Lesley

10/29/2024

Laura is an amazing doula, so nourturing, nonjudgmental, and just the kind of presence you need postpartum. We had Laura come by for a few visits after the birth of our second child and she did everything from fold laundry, demonstrate the coziest wrap techniques, validate the hormonal fluctuations and resulting emotional lability involved with having just had a baby, offer suggestions for soothing our baby we had never before used or considered, change our bedsheets, offer insight into the two-kid dynamic, make comfort food for our toddler mid-tantrum (calming her down with hot dogs - yesss), and give me permission to take a short walk and a long nap!

Postpartum time is a vulnerable time. My spouse and I felt especially protective of our space after our baby was born. We trust few people to look after our kids and do not feel comfortable with just anyone in our house. Laura felt like part of the family immediately. She is respectful and empathetic. She is a social worker. She is cool and fun to talk to. She will not ask a ton of questions of you, but will read the room and help however she sees necessary, which is so great when you are exhausted and can't think straight and you can't "manage" another person or thing.

I fully recommend Laura for postpartum doula work. You may not know you need her until you are in the thick of it, and you will be SO glad you gave yourself the gift of her care.

Molly Z.

10/7/2024

My husband and I hired Laura as a postpartum doula after the birth of our first baby this spring. She came for a handful of days during our baby’s first few weeks and from her first visit we called her our “baby fairy godmother!” Laura always brought a gentle, warm, and experienced energy during her visits. She is so intuitive and always seemed to know what would be the most helpful before we even asked. She prepared wonderful food for us, did laundry, changed diapers, held and comforted our baby so we could nap, and answered about one million questions that we didn’t know we would have about baby care. She also taught my husband how to wear our baby in the wrap carrier, and then a couple of weeks later once I was ready to start wearing our baby he was able to teach me how to do it. Laura really helped us to feel more comfortable and confident as new parents and I am so grateful for everything that she did to help us get off on such a good foot in those early days. I enthusiastically recommend Laura as a postpartum doula and I hope to have her back if we have another baby in the future! 

Brynn

10/4/2024

I cannot recommend Laura highly enough as a postpartum doula! From the moment she stepped into our home, her gentle and reassuring presence made a world of difference. She provided invaluable guidance, empowering us to trust our instincts and encouraging us every step of the way.

My husband and I both see Laura as a role model for the kind of parents that we aspire to be. Her warmth and wisdom shone through as she taught us practical skills, including babywearing. We feel that babywearing was hugely beneficial in helping our baby develop core strength and head control early on, but more importantly became a special bonding experience for my husband and daughter. Even now, at six months old, he continues to babywear, creating precious moments together.

Navigating the early days of breastfeeding was challenging, but with her support, I was able to find success with breastfeeding in a way that worked for me.  Beyond the practical advice, Laura created a safe space for us to recharge. She was always there to answer our questions, no matter how small, and made us feel confident in our parenting choices. Her encouragement to listen to our intuition was invaluable, helping us grow into the parents we wanted to be. I am so grateful for my experience working with Laura. I will never forget it!

Thank you, Laura, for your unwavering support and guidance during this transformative time. You have truly been a blessing in our lives!

Melanie Blumling

4/14/2024

Laura is so wonderful. She's kind and really knows how to make you feel comfortable. 10/10 would recommend!

Caressa Spychala

3/26/2024

Laura joined our group for a babywearing class where she taught new moms and their partners how to babycarry littles of all ages and sizes. Laura was thorough and thougthful in how she approached teaching techniques for every person's unique body. Her respectful, yet gentle demeanor put everyone at ease and it felt like a casual meeting at a friend's house. Parents walked away with confidence and excitement to try new wraps and slings they hadn't before considered. I would wholeheartedly recommend Laura's babywearing class and I will be recommending my birth doula clients to her for postpartum doula care. 

Casey Devlin

3/2/2024

Laura was an exceptional postpartum doula for us. She helped us care for our newborn, learn about baby wearing and get much needed rest.  I believe Laura's visits and care helped speed up my recovery from birth and improved our babies sleeping patterns. As a new mom she gave me confidence to handle all the changes I was experiencing by being a kind ear to speak to and an experienced carer to learn from. 

Sophie

10/20/2023

My husband and I had a wonderful experience with Laura! She came to our home and gave us a very thorough and informative baby wearing lesson before our son was born. She was patient (especially with our crazy dog) and obviously knowledgeable. She brought her own baby wraps and carriers and weighted dolls, and helped us with the wraps we had already purchased. I highly recommend working with Laura in any capacity!

