We worked with Sara for childbirth classes, birthing support, and postpartum care. Longer review below but here's the TL;DR: Work with Sara. It was, by far, the best money we spent to prepare for the newborn phase, particularly if you don't have much local family (or family that's supportive).
My partner and I are first-time parents who are new to MD and have no local family and only a few close friends in the immediate area. She was with us during my labor and in the weeks since, helping with everything from positions and anti-nausea efforts to sterilizing bottles, folding laundry, learning how to use our Moby wrap, pumping techniques, and playing with/distracting our dog.
Our daughter was born five days early. It was a pretty emotionally and physically traumatic experience. We were in the NICU for a few days after a very long, hard labor that did not at all go according to my birth plan. Sara came over the second evening we were at home with her and just helped us all settle.
We were in a weird headspace, unable to make decisions or prioritize tasks. We had also anticipated having at least a few more days before she was born, since everyone told us "first babies are always late" (HA!). Sara was great at being like "what's actually important right now?" She asked really practical things like "what's your plan for breakfast?" and then made us some hard boiled eggs. She also helped us figure out what to eat for dinner that night (we hadn't eaten before 11 PM the previous days while we were dealing with the NICU and then on the first night she was home), so the first thing she did was say "what are you ordering for dinner tonight? How about tacos. You can order from this place." She also held our daughter so we could eat a meal together at our kitchen table, got her swaddled and to sleep, and then helped us start processing my birth experience.
Throughout the following months, she came over to do both overnight and daytime support. These visits generally include a mix of light household tasks (folding laundry, sterilizing bottles, cleaning up the kitchen a bit, etc.), basic infant care, and emotional support for both my partner and myself.
She's also very COVID conscious and is open to taking a rapid test each time she comes over. She masks and is very transparent about her particular risk level at any given time. This was important to my partner and I . read more