The Mommy Center has been such a wonderful experience for both me and my daughter. Michelle and her…read moreteam have created such a fun, welcoming, and judgment-free space where moms and their little ones can connect, play, and feel supported. I've taken two of their mommy-and-baby class series, and I loved both of them. Each series includes special touches like each week is a different topica mini photoshoot, a swim party, and so much more, which makes it absolutely worth every penny. Carmen, who helped lead the group, is amazing. She is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and always makes me feel heard. She gives thoughtful advice and truly cares about the moms and babies she works with. You can tell she genuinely loves what she does. I've also attended several music classes with Michelle, and those have been some of my favorites. My daughter absolutely loves music time, and Michelle does such a great job keeping the kids engaged and entertained. We truly love The Mommy Center and are so grateful for everything they offer!!

I had such a great experience with my newborn here for the mommy and me session. It felt a lot more…read morepersonable compared to other centers that offered these kinds of classes. Prior to class, we had a group WhatsApp which made it so easy to communicate and get introduced to each other. I love that the center organized mommy outings for us, planned family picnics, as well as provided professional photography. I was never stressed out when I was at the center, knowing that there's a diaper station with plenty of diapers in many sizes, formula in case mamas forget to bring sustenance for baby, bottle warmers, and everything we need to feel comfortable. It felt above and beyond. I highly recommend trying one of several classes they offer! I'm excited to continue onto their 4-6 month old sessions and try out the baby music class.

I feel blessed to have found Karen to help with our natural birthing. Being a nervous first-timer…read morewith pregnancy, she was very supportive and took the time to explain and be there for me every step of the way. She is very sweet and I have referred her to friends. She has over 8 years of experience and doula-ed over 50 births (and that was at the time I interviewed her!) so more now! It was so important to me to have a well-seasoned and experienced doula. Also, her rates are very reasonable. She held my hand during labor and my fondest memory was her feeding me muffins and juice minutes before I had a no-epidural natural hypno-birth with my child at the Irvine Hoag hospital suite. Honestly, it could not have gone better and I would recommend her to anyone. Thank you so very much, Karen. (On a side note, that one negative review should not count as hospitals kept changing rules at the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020 and were not allowing in doulas or additional relatives besides spouses! Silly as it was not Karen's fault.)

Karen Guthrie was my doula for my May 2024 labor and delivery. This was my first baby, and like…read moremany mothers I had some fears and apprehensions about giving birth. Karen was absolutely phenomenal, and so helpful in easing any anxiety I had during my pregnancy, delivery, and birth! She had great communication in all correspondence during both my pregnancy and during my labor and delivery. She was very knowledgable, and helped to keep me calm, cool, and collected in the ups and downs of a long labor. My husband and mom (both also were there for my labor and delivery) raved about how helpful she was during the entire process, and I know if not for her I would have felt much less prepared. Thank you Karen, you were the perfect person to help me through this monumental life experience!

Christy is seriously amazing. Finding the right midwife was really important to me because birth is…read moresuch a personal experience, and I knew I needed someone I felt 100% comfortable with. From the moment we met her, we just knew she was the perfect fit for us. This was our first baby, and she guided us through everything. She answered all of our questions, made us feel so supported, and honestly exceeded every expectation we had. I also really loved that she's the perfect balance of holistic, but will absolutely speak up if something medical is needed. You can tell her top priority is always keeping both mom and baby safe. We also took her Bradley Method class, which was so helpful and made me feel way more prepared and confident going into birth. We learned so much, and I've already been recommending it to everyone. I fully trusted her the entire time, which made such a difference for me going into labor and birth. Throughout my labor, she was there at any time of day to answer my calls and questions, and she always helped me feel calm and educated about what was happening. On the day of the birth, she was calm, confident, and completely in her element. She made the whole experience feel so smooth and magical. I recommend Christy to anyone, and I already know I'll want her as my midwife for all of my future babies

Taking the Bradley Method with Christy was really one of the best decisions my husband and I made…read moreto prepare for birth She's made us feel so much more confident going into doctor's appointments and being able to advocate for the type of birthing experience we're hoping to have. Even going into conversations with other people who have who have gone through pregnancy and birth--the confidence we have speaking about what we want, what we want to avoid, and why has been amazing to share with people who weren't given even the basic information/options by their medical team. Truly couldn't recommend Christy and her approach enough