Kaylan

3/22/2023

Laura was my postpartum doula following the birth of my 3rd baby in August. She was so helpful taking care of both my daughter AND me. I took advantage of napping during many of her visits, and I was never kept awake worrying about whether or not Laura knew what she was doing. I was more confident in her than even my mom & mother-in-law because of how many babies she has cared for. Laura has a very calming, positive energy. She was so kind as to make sure I had sandwiches & fruit salads prepared in my fridge, so I could just grab and go when I found a free moment. She also taught me how to babywear, which was very helpful during some fussy/gassy periods. I highly recommend her as a doula. I am grateful to have had that extra support.

Aisling McIntyre

3/10/2023

Laura was such a wonderful, calming, and thoughtful postpartum doula. My partner and I are both pretty high strung/anxious people and we knew that we needed someone to balance that anxiety out with our first born. Laura was so, so reassuring during those early days. She taught us how to wear our baby, which was a huge help since her preferred nap surface those first few months was on us. She made us nutritious meals and left the house very tidy. She went above and beyond, bringing us baked items from her home or picking up something she knew we liked from the grocery store. She also really helped with breastfeeding, helping show me positions like laid back and side lying that I couldn't practice in the breastfeeding center and she helped figure out a solution to help get my baby (who favored laying on one side and therefore was only nursing on one side) to nurse on both sides, which greatly helped with some engorgement issues I was dealing with. Most importantly, as I was dealing with a health scare that was going to potentially require that I be hospitalized, Laura offered to come over day or night to help with the baby. Luckily, I didn't need to be hospitalized, but as a transplant to Pittsburgh without much family around, knowing that we had someone we trusted who could come help care for our baby gave us great peace of mind during an otherwise very scary situation. I cannot say enough positive things about Laura and how warm, caring, and wonderful she is. She not only took care of our precious baby during her earliest days, buts also helped care for us. My partner and I are hopeful to have a second baby and one of the things we are most looking forward to if we do haev another, is getting to have Laura as our postpartum doula again! One final note, Laura is very LGBTQIA+ affirming, which was important to us as a queer couple and she made us feel safe and respected during a very vulnerable time in our lives. 

Laura

3/8/2023

Laura saved our lives! We had her come only four hours a week but that was just enough to keep our heads above water during the overwhelming newborn stage. Forever grateful for her support and kindness. 

Rachel

3/6/2023

I do not know what I would have done without Laura in those first months - she was a lifesaver. I had a babe with reflux (so not much sleep at our house) and a rough go with postpartum depression. Laura came in, strapped on my baby, and listened to where I was at and what I needed. The amazing thing about Laura, though, is that she was able to intuit far beyond what I had the words for. Her energy is so calming and her capacity to hold my baby and my anxiety at the same time was incredible. We were deep in COVID and did not have much contact with our support network. Laura's visits felt like such a pressure release on our little system. She taught us how to wear our babe, which was critical given the reflux. She also made sure I had nutritious food, had time to bathe myself, and supported in nursing challenges. She built my skills and confidence as a new parent without much infant experience. She cherished my baby and nourished my family - I could not recommend her more highly. 

Leah

7/12/2021

Laura provided post-partum doula services for our family. She was an absolute blessing and I don't know how we could've survived that first month without her. Laura's balance of experience, knowledge, and emotional intelligence make her an excellent doula. She is able to jump in and support in a variety of ways, without being pushy. I would also highly recommend her to families with an older sibling in the home (she was amazing with our four-year-old) and LGBT families.

Yana Litovsky

7/11/2021

Laura joined us when our son was about 3 months old. It was at the height of the pandemic and we tried to take care of him alone as long as we could but eventually realized we desperately needed help. Laura made our lives infinitely easier. She was the best caretaker we could have dreamed of. She is incredibly knowledgeable and expert at what she does and taught us so many skills and tricks (including babywearing, but so much more) that helped us take care of our colicky son when she wasn't around. She was also calm, and kind and a pleasure to have around. When our son was sleeping, she found ways of helping us, by doing the laundry or baking something absolutely delicious, so she always left us better prepared for the rest of our day. She's a wonderful doula and a wonderful person and I would unreservedly recommend her services to any new parents who think they need some help. 
 

Anna

6/23/2021

Laura is wonderful! I contacted her for a baby wearing lesson/consultation about 5 weeks postpartum with my second child. Coordinating a session was seamless as Laura is extremely responsive via email/phone. She has a friendly, warm, calming demeanor and is incredibly knowledgeable about various wraps, carriers and infant care. I feel much more confident and secure in using my wrap after having met with Laura. She was hands on, showed me various holds, wrap options and answered all my questions with detailed specificity. The at-home lesson (which is ideal for a tired mom with a new baby!) was professional and fun. Laura has my utmost gratitude for being so helpful and kind. She also has my highest recommendation! 

