I LOVED this class so far! My first pregnancy, so I am nervous about it naturally, but going to…read morethis course has really put my mind at ease. The instructor, Maureen is a doula (or was one and also is a nurse I think). She's super friendly and a wonderful character. She has a way of putting us at ease and no judgement! If we want an epidural, fine, if not, fine! The cost is about $320, but it's 3 hours for 5 sessions, I think it's totally worth it! I read the other reviews, and have not had the same bad experiences at all. Will update as we go along!

Summary: Birth preparation class was very informative but…read morea bit expensive. 4 stars. Prenatal breastfeeding class was not a good use of time or money, and the teacher called me a "Dairy Queen" in front of the class instead of answering my question. 2 stars. The birth preparation class with Robin Douthit was comprehensive and made us feel more confident going into the labor experience. Robin had a great deal of experience and shared both her own experiences, and experiences as a doula with us to understand the range of experiences that we could have. The class was taught from the Lamaze perspective, using the 6 Lamaze principles, such as that labor should start on its own and to stay out of the hospital as long as possible. The class didn't take a definitive stance on the question of pain relief. I did get the message that women who don't end up being able to breast feed probably did something wrong, which seems to be an unfair message for a couple of women I know who tried everything and still had to use formula. A class full of first-time parents-to-be would seem like a natural setting for people to bond, but the participants didn't seem interested in getting to know each other. During the class's 10-15 minute dinner break, people would just talk with their spouses. The class cost $300, which was almost double the cost of birth preparation classes at the hospital in Park Slope. As good as it was, it is hard to say that it was worth so much. We learned some NYU-specific information on the session dedicated to the "virtual tour", but I think that I could have gotten that information from just going to their "virtual tour" alone. The lactation class was somewhat informative, but it was not worth $40 and 3 hours of time. The teacher covered breastfeeding very superficially, and spent lots of time showing us the materials in a stapled packet for us to read later, and also told us to buy some books about breastfeeding, 3 of which I already owned after seeing them recommended elsewhere. She spent about 30-45 minutes at the beginning going around the room asking people for their concerns about breast-feeding, and telling us why we shouldn't worry. That seemed like a huge waste of time, and something she could have addressed in the class itself. She spent lots of time telling us the benefits of breastfeeding, which I would assume that most of the class already knew, because why else would we spend $40 to learn how to do it? She was pretty even-handed about the fact that sometimes women aren't able to breast-feed, and it's not their fault, but she also seemed surprised to hear that even women who breastfeed might end up getting osteoporosis. She would not answer questions about pumping. She said pumping questions were best addressed 3 weeks before we went back to work. She promised to send us an email with extra information so that we could contact her with questions about issues like pumping, but never sent that email. She has a real beef with drinking milk. She said that we do not need to alter our diets in most ways (coffee and wine are fine in moderation), but we should consider drinking less milk because our babies may end up being allergic to milk. Cheese is fine, for some reason. She showed us a slide of bloody diapers from milk-allergic babies. I raised my hand and asked whether there was a maximum amount of milk that we should drink. Oddly, she didn't answer my question, but she asked me if I was a "Dairy Queen", and then straight-out called me a "Dairy Queen." That was just inappropriate. She mentioned several times that we're the only species that drinks milk from other animals. We're also the only species that farms and, for that matter, has hospitals and lactation consultants.

My son and I thoroughly enjoyed the class. I am continuing to sing and sign to him when he gets…read moreinto a teething fuss and immediately his face lights up with joy. I hope one day that he will sign back, so we can start communicating. I would say the best time to take the class is when your child is 3-6 months old. My son started crawling right in the middle of the 8 week series at 7 months and the last class we attended he was all over the room. So it is a bit hard to learn the signing if you gotta keep up with a crawler all the way on the other side of the room.

It is truly a challenge to convey how much we love Lora and Babyfingers. Babyfingers has been (and…read morecontinues to be) an integral part of our son's life. We started coming to class when our son was about 8 months old and each time we walked into the room, his face would light up. After only a few classes he began to sign regularly. Over a year later, Lora has literally become a member of our family. The sense of community we feel when we walk into each class feels like home. Our whole family has learned the signs to several classic children's books and songs! Our son can sign dozens and dozens of words and continues to sign even though he can speak in full sentences. Now, we look forward to our ASL "master class" each week and we are confident our son's strong verbal skills are a testament to all he has learned in Babyfingers!

I attended years ago when my child was a baby…read more This is a very special offering for families to learn how to observe and support your baby and toddler on their early years of movement. I loved the thoughtful approach to the practice and gained insight into what my baby was doing. It's a gem.

The babies project is the most amazing place for accompanying movement and development for…read morebaby/toddler. It's a jewel really. My son and I first attended the babies free class and we both loved it. We now attend a smaller more adapted to his stage class, which is perfect. Body mind centering is a now very well known body technique used all over the world in which there is a huge focus on embryology. The impact on both the body and the mind of my son are palpable. We both feel so joyous and free during the class. Sarah and Amy are kind, attentive and genuine beings it feels great to be around. They are so sensitive on how to share and help us. A place where everyone can breath and feel free. Plus the space is gorgeous. I wish I'd known about it from day 1!!!

We had such a wonderful experience with this service. The HFA team was incredibly responsive and…read moreproactive in connecting us with those who may be on our night nurse team which allowed for me to chat with each one ahead of time. It was our first time working with a night nurse and the whole experience made us feel at ease and in very good hands. Our night nurse, Janette, was wonderful and made us feel so confident that our newborn was in good hands that we could get some sleep back! Definitely recommend!

