant and on top of that, thoughtful, loving and patient. My baby immediately bonded with her the moment she held him. At the time, my baby was having a cold and was not feeding well. She was able to help him to take in twice the amount more milk than I could. She was also extremely helpful in administering medication to him. I can tell she is highly skilled at taking care of infant as she bathes him and puts him to bed in less time than I can. Most important of all, she was so thoughtful to even my older one and asked me to spend special time with him. Your newborn is so precious. And I wouldn't just let anyone to take care of him unless it is the right person. I was so grateful to have met Lidia and would use her again in a heartbeat.

Jocelyn Plain

9/9/2015

Lidia has been working with our family as a postpartum night doula for several months now and I have to say that I am so thankful she is in our lives! My daughter has been taken very good care of in Lidia's nurturing hands. Lidia is extremely warm and affectionate and I always look forward to the nights when she comes over to care for my little girl.

On Lidia's first evening with us, she came over a little earlier than her start time to spend a little time with us before the beginning of the evening. I thought that was very thoughtful and professional. Lidia is always on time and is very thorough when she goes over the events that transpired the night before with me.

I like to log the nightly feedings on a whiteboard on my refrigerator and Lidia really takes the time to fill it out! She also cleans my daughter's bottles and pumping equipment and she always dries them and has them ready. I trust that Lidia takes the time to properly clean all the baby bottles!

On the mornings that I have not awoken when it's time for her to leave us, she writes me a note or sends me an email with notes and thoughts and suggestions from the night before. I can tell that with Lidia, this is not merely a job for her but one of her callings in life. She was meant to do this and it is gift that she is blessed with. Whomever she decides to work with is very lucky indeed!

Shannon M. Weidinger

9/7/2015

Lidia was a much appreciated addition to our family as we welcomed our first daughter in May 2015. Lidia not only taught us many things about raising a newborn and helping her sleep and feed, but she also was extremely nurturing and loving to our baby. The nights Lidia would come over, she would always arrive early and ready to jump in and help out. She was also very helpful with breast feeding techniques and helped me, as a new mother, navigate the breast feeding experience. In addition to the nights, Lidia was always extremely responsive during the days with emails, and always willing to answer "new mom" questions and concerns. If she didn't know the answer, she would be honest and up front about it, and help to find that answer.  On top of all of these great things about Lidia, she is a warm, caring, kind, friendly and trustworthy individual who we were lucky to have in our lives. We already miss her greatly, and are extremely grateful for her help and guidance. As a result, our daughter started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks without the extreme Cry It Out technique, and we are so thankful!

Ainsley TeGrotenhuis

8/15/2015

Lidia has helped me with both my daughter (now nearly 3 years old) and my son (currently 3 months) and has been the most loving, kind person we could expect. She is very patient and both of my kids loved her immediately. She is reliable, punctual and extraordinarily professional. I highly recommend working with Lidia.

Stephanie Taylor

1/29/2015

Lidia came into our lives when our twins were about 8 weeks old, and she was a godsend!  Our full-time night doula introduced us to Lidia when we realized we needed help 7 nights a week.  To begin with, Lidia came and spent two unpaid nights with our full-time doula so that she could get to know the girls and their routine.  Lidia was very flexible with her hours and schedule and she took time out of her day to get updates from our main doula so that she could be on the same page and work consistently with her.  She is incredibly thorough, kind, caring, and patient in her work with the girls and us as parents!  She has always gone above and beyond the regular night doula duties, and we only wish that she could be with our family forever! She also gives fantastic baby manicures! The first few months are very stressful and to have someone like Lidia in your home, taking care parents and their newborns is such a wonderful gift.  We recommend Lidia without reservation.

Charlotte DeHaven

1/28/2015

Lidia was our night doula for approximately 6 weeks from the time my son was 3 months to 4.5 months.  Lidia had also been working with us a few days a week as a day time doula .  I have nothing but amazing things to say about Lidia.  She has a warm, nurturing nature, is thoughtful, and is committed.  You would be lucky to have her in your life.  She understands how difficult the first few months of motherhood can be and wants to work with you as a partner as you child develops.  In regards to her day time responsibilities, she not only helped with the baby, but helped educate me (this was our first child), took care of me as a new mother (made sure i was resting, eating, etc), helped with nursing/pumping etc and overall just made my life easier.  Lidia was instrumental in helping get our son Cole to sleep through the night.  When she started with us, Cole was consistently waking up 1/2 times a night.  She helped us develop a plan to start weaning the amount of food, and ultimately, help him sleep through the night himself.  She is a true gem!  Both my husband and I love having her around.  She is a great spirit and warm presence.  We liked her so much that we actually asked her to be our nanny, but she was committed to continuing her role as a Doula.  I would be happy to answer any questions.  Please ask Lidia for my contact information.

Best, Charlotte