Karen

6/17/2021

I'm so fortunate to have found Laura after the birth of my son.  As a first time mother, there was a lot that I didn't know and Laura was extremely knowledgeable and supportive throughout my postpartem experience, not to mention how loving and kind she was with my son.  She has a calming presence which was comforting to both the baby and me.  I highly recommend Laura's services!

Brandy Gentry

6/15/2021

Laura was our postpartum doula in 2019 and early 2021. She is such a giving and supportive caregiver. She is compassionate, thoughtful, and thorough. I enjoyed her teaching me as I learned my new baby's needs. I looked forward to her time in my home and I appreciated her active listening skills as I navigated the big emotions that come with the postpartum period. I highly recommend her services. 

Mary Holahan

3/31/2020

I don't know how we would have made it without Laura.  I originally thought we'd work with Laura for a few weeks; but as our baby was turning three months old I still wasn't ready to not see Laura a few times a week.  I'll never forget the the day she came when the baby was a few days old and suggested that my husband and I take a nap together.  We kinda of objected, she gently nudged and we followed her lead (which we came to do often) and it was the best gift anyone could have given us.  

It was simple things like that to remind me of who I was before giving birth to more complex guidance like help with breastfeeding that made Laura invaluable to us.  She made sure I was getting some sleep, made me breakfast, gave advice and shared her experience on every random thing that popped into my mind, taught us how to use a sling (and re-threaded it often and most importantly), took the best care of our baby.  My husband and I learned so much just by watching Laura with our little girl. 

I can't recommend Laura and postpardem doula care enough.

Courtney

2/6/2020

Laura provided postpartum services for us after the birth of our first son. He was delivered by unplanned cesarean after a very long and difficult labor. Laura made our transition into parenthood much more smooth. Her personality is very positive, affirming and calming. She is good at balancing instruction with encouraging parents to rest while she is there. She assisted with meals, accommodating dietary restrictions (vegetarian, dairy free, and gluten free). She provided knowledgeable and encouraging breastfeeding instruction and support. She gave individualized baby wearing instruction for multiple carriers. I am grateful for her presence in the first few weeks of our sons life and would recommend her to anyone without hesitation. 

Nicole

2/4/2020

I took a babywearing class with Laura at the Midwife Center. I had received a few wraps/slings as shower gifts, but I had no idea how to use them. After watching a few YouTube videos, I was still kind of lost.

Laura showed us how to use two different types of carriers: a sling and a woven wrap. She brought lots of carriers with her made out of different fabrics of different lengths. She also brought several weighted baby dolls with her for us to practice. I learned so much and felt very comfortable after just one class.

Laura was patient and informative. She provided us with an informational handout and even helped me to figure out how to use a different carrier that I had received as a gift. Overall, I would recommend taking a class with Laura for anyone who is interested in the basics of babywearing. 

Emily Mertiff

10/14/2019

 Laura was extremely patient and very knowledgeable regarding baby wearing. She made sure to address all of my concerns for each carrier I wanted to use as well as addressing needs for my baby’s age.   Her style of teaching was very helpful as she showed you how to properly  adjust and wear the carrier and your baby and then  had do you demonstrate so she could make sure you were wearing baby properly.   Again she was very knowledgeable and very helpful and the class by far exceeded my expectations.  

Sarah G

7/18/2019

Laura was absolutely wonderful for our family. We reached out to her needing some quick availability due to a family illness. She was able to fit us in right away. My toddler absolutely LOVED the days when Ms. Laura would come. She is wonderful not just with babies but also with toddlers. I also was grateful to have her help with babywearing. I had just gotten a new carrier and she was able to do a very in-depth fit check for safety. She was always quick to busy herself with tasks when she had downtime and was really helpful with all the laundry that kept piling up. Hiring Laura was a great choice! She won't disappoint.

Dana

5/19/2019

We’ve worked with 5 different doulas since our son was born 15 months ago and Laura is our favorite doula by far.

Laura has both hands-on experience as she worked with multiple families before us and technical knowledge as she currently teaches classes on baby development at University of Pittsburgh. Most importantly, she truly cared about our son and me and also gave my husband great advice as a new father.

Laura is very productive, knowledgeable, caring, has lots of initiative and her advice on breastfeeding was invaluable. Our son has developed a special bond with her and gets excited every time she comes over. Laura has been with our family since the first day when our son was born and we hope to keep her for as long as we can despite her busy schedule. If we have a second baby, we hope that Laura will help us again!

