Karen Griffin was the missing piece to make my eventful and stressful birth of my second child, enjoyable and rewarding. Karen assisted in being thoughtful and encouraging and empowering me to have the confidence and freedom to bond with my baby. Although this was my second baby, there were 10 years between them, and I was very stressed and not feeling very confident and ready to be a mother again to a newborn baby. There was a lot going on in our lives that we were trying as a family to complete before the new baby arrived, but unfortunately, she came weeks earlier than anticipated. We were not moved into our new house yet and the baby's area was not set up. Baby clothes from the baby shower were not yet washed and packed in boxes, not even readily available when the baby was born. Karen was flexible and ready to meet us ahead of schedule and was critical in my ability to focus on my job of taking care of my little one. Karen organized, packed, unpacked, ran to the store, reminded me to eat, and was my rock during the most stressful week of my life. Her energy and positivity kept me calm and (mostly) relaxed. She helped me with engorgement relief and assisting with nursing positions that were more comfortable for me and helped baby latch on better. I was still having a very hard time with nursing and felt like something was wrong and different from my first baby. I noticed my new baby's latch just wasn't quite right and I suspected a tongue tie. My husband constantly told me I was overreacting to every worry, but Karen reassured me that if I felt something was not right, that I was not overreacting and that I should seek further consultation. After making it to the pediatrician who confirmed the tongue tie, we were able to get the frenulectomy and it made the WORLD of difference. Had Karen not been there, I fear that I would not have pursued this further and would not have been able to continue nursing my baby and would have really made me feel guilty and like a failure. Having Karen in the home through those first days at home was critical for me to bond with my new baby, and be able to relax and get the rest and relief that I needed to be a success. read more