I found Labor of Love by doing some of my own research online. And thank God I did! My doula,…read moreKaren, was my rock throughout my labor and was 100,000 percent amazing--I'll definitely be working with her for my second! A little backstory: I was overwhelmed and so nervous about finding "the one" person to be a part of the most important event of my life. After doing my research and reading through all these bios, I honestly was left feeling overwhelmed, especially knowing how indecisive I can be. I knew I just had to trust my intuition and my gut on this one! After looking at Karen's bio on their website, I had such a good feeling. Staci (the owner), who was super friendly and professional, helped me get connected with Karen, and I booked an interview right away! Karen was so sweet and asked me about my pregnancy experience so far. We discussed how I wanted my birth to go and any concerns I had. There wasn't any pressure to hire her, and it just felt like she was already invested in me, like I was already family. I even had her video chat with my husband to make sure we both felt comfortable and vibed well together--and we sure did! Overall, Karen ended up being the perfect balance of knowledge, experience, and professionalism. It was the most perfect amount of care I could have asked for. She was also such an advocate for my birth plan to work out. Before, during, and after my labor and birth, she was always naturally in tune with what I needed. She was never overbearing, worked so well with my husband, and gave him space to be a part of my support team as well. I am so grateful to have come across Labor of Love

The business owner is quite the opposite of the type of person any vulnerable new mom should have…read moreto work with. My experience with Labor of Love was almost two years ago now but continues to upset me when thinking back on my experience. We hired Lauren as our doula, who made it clear she expected us to go far past my due date as a first time mom. While it's possible for that to happen, it didn't in my case. At 39 weeks and at 5am while in active labor and getting ready to head to the hospital, she let us know she had Covid. Her backup was Karen, who I wish we hired to begin with as she is far more caring and professional. Though unfortunately our experience still fell short and we ultimately delivered without Karen present. We were left feeling like we invested a lot of emotion and money into this process with ultimately no help. Staci has been incredibly rude to us since then and even revoked our access to watch her training videos, sending me a link to pay her once again when wanting to rewatch for our now second baby on the way. Karen herself even recommended we ask for a partial refund due to our experience, but Staci lacks the professionalism and courtesy to her clients. Truly mindblowing that she revoked access to the training videos after we had already paid for them. I would stay far away and recommend a more experienced and caring doula group.

Ana is a godsend. When I was planning to have my 5th baby, the one thing I knew for sure is that I…read morewanted to have him at home. I interviewed so many great midwives, but as soon as I met Ana, I knew she was the right fit. She took me on late in my pregnancy (27ish weeks), and onboarding with her was so easy. The care that I received from her was supportive, kind, compassionate and steady. I appreciate how calm and nurturing she is while staying firm in her knowledge of pregnancy, birth, and of a woman's body overall. Her care is holistic and evidence-based, and she makes her clients actual partners in their care. We never did anything that I was uncomfortable with (which is almost unheard of in a hospital birth). When I started to go overdue, she was there to reassure me, and because she genuinely trusts the process of birth, she helped me trust my body as well. I had an absolutely amazing birth experience that my husband and I wouldn't trade for anything. My baby is two now (sorry this is so late!), but I still think of Ana often and so fondly. She became part of our family for the time she was with us and I will always love her for helping me have the birth experience of my dreams (even at 43 years old). Thank you Ana!

Ana is very professional and knowledgeable, yet deeply caring and respectful of your opinions and…read morevalues. Even though this was my third pregnancy, I learned so much about how to care for myself and my baby. I loved that she wasn't pushy, but gave us the facts and let us make our own decisions. We often covered the importance of exercise and nutrition, and I made changes from that, which I believe contributed to a smoother and easier pregnancy than my first two. She also was so calm and professional throughout my labor and delivery. My husband noted how much he appreciated her composure during the most intense moments of my labor. She's the kind of person you'd want by your side when you're not in the right frame of mind. She also collaborated very well with her assistant, respecting her skills and experience during my postpartum assessment. We loved having her as our first midwife and home birth experience and will definitely be reaching out to her again in the future!