Maureen T

3/26/2019

Despite being really into the idea of babywearing, I was completely mystified about how to do it. So glad that Laura taught a group class! She expertly broke down the advantages of different types of carriers and how to use them, and how to make sure you're wearing your child safely. What I appreciated most about Laura's class and her teaching style is that she made babywearing seem like a completely attainable skill.  She has a calm, friendly presence that kept all of us in the room at ease.  I've been so excited about babywearing since Laura's class that I have been practicing tying / slinging different household objects to myself and my partner. We have a few more weeks until our little one arrives, but practice makes perfect! I would wholeheartedly recommend that anyone interested in babywearing take Laura's class. 

Audra Balisky

12/18/2018

My husband, baby and I attended Laura's Wear Your Newborn babywearing class. We greatly enjoyed the class. It was intimate, and Laura did an excellent job tailoring the class for our questions and for the babywearing devices that we had already purchased. The class was also very hands-on, which has definitely made me and my husband feel that we can babywear with confidence. We are very happy that we attended the class, and we highly recommend the class to any new parents planning to babywear.

Melissa Sinclair

12/5/2018

Laura's "Wearing Your Newborn" class was an invaluable source of information and helped me have the confidence that I needed to stick with figuring out how to wear my little one. There are soooo many options out there. I felt overwhelmed... until I took Laura's class. Being able to try on different carriers was great but even better were the simple, clear instructions that she offered, the handouts (which I've referenced several times since coming home) and the comfortable, chill environment that she created. She is extremely knowledgable, patient, and a wonderful encourager. She even answered a question that came up months after I took the class - I sent an email and recieved a very helpful response within hours. I highly recommend Laura's baby wearing classes, if only to be connected with such a valuable resource!

Lauren Smathers

11/6/2018

Hiring Laura as a post partum doula was one of the best decisions we could have made as first time parents. She came to our house a few hours after we got home from the hospital and was really helpful getting me and the baby settled while my husband was busy getting things set up for the house and baby. She came a few other times and was so helpful with transitioning me to being home alone with my newborn. She taught me how to wear my baby, how to soothe my baby and was in general very reassuring with all my questions I had as I second guessed every thing I did. She helped me learn how to use my breast pump and showed me how to bathe the baby. One day we even cleaned out my fridge and cooked up a bunch of random food into meals to freeze that my husband and i could eat that otherwise I wouldn't have had time or creativity to do anything with. She was quick to jump in and do what needed to be done without asking, like cleaning dishes, changing the baby's diaper, soothing the baby while I ate. Laura was very calming, kind and reassuring. I appreciated when she brought us some cooked food with her on a couple of her visits. I wish Laura could come to our house forever, she was just so helpful and kind! We will definitely hire her again if we have more children.

Lara Kitko

1/11/2018

Laura is amazing, I call her the baby whisperer. She was such a huge asset after having my baby, especially with having a 20 month old already. Laura was always ready to lend a helping hand in whatever way you felt was helpful, whether it was to prepare you a meal to make sure you ate, refill your water bottle, or hold the baby so you could take a much needed nap.

The one invaluable thing that Laura offered was her extensive knowledge- of baby wearing, breastfeeding, cosleeping, and many other topics. She was always willing to lend a listening ear and offer reassurance and guidance. I highly recommend Laura as a postpartum doula and am so grateful to have had her help.

Lara Kitko

1/11/2018

Laura is amazing, I call her the baby whisperer. She was such a huge asset after having my baby, especially with having a 20 month old already. Laura was always ready to lend a helping hand in whatever way you felt was helpful, whether it was to prepare you a meal to make sure you ate, refill your water bottle, or hold the baby so you could take a much needed nap.

The one invaluable thing that Laura offered was her extensive knowledge- of baby wearing, breastfeeding, cosleeping, and many other topics. She was always willing to lend a listening ear and offer reassurance and guidance. I highly recommend Laura as a postpartum doula and am so grateful to have had her help.

Denise Gallagher

9/16/2017

Laura provided postpartum Doula services after the birth of my second child. She was terrific! She started coming a day or two after I came home from the hospital with the baby. She was always very gentle and caring and make sure my needs were met.  She has a fantastic way with babies and has a very calming personality. She always made sure I got to take a nap, have a meal or snack, shower or otherwise do things that are very hard to do when you are taking care of a newborn.  She genuinely seemed to care and was very helpful in terms of giving tips for taking care of a newborn, including breastfeeding,  as well as babywearing. She enjoys what she does and she is very good at it.  I strongly recommend her without reservation.