Regula Keller, LVN, Postpartum Doula

We were recommended Regula by our doctors at One Medical and I have never been so grateful before for a recommendation! Regula helped us after the birth of our first baby and was a godsend. Neither my husband nor I have family nearby and Regula kindly and patiently walked us through the bewildering first weeks of parenthood.
She taught us practical tips on how to care for our daughter such as swaddling and bathing, was truly wonderful at giving moral support and guidance on breastfeeding and was generally a fountain of knowledge, able to answer all our many questions and concerns. Without Regula there is no doubt that I would have given up on breastfeeding when my milk supply seemed to be failing and I was in a lot of discomfort but thanks to her help, three months on and it is going great!
Regula’s experience both as a nurse and a long standing Doula coupled with her kind and patient personality create a combination that is hard to beat. I trusted her entirely with my daughter from day 1 and miss her hugely.

So, then we went on to have ANOTHER SET OF TWINS. Regula to the rescue again. It was wonderful to call upon her, knowing that she was a caring, gentle, trusted caregiver to our girls, and then our boys. It was great to have her back, and for her to see the girls she watched as newborns now talking and playing a dancing. A calming influenc

Prior to having our daughter, a friend of mine recommended hiring a postpartum doula to help in the first few weeks of our newborn’s life. Having had one herself, she said it was so helpful to have not only another pair of hands around, but to also have expert advice on things like breastfeeding and basic baby care. After our experience with Regula, I couldn’t agree more.
Regula was such a calming presence in those first few weeks of new parenthood. I had a lot of challenges with nursing, and with both Regula’s help and Marin General’s Lactation Center staff (who also deserve 5 million stars), we persevered.
She saw me at my absolute worst, and was still so supportive during those challenging moments. To be able to make a new mom, whose hormones are crashing around the house like a bull in a china shop, feel like she is fully encouraged without judgment is reason enough to work with Regula. It was evident with our daughter as well. How comfortable our baby felt with her presence was absolutely noticeable. Through watching Regula, I learned how to be more delicate, more patient, and more confident in taking care of my baby.
My mother was in town at the same time, so there were moments where it could have seemed that we didn’t need additional help. However, Regula was consistently proactive in making sure our needs were met. She capitalized on every minute of our time together. If she wasn’t doing something with the baby or around the house, she would use lulls in activity to provide insight and give suggestions. To this day, I still follow her wise words to take a shower if I ever feel overwhelmed.
What drew us to Regula in our interview with her was that she was flexible in her approach to parenthood. I would characterize my husband and I as middle of the road parents. We have tendencies toward both hippie dippie and yuppie depending on the subject. Regula made it clear that she did not have any agenda besides that of making sure we were raising a healthy child. I was comforted to know that if we chose to use disposable diapers, for example, it wouldn’t be a point of contention.
We highly recommend Regula and know that she will be a great contribution to any family.

We hired Regula to help us with our first born daughter. Having no family in the area I knew I needed help, but I had no idea how much! It was very important to hire her very early on, and we were able to schedule her while I was still in my first trimester. It really put me at ease to know I would have her to help as soon as I brought my baby home.
Her assistance, guidance, and knowledge were invaluable and key to the health of our baby and our family. She has an amazing philosophy of caring for infants, and her passion is clear. I trusted her immediately and she was a pleasure to work with. Her experience and knowledge are vast. I was able to learn so much from her on so many topics. And her method of working with you is very warm and caring. Never pushing any one way vs another. I was very overwhelmed and had a rough delivery. She was very helpful with not only every little detail of child care, but for my sense of balance as well. She is a very caring person with a ton of experience, helping navigate through sleep deprivation, diet, breastfeeding, hormones, etc. Those first few weeks were very challenging, and I feel so incredibly fortunate to have had Regula there. I think very highly of Regula’s experience, insight, and ability to bring the foundation of health and happiness to any baby and family.

I initially didn’t think I needed a postpartum doula because I had relatives flying in after I gave birth to my daughter, but my friend talked me into it and I am sure glad I hired Regula! This was my first child and I had no idea how challenging it was to come home with a new baby. I was sleep deprived, hormonal, and didn’t have the slightest clue how to sooth a screaming baby. Having Regula as added support the first few weeks helped me feel more confident and less stressed. I found myself looking forward to her visits.
The biggest thing she helped me with was breastfeeding. No one really tells you how difficult breastfeeding is, especially that first week when the baby is learning to properly latch and your milk has not yet come in. If it wasn’t for Regula, I would have given up and switched to formula after the first week. She helped me with the latch and to train my baby to have a big open mouth instead of a shallow latch on the nipple. She also helped me establish a flexible schedule and pattern so I knew when to feed the baby and when she was just tired. She also recommended a special pillow and vitamin supplements to help with my milk supply. I am happy to say I am still breastfeeding today and am so grateful to have that support in the beginning.
Regula has a calming presence, and gave me acupressure massages so I could relax and take naps during the day when I was stressed out and unable to sleep.
Overall I highly recommend Regula and believe that hiring outside help is totally worth it, even if you have parents in town.