TL;DR - We had a wonderful experience with Elizabeth Williams and Katarina Lunde at Anointed…read moreBirths! This being my first birth, I completely attribute the relatively short length of my labor and doing it completely unmedicated to Katarina's expertise and support. Could not recommend them enough and definitely plan to use them again in the future! The long version :) - My husband and I had an absolutely amazing experience with Anointed Births. We started looking for a doula pretty late into my pregnancy and were on a pretty tight budget. I submitted the contact form and heard from Elizabeth in a very timely manner. She was so kind and encouraging and easy to work with. The timeline and budget did limit our doula options, but she was happy to work within those constraints. She matched us with Katarina Lunde and we were so happy with her! She is a gem! She came to our home for a prenatal visit and was so friendly and easy to talk to. She knew all the right questions to ask and had lots of information that helped us decide on our birth plan. We prayed together at the end of the meeting and my husband and I felt confident that she was going to be instrumental in helping us succeed in the unmedicated birth we were hoping and praying for. We stayed in touch with her between the visit and when I went into labor. She was very helpful with providing information, recommendations for prenatal and labor items to purchase, and adjustments to our birth plan. Once I went into labor we called Katarina and stayed in touch via text, phone calls, and a contraction timer app. She was so responsive, positive, and encouraging! She was at another birth at the time, so she put us back in touch with Elizabeth in the meantime. Elizabeth was also very available through phone calls and texts - and this was all happening from 12:30-6:30am! Once we were in triage my husband remained in close contact with Elizabeth and Katarina. Katarina was still at the other birth so Elizabeth was planning to join us. She was holding off coming until I was admitted to a labor and delivery room so our hours for her services weren't wasted with her sitting in the waiting room. She did suggest positions for me to labor in while we waited and encouraged me to try to rest between contractions. I think that rest early on made a huge difference in maintaining endurance through to delivery. As we were getting admitted to L&D we heard that Katarina was available to come meet us! She drove a couple hours up from San Diego to Orange County! We were so grateful she made that effort to join us since we had already met her in person - although I was feeling just as comfortable if it turned out Elizabeth needed to come instead. By the time Katarina made it to the hospital I was having pretty painful back labor. It was such a relief to see her come in the room! She immediately jumped in and knew how to help me. She had me labor in different positions that relieved my back pain and really picked up my labor. I ended up having an 18 hour labor completely unmedicated! I really believe that having Katarina's help was instrumental in having that short of a labor for my first baby. She was calm, encouraging, and understanding of my needs and requests the whole time. She communicated with nurses as they came in and out of the room and helped me understand what they were saying and suggesting. She also worked really well with my husband throughout the labor. Katarina took some video and photos on my phone as our baby was born! We hadn't talked about that ahead of time, but I am so glad she went ahead and did it! I have gone back and watched those videos many times since the birth and am so, so grateful we have them. I could not recommend Katarina and Elizabeth with Anointed Births enough. We were so pleased with their services and plan to use them again for future births!

We went through hypnobirthing with Elizabeth to prepare for the birth of our first child and WOW…read more We were so blessed by her class presence, wisdom on the subject, and the place of love from which she teaches. We felt encouraged and challenged in every class, and we felt so safe to ask all of our first time parent questions without judgement. Our class dynamic felt intimate and supportive and I felt myself becoming more relaxed and ready with every session. I truly looked forward to this container to have healthy discussions in every week and to find fellowship with other couples making similar birth choices. I would highly recommend the class if you are looking to become not only educated, but empowered for your own birth!

Lauren is an exceptional doula and we feel incredibly grateful to have had her as part of our birth…read moreexperience. She is extremely knowledgeable about all things labor and delivery, works seamlessly with the staff at Hoag Newport, and is fantastic at collaborating with the husband (me) both leading up to and during labor and delivery. Lauren even came to our home ahead of time to see our space and provide education, which was such a thoughtful and comforting touch. She truly has a gift for bringing calm, clarity, and confidence to the birth process. She was texting us consistently leading up to going to the hospital, which made us feel deeply supported, cared for, and never alone. We would absolutely recommend Lauren to anyone looking for a doula who is skilled, compassionate, and genuinely invested in your experience.

