Kelly

11/27/2023

We worked with Arielle when our daughter was born in December 2022.  She was a very calming person to have in the house - a good combination of kind energy and practical advice.  Arielle helped us feel more confident with all of the basics of parenting a newborn and she specifically helped me a lot with nursing when I was in some pain.  She was also a really nice person to chat with and she was there for moral support.  She was also very nice to our dog, who can be a lot to deal with!

Cassandra

11/19/2023

Arielle was a wonderful source of support earlier this year following the birth of my first baby, I would highly recommend working with her!

Arielle came to our home the first day my husband and I returned from the hospital and made that first strange day so much more manageable. What we appreciated immediately was Arielle's ability to both be highly present and helpful while also being wonderfully calm, allowing us to enjoy the tenderness of the moment. Arielle gave us the space to feel the newness of everything.

Over the next few weeks, Arielle came to our home several hours a week at various times of day. She helped us manage many sleep, feeding, and comfort issues -- notably saving the day and showing me how to pump! -- without ever overwhelming us. In addition to helping us learn and get used to things, Arielle stayed with our baby while we slept for a few hours or left the house for a quick outing. At such an early point, it was very comforting to have someone we trusted on many levels care for the baby.

Arielle's non-judgmental, kind, and experienced presence was greatly appreciated, I hope everyone gets a chance to work with someone like her. 

Christine

11/15/2023

Arielle worked with me and my partner when we welcomed our first baby home in April 2023. During her sessions in our apartment, Arielle helped us master the basics, from bathing to tying a baby wrap. She offered a nonjudgmental ear and invaluable feedback as my partner and I asked questions about feeding, sleeping, swaddling — you name it. Arielle even watched our baby so that my partner and I could take a nap, which was a huge gift to two exhausted new parents. We loved having her on our team in those early days, someone who was there to help in any way she could. I cannot recommend her enough!

Kristin

11/13/2023

Arielle was a critical part of our team leading up to and after the birth of our baby. She was thoughtful, available when we needed her most, a great communicator, flexible, kind, supportive, and a just a joy to talk with. Ariel mostly helped us during the day time, but also was able to help during a few nights during the first couple weeks when we really needed sleep and help. She walked in to our house and immediately started setting up systems, problem solving, helping me physcially when I was limited, and helping us find sustainable ways to care for our baby and ourselves. We credit her with helping us build confidence and stay sane those first few weeks. We are so grateful for her! 

Kathy

4/2/2019

Arielle is a godsend. We started working with her upon returning home from the hospital and she was such a big support for us, especially me as a first-time mom. I had challenges breastfeeding and Arielle provided both practical guidance and, more importantly, moral support. She’s a close confident, wonderful listener, and provided a constant comfort to me during what was a fairly difficult transition to motherhood for me. My son adored her, and I cried multiple times leading up to the end of our time with her. I can’t think of a more nurturing or caring person to help a mom during a very vulnerable period of life. 

Melanie Cristi Höglind

11/29/2018

Arielle was our postpartum doula from when my son was 2 days old to when he was 4 months old, and I cannot speak highly enough of how valuable she was to our family during this time. She truly has a keen, intuitive sense for what a new mother (and family) needs in terms of support as well as practical matters. From day one, she was so comfortable to be around during a vulnerable time, and I felt so cared for by her. She would prepare easy snacks as well as delicious meals for us - I learned so many healthy, incredible-tasting recipes from her! She made lots of great suggestions on how to organize our apartment more efficiently and logistically with a new baby. She helped with light housekeeping, tidying up, washing bottles and dishes, grocery shopping, laundry and home organizing. She supported me through a tough time of post-natal health issues and anxiety, and was so great about sending me resources and links for counselors, support groups, and informative websites. She would also give me advice on breastfeeding and pumping - she taught me how to actually use my pump when it seemed like a foreign object those first few crazy days! She was incredible with my son - he loved having her around and would always fall asleep cozily in her arms because he was so relaxed around her. She also helped accompany me on errands with my son - physical therapy visits, shopping trips, and even just to get out and take walks and get some fresh air. She was one of the very few people my (very particular) husband would trust around the baby and in our home, trusting her instincts and expertise, and he still comments about how grateful he is that she was there for me during that time, and that his only regret was that we didn't have her full-time!

Arielle is the perfect example of everything a postpartum doula should be - caring, intuitive, hands-on, non-judgmental, ready and willing to do anything a new family needs...often without even having to be asked.

Allison Mezzafonte

10/20/2018

Arielle joined our family when my son was about 8 weeks old. We completely struck gold when we found her. Having Arielle's support and care through the early months of my son's life was not only the biggest life saver, it completely changed my entire experience while on leave. Arielle has a warm presence that calms a room, and assures you that everything is going to be okay. The crazy gets taken down a notch when Arielle is around. She is knowledgable, kind and just a really lovely human being. I had been having a hard time managing with my husband being back at work, and caring for my son at a time when we were having difficulty nursing, and a really hard time getting him to sleep. In came Arielle. She is like the baby whisperer! She took the time to get to know me, my baby, my husband (our cats!), and really provided care that she knew would be most valuble to us. On any given day, Arielle would make me lunch, grocery shop, hold our son so I could shower, nap, run an errand; she would join me at doctor's appointments, tidy up, calm the baby and get him to sleep on those days when it was simply impossible. Some days she'd just wear him for hours so he'd sleep. Arielle always proactively looked for answers and solutions to things that were going on -- whether that was related to nursing, post partum emotions, or anything in between. She'd always follow up and check in after a particularly hard day, and would always get back to me with the information she had found while researching something on my behalf. She found me the acupuncturist who saved me when I was having recurring plugged ducts. She was a godsend, and I always looked forward to the days she was here. My husband would ask "what are you going to do when Arielle comes today?", and I'd say, "Hang out with Arielle!" I didn't want to leave because I loved our conversations and how she interacted with our son. He adored her, and would light up when he saw her. We wish we could have her with us forever!

Erin McFarland

1/17/2018

Arielle supported me and my family as a postpartum Doula for three months following the birth of our first child. Arielle exudes calm and the whole house would fall quiet as soon as she arrived. Arielle prepared wholesome meals and snacks for my husband and me (she stocked our freezer with delicious chili that I still think about), shopped for groceries, helped us with never ending laundry (we do not have a washer dryer so she went to the laundromat for us!), and easily soothed our baby so I could squeeze in a nap or yoga practice. Arielle helped with breast feeding, baby wearing (she has experience with a wide assortment of carriers - I have referred to her as a baby wearing expert), and countless other questions that arise for new mothers. Arielle is a great communicator - she would always check in to see when we need support for the next week, and would always text before coming over to see if we needed anything that she could pick up on her way. Arielle is a natural nuturer and we felt truly cared for by her during the exciting but very trying postpartum months. My daughter is now four months old and I have recently gone back to work - I miss having Arielle in my home every week!