Regula Keller was amazing for us. When I had my son, I was overwhelmed. We don’t have any family nearby. Once my parents left and my hubby was back to work, I needed someone to help me! She was great with my son. She is so knowledgeable and professional. Regula was always on time and flexible with our times and needs.
We used her to babysit when I was matron of honor in a wedding and my son was only a few months old. It was the first time I ever left him with anyone but I knew it would be okay because Regula was there.
I almost don’t want to leave a review here in case I need her as a babysitter! LOL! But, I can’t keep her to myself. She is a wonderful postpartum doula and can help with breastfeeding, developmental play, sleep (yours and the baby’s!), organic meals, light cleaning.

Regula has been our postpartum doula on two occasions, and in both instances, she was invaluable. She is extremely knowledgeable about babies, and as new parents with no family nearby, we found her to be very calm and reassuring. Regula has a wonderful twinkle in her eye, and it’s clear she loves her work; I loved talking to her about babies and learned a lot. We also found her fun and interesting, which is important during such a stressful time. We are very grateful we had Regula with us and highly recommend her.

We worked with Regula with our first and second post-​partum experiences. After the birth of our first son, having Regula’s experience inside our home was invaluable. A trained baby nurse, yes, exceptionally calm and unruffled, yes. The combination of these two skills made a huge difference in our experience as new parents. She has seen it all (unflappable!) and can gently guide your experience in the way you see fit. This was especially important for me while learning how to breast-​feed.
Simply put, Regula has a way with babies. It is work she was born to do and she does it very well. As over-​emotional new parents, having a calm hand to guide us was wonderful.
The second time around, we were more experienced but were grateful to have Regula return to our home again. Her centeredness and gentle touch helped my older son’s transition to big brother. And, since we had worked with her before, we knew she would take excellent care of our newborn.

Regula is very experienced with babies. She could put my baby to sleep in minutes. She could calm my crying baby and had a great understanding of what my babies needs were and taught me many useful tips on how to listen and read my babies needs. By being able to read my babies needs my baby is very calm and I owe a lot of this calmness to Regula’s tips. I am so thankful I had her as a Doula, she has been incredibly helpful!

Regula was just recently our postpartum doula for our daughter born October 2011 and who is now almost 10 weeks old. My husband and I decided to hire a postpartum doula, being first-​time parents, and we also don’t have any family living nearby, let alone any family experienced with newborns.
If you already have children, you will know what I am talking about when I say that those first days and weeks are some of the most challenging (and rewarding) we can experience. If you don’t yet have children, suffice it to say that living the experience is quite different than all the books you read and conversations you have with your friends beforehand… it’s much harder and it seems like no one really tells you that in advance. ;)
Knowing that Regula was going to be with us really eased both our minds about getting through this major transition. Regula was with us every step of the way. From the time we contracted with her until the baby was born, she would call regularly just to see how I was doing and how the pregnancy was progressing. She could answer any question I had before the birth, and helped me in making sure I was «ready» in terms of all the stuff I needed to have (because I like to be prepared that way).
After the birth, she came over the day we came home from the hospital and immediately set to work assisting me with breastfeeding and getting me used to caring for our new little being. I have to say, breastfeeding has been a challenge… and on top of being so dog tired and frustrated and everything that comes with being a new mother, I might have thrown in the towel if it hadn’t been for Regula. I will forever be grateful to her for getting me over that hump so that I could breast feed my daughter, which was/​is really important to me. She was so attentive and present and really out for me to succeed, even when it got tough.
In addition to the invaluable help with breast feeding, she helped me get to know our little one, with things like this cry means she’s hungry and that cry means she’s gassy, how to deal with fussiness, advice about sleeping, what’s «normal» for babies (you’d be surprised how often you wonder about that) and just provided much-​needed relief so that I could take a nap, have a shower, etc. She also took care of all the baby chores and light housework like dishes, laundry, and just keeping things from looking like a bomb had gone off in the house. Since those first few weeks, Regula has continued to come over and support us, including for the occasional date night or whenever I just need a break. I know that our daughter will get the very best care with her and I never have to worry that Regula won’t know what to do should there be an emergency.
Most importantly to me, Regula is genuinely caring of the entire family, and a pleasure to spend time with (an important quality in the person you hire to come into your home during this particular life experience). She has a wonderful balance of supporting your decisions without her own agenda, while offering her advice on what will work best for the baby and you in the long run. She is extremely knowledgeable and experienced when it comes to all things about babies — she has seen it all in her career as an R.N., working in the NICU and with healthy babies, twins, preemies… you name it, including her own twin boys (now grown). It is obvious when she comes over that our daughter knows her presence, and she is always a happier baby after Regula spends time with her.
If you check her references, you will find many more happy parents and glowing reviews like mine; people cannot say enough nice things about her. In fact, my husband and I were out to eat a few weeks before the baby came and happened to strike up a conversation with a couple sitting next to us who had three kids (one older and a set of toddler twins). It just so happened that Regula was their postpartum doula with their twins and remains connected to their family years later.
It’s hard to find the words to express what a tremendous difference her support has made for our brand new family in starting out on the right foot. I am sure we would have survived without her, like many people do, but it provided so much peace of mind to know we had expert and caring help.