Lauren is super nice and very attentive throughout the process! The only thing id like to mention…read moreto other mamas, is that she possibly overbooks herself. While in the pushing stage of labor, lauren was texting on her phone and took a phone call (probably another mama in labor). I totally understand there may be other things that need her attention during my 18+ hour labor, but I was disappointed she was preocupied on her phone during the pushing stage. She also video taped my birth, which i specifically told her I do not want. She told me afterwards that my husband told her to last minute, but this seems like a lie to me. I did not want to be filmed below my waist, and when i brought this up to her, she stated " well why dont you just delete the video". She also provided no breastfeeding support despite this being a contractual obligation. I bet other mamas have had a great experience with lauren, and she was an immense help throughout my labor.

We were planning a cross country road trip with our toddler and for peace of mind I wanted to make…read moresure our car seat was installed correctly and there were no changes we had to make to it. We hired Amanda to come to our home and help us out. It was so convenient and she was amazing! She recommended some changes to make safety wise and showed us how to install them and let my husband and I each do it in our own cars so we felt comfortable, especially since I will be getting a new car soon and will have to learn to. She gave us some great tips and sent us a follow up email with a ton of resources and information. Overall I would highly recommend this service to make sure everything is correct with your car seats, car seat safety is so important and I feel so much better knowing my son is as safe as he can be.

AMAZING experience with Amanda. She helped us installed two different car seats in two different…read morecars. She is very knowledgeable, I learned a lot from installing the car seats to how to keep our baby safe in them, because it is not only about strapping the harness around your little one, it's about doing it right. Thank you Amanda.

This class was life changing. I had two beautiful unmediated births because of the knowledge I…read morelearned in this class. I didn't go into it knowing much about child birth or having a strong opinion about how to give birth - I left feeling so informed and now, four years later and knowing SO many women who have gone through it, I can passionately say this class is so important for every pregnant woman to take. If you're considering, look no more and sign up.

I took the four classes for hypnobirthing with my partner. I strongly advise going and taking these…read moreclasses if you are anxious or want guidance on giving the process of giving birth. The internet is flooded with false information or too much information these days. This gave me the structure I was looking for with education and information. The environment was comfortable and encouraging. I'm really grateful I took the time to research and find Mind Body!

Choosing Laguna College of Art + Design was truly life-changing and remains one of the best…read moredecisions I've ever made. For a long time, I wasn't even sure if a creative career was feasible, let alone if I could support myself doing it. LCAD proved that it's not only possible but sustainable. One of the biggest draws for me was that LCAD is one of the most affordable accredited art and design schools in California. I never felt like I was sacrificing quality for cost. The education I received in the Design program was easily on par with competitors like Art Center, but with a much smaller price tag and a far more intimate environment. The industry connections here were so exciting to me. While I was still a student, I had the opportunity to work on projects with powerhouse brands like: Nike, Vans, Hurley, and the Anaheim Ducks. These aren't just names on a syllabus; they are real-world partnerships that prepare you for the workforce. When I graduated and entered the industry, I felt completely prepared because the classes were incredibly rigorous. People might think a school in a beautiful beach town is the "easy" choice, but I have never worked harder in my life. What really sets LCAD apart is the faculty. They don't just know your name; they care about your life. I saw this firsthand when a friend in the program was in a bad car accident. The Department Chair personally helped her navigate legal issues and created a custom plan so she wouldn't fall behind due to transportation hurdles. Years after graduating, I am still on texting terms with many of my professors. They are always ready to provide industry leads or advice. The location in Laguna Beach is stunning. Being able to slow down and enjoy the nature of the canyon provided a necessary balance to the high-intensity coursework. Not to mention the beauty and calm allowed for a constant source of inspiration for me. I left LCAD with a sharpened skillset, a career I love, and a group of best friends who are now my peers in the industry. If you are looking for a supportive, high-caliber, and industry-connected experience, this is it. I wouldn't change my time here for anything.

My daughter dropped out after a year and a half. It was a terrible experience. After graduating…read morefrom OCSA she was so excited for LCAD. It was just teachers that were professionals just trying to make an extra buck. And her IEP did not do her any good. The 6 hour classes were almost debilitating. And there were NO available counselors ever! This school drove her to depression and anxiety. Please don't send your children to this expensive school!