Postnatal Doula & Night Nanny in West London, Maidenhead, Reading & Surrounding Areas
Support which promotes your recovery, creates time for you to rest, answers your questions, navigates difficulties with you, listens to your experience & takes care of household tasks. Resulting in you soaking-up your baby, staying in synergy with your partner, maintaining a balance to your home and feeling confident in recognising your baby’s needs. Support to replicate the benefits of living in a close community. Support which is impartial, without judgement and follows your choices.
As a parent-to-be, you’re maybe feeling a little daunted at this stage, with thoughts of minimal sleep, acquiring new skills, fielding the mass of advice and keeping the plates-of-life spinning. You’ve heard that some find new parenthood tricky, so you’ve decided to plan for when your baby is here, to grow your support network.
Perhaps you’ve been here before, now pregnant again, with thoughts of wanting your growing family to move into this new phase with ease. As you welcome this baby, you’d like to have time for your older children, to be able to respond to their emotions and needs. Maybe there were aspects of your last postnatal experience you’d like to be different this time around, and doula supports feels like it could effect that change.
Or perhaps your baby is in your arms and you are feeling a little lost and tired. You’d like to be in a better place, to be more present and at ease. You are missing the support you need.
Humans evolved in close communities, with extended family, friends & neighbours, the loss of that bustling community can be felt quite acutely when we start our own families. In the past, we would have absorbed skills, gained experience and of course benefited from hands-on help living in such close proximity. This can be felt quite acutely when we start our own families. I see the role of a Doula and Night Nanny as easing this lost experience and community.
How could investing in this changing time make the difference?
AREAS OF SUPPORT
The early weeks and months are a steep, love-fuelled learning curve and a time of recovery so, as you get to know your baby, I can offer guidance, empathy, encouragement and an extra pair of hands. There are some modern expectations put upon babies, which most babies haven’t agreed to, so a part of my role is to signpost to information to normalise infant behaviour. I care without judgement, following your lead. My role is to ease your postnatal pathway, to provide the emotional, informational and practical support that you and your family need.
DAYTIME DOULA SUPPORT
Infant feeding, whether breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. I am a trained breastfeeding counsellor and have lots of experience around bottle feeding too.
Spending time with your baby while you rest.
Light housework tasks & food preparation.
Negotiating challenges with you, talking concerns through and researching into solutions with you.
Caring for siblings and pets.
Signposting to relevant organisations or professionals.
Discussing the birth and unpacking feelings around it.
Plus many more!
NIGHT NANNY & NIGHT DOULA SUPPORT
I use the terms Night Nanny and Night Doula interchangeably, I approach the role in the same way: compassionate, responsive, overnight care for your baby. My aim is to care for your baby, as you would. Support intended to restore your energy levels and aid your healing journey.
Infant feeding; breastfeeding feeding support & bottle feeding.
Winding, soothing & settling your baby, a responsive approach.
Nappy, clothing & bedding changes for your baby.
Recording details of nappy changes and feeds.
Cleaning bottles and pumping equipment.
Exploring infant sleep with you.
MY POSTNATAL EXPERIENCE
Over my eight years of practice as a Postnatal Doula and Night Nanny, I have supported families navigating: postnatal recovery, caesarian birth recovery, establishing breastfeeding, combination feeding, expressing milk, feeding issues, tongue-tie, reflux symptoms, babies’ health concerns, recognising their baby’s needs, care of premature babies, care of twins, devastating baby loss, sibling adjustment, parental anxiety, parental low-mood, postnatal depression and adjusting to parenthood. I have supported both couples and solo parents.
I have cared for them by: listening, preparing food, creating time for them to rest, researching with them, advocating for them, tiding their home, offering guidance, caring for their baby, over-night newborn care, discussing their baby’s sleep, signposting to other skilled professionals, caring for siblings, feeding pets, chatting about baby-wearing, bathing their baby and settling their baby.
I’m paediatric first aid trained, have insurance and hold a Disclosure and Baring Certificate.
What’s it like to work with you?
“Cara was a real lifeline during one of the toughest, loneliest times in my life. She stepped into our world with such warmth & treated our son as if he were her own. She made me feel completely safe and supported. I trusted her implicitly—she always seemed to know exactly what I needed or what my son needed, often without me saying a word.”
G.C.’S POSTNATAL TESTIMONIAL
“The support that Cara provided me was amazing, it far exceeded my expectations and helped us more than we could have ever imagined. From the day I met her, I knew I could hand her my newborn daughter and be confident that she was going to take care of her like her own child. Cara supported me emotionally and kept me company at home, which was exactly what I needed after my husband went back to work. Cara is very sweet and knowledgeable about how to care for a newborn, and I felt very confident and comfortable leaving my daughter in her care.”
S.S’S POSTNATAL TESTIMONIAL
READ MORE OF MY CLIENTS’ POSTNATAL FEEDBACK
Click on the titles to read my clients’ wonderful testimonials
POSTNATAL DOULA & NIGHT NANNY PACKAGES
20 HOURS - £800
40 HOURS - £1600
80 HOURS - £3200
100 HOURS - £4000
200 HOURS - £8000
400 HOURS - £16,000
We can set a schedule of support ahead of your baby's birth, it can be a combination of daytime and overnight support
There is a 6-hour minimum session length in the daytime. Overnight support has a 12-hour minimum session length.
Additional or ad-hoc hours will be invoiced weekly.
ARTICLES
MY SERVICES
BIRTH DOULA
Birth your baby knowing you will be truly supported throughout your birth experience. In preparation for birth, you’ll access and develop your birthing ethos to inform choices pregnancy & birth may present to you. During birth I'll be tuned into both you and your partner, to provide emotional and practical support, a continuous friendly presence.
NIGHT NANNY
I provide compassionate, responsive, overnight care for your newborn baby while you sleep. Infant care to include feeding, changing, winding, settling & cuddling. Support intended to restore your energy levels and aid your healing journey. My approach is one of compassion, my aim is to care for your baby, as you would. I work with clients who are breastfeeding, bottle-feeding and a combination of the two. Find out more about my Night Nanny Services
I cover West London and areas of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & Surrey.
LONDON SUPPORT AREA
SUPPORT AREA
Cara is a highly-rated Birth Doula & Postnatal Doula with outstanding client feedback. She covers West London & areas of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & Surrey. West London: Chelsea, Chiswick, Ealing, East Sheen, Fulham, Hammersmith, Harrow, Kensington, Notting Hill, Paddington, Putney, Maida Vale & Richmond-upon-Thames. The wider area of: Ascot, Basingstoke, Beaconsfield, Bracknell, Chalfont, Cobham, Cookham, Henley-on-Thames, High Wycombe, Maidenhead, Marlow, Newbury, Oxford, Penn, Reading, Sunninghill, Windsor & Woking.