I am so glad to have worked with postpartum doulas through Happy Family After. We had peace of mind…read moreworking through this agency, knowing the doulas were vetted. We worked with Janice and Sara who were wonderful! On the admin side, Devon, Sondra, and Sara were all so kind and easy to work with. I was able to use my Carrot benefits with ease.

I have 2under2. And I have used The Happy Sleeper (faithfully) with both of them!…read more Last night I took my husband out to comedy for his birthday. The babysitter had to put both girls to bed. And she reported that "both went to sleep with no problems and no tears". What more could a parent want?!?! Now off to buy more copies to CONTINUE giving it to any pregnant lady I meet. This book improves lives!

I have to give HUGE thanks to The Happy Sleeper. My family's entire night time experience has…read moretransformed thanks to a now solid and effective bedtime routine for my daughter ( age 3.5 years). No fussing, or at least nothing that lasts longer than 2 minutes, and we just happily get bedtime done. And now that my kid is well rested, mornings are a joy too. She is no longer asking like a teenager to sleep for "5 more minutes!". She gets up when her body is rested which is 7:15ish give or take 10 mins. And the real cherry on top of this ice cream sundae is that my daughter's tantrums have pretty much vanished. I had "fix tantrums" on my to do list after sleep, but they are gone - hooray! So my child was just walking around sleep deprived and cranky before, and with some rest her true personality is shining through. She is far more easy going and we all have a lot more fun together as a family. So...thank you Happy Sleeper 100 times over for the amazing gift of sleep and for helping restore my sanity. I was holding on by a thread. I'm in MUCH better shape bc I'm more rested now too. Ha! I did the 90 minute sleep consult with Julie. She was extremely thorough and the email coaching was the same. I asked her specific questions in very long emails and she answered them all. I didn't coach with the other consultant, but they follow the same program. And I should mention, my child can be stubborn and feisty, but this worked. My kid whined a lot, but no crazy crying or tantrums. It was a gradual process and it worked. I am just thrilled! I was worried that maybe the program was just for infants, but they advise for toddlers too and it absolutely worked. My kid follows her routine and falls asleep in 10 minutes each night!

PYC is an absolute treasure!! I went to my first class at 26 weeks, felt it was a little early,…read morewent to another class at 30 weeks, and then started to really go regularly the following week. I am just over 37 weeks now and can tell prenatal yoga is helping me a great deal. Deb is wonderful, so compassionate, knowledgeable, loving, and grounding. I try to go to her classes twice a week and I will continue until I deliver. I have also taken classes with Ellyn, Lital, and Jessica, all of which are wonderful in their own way and bring different approaches to the classes. Every time I flip over in bed, I think about Lital's lesson on knees and how to use them to your advantage... such a gift! I have also taken some prenatal classes at PYC, including the Comforting Touch (Yiska is a dream come true and taught my husband and other partners to aid comfort in the prenatal and birthing process!), Childbirth Education (Ceridwen was a dream come true, as well, and I wish I could hug her right this second!!), Newborn Care and Lactation (this one was helpful, offering good insight and assurance of the choices my husband and I have made, -- natural / homeopathic / minimalist route -- but not as engaging as the other two), and then we are set to take Infant Safety & CPR this weekend! The community we have at PYC is so supportive, loving, exciting, and fun. Since it is an independent yoga studio, the clientele is of a similar mindset and all-around loving and tender with one another. I am looking forward to doing the postnatal and baby and me classes once this little nugget makes its debut!!

The Prenatal Yoga Center is just the most warm, supportive place to be when you're expecting a…read morechild. The teachers are caring, patient and so knowledgeable. You feel great at the end of class, both physically and emotionally. I'm not a particularly crunchy person (I'm all about the epidural, for example) and had been expecting to be put off by the general "woo woo" nature of the whole thing, but it was such a positive and happy experience that I found myself going back week after week and then again with my second child. I'd recommend any mom-to-be give it a shot.

We absolutely loved our classes with Lisa! The class was informative, supportive, and incredibly…read moreempowering. The classes are extremely comprehensive without feeling overwhelming. We came into class feeling excited but very nervous about this next chapter and left feeling so much more confident and prepared for both birth and the newborn stage. We loved Lisa's thoughtful approach - blending evidence-based information with compassionate, personalized support in a way that felt holistic, reassuring, and never fear-based. 10/10 - Highly recommend to any expecting parents looking for a childbirth class that feels both realistic and deeply supportive! Thank you, Lisa!

Lisa is a gifted educator on all things childbirth and we're SO happy to have attended her 3 day…read moreintensive in-person classes a few months prior to our due date. I was immediately impressed by Lisa's care and high-touch approach when I saw her thoughtful response to my intake form at the time we registered for the program. And throughout the course, Lisa's wealth of knowledge, passion, and genuine desire to help really carried through. She's also a bright ray of sunshine and we really appreciated her warmth and hospitality in what could feel like a long three day class otherwise. We had snacks and drinks, were able to move around freely, sit on the floor, sit on the yoga ball, there are squatty potties in each bathroom, I mean she literally thought of everything in trying to make this experience as comfortable and smooth for us as possible. With each class, we felt more and more confident and well equipped to welcome our baby and of course the added bonus in this being in-person is that we also loved connecting with other couples that we will continue to stay in touch with. I would highly recommend to any couple who's expecting no matter the kind of birth experience you envision for yourseleves.