Trinity Night Doulas

Wow, this review is long overdue! I wholeheartedly recommend Anna and her team of doulas.
I have three children and hired Anna to help with each one of them. When I had my first baby, I thought I would have it all under control, but 10 days into it, I wanted some help! Anna and Olive arrived at 10 p.m. each night and allowed me to get decent stretches of sleep in between feedings. They also educated me through all sorts of new baby questions and phrased things in a way that shared knowledge without pushing their agenda. I had mastitis, my dad became ill, the list goes on and on, and I was so thankful to trust someone to come in to help on nights that I needed it most.
I have recommended Anna to countless satisfied friends, and before they hired her, they all had questions about what a night doula could really do for a breast feeding mother. A LOT! Instead of hearing each little noise that the baby made and wondering if she was OK, I put in ear plugs and let Anna wake me when it was time for a feed. I simply woke up, nursed the baby, and 20 – 30 minutes later, drifted off to sleep while she changed the diaper, burped the baby, and settled her to sleep again. A few hours later, we repeated it, and so on… the best was timing a 5/5:30 a.m. feed so Anna could settle the baby before she departed at 6:00 and I was left to get a few more hours of rest.
For baby number 2, Emma stepped in to help me sleep train my 6 month old baby. This isn’t their standard practice, but I hadn’t slept in soooo long due to sick kids, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I begged, and they came to save the day!
For baby number 3, I had Emma and Anna for a few days a week for months. This definitely helped me keep my sanity since I no longer had the option to «nap when the baby napped» with a toddler and 4 year old on the loose. For this baby, I pumped whenever I woke during the night, and they bottle fed her which allowed for greater stretches of sleep.
In each scenario, we did it differently, and each time they saved the day. I am so happy that I met Anna 6 years ago and am forever thankful that she helped me feel at ease with my newborn in someone else’s care for the evening. She, Emma, and Olive, have their own children, nannied prior to being doulas, and are experts in their field.

Well, they didn’t hurt the baby. So there’s that. I felt like the person who came to help us was a total space cadet. I had to continually ask her for water and then she was puzzled as to why the baby was taking a while to nurse… because women let milk down better when they drink during the night. Of the 5 – 6 doulas we used after having the baby, she was clearly the least qualified. She had a hard time soothing the baby back to sleep without my nursing, so she backtracked us with regard to the schedule we have struggled to maintain with our baby. Her attention to detail was awful; I felt like I needed to write out instructions for each part of her job. I would not hire her again.

Warning: Dad Review :-)
My wife gave birth to identical twin boys in December of 2012 and we were beyond thrilled with the services provided by Anna M and Trinity Night Doulas.
Short Version:
If you have the opportunity to hire Anna M, you have to do it. Your kids will be happier, smarter, healthier children as a result of her amazing work. Also, you will be well-​rested, well-​informed, confident parents. I’m completely serious. Hire her.
Long Version:
As first time parents, we were looking for a night doula who could competently handle twins while also providing guidance and support to my wife. We were looking for someone with a sweet personality, who also conveyed confidence in her work. We interviewed a number of candidates and chose Anna M.
Hiring Anna has proven to be the best decision we have made regarding the boys and our new life as parents. Here are some things we love about Anna:
— ALWAYS on time or early.
— We live in a small house and over the four months we worked with Anna, we never had to wake up to help her with our boys. She is a total pro with twins and babies in general.
— Clean baby dishes every morning.
— Clean and folded baby laundry every morning.
— Constant support and guidance to my wife on all matters of mommyhood
— Flexible on a weekly basis to match business-​travel schedules (we tried to stick to a schedule but when necessary, Anna would adjust to provide the most value to our boys and my wife).
— Very respectful of our wishes as parents (helped the boys learn to sleep in their own room once they were old enough, helped them drop two of their four night feeds when they were ready, never watched TV while they were in the same room, etc).
— Very respectful of our home.
— Always in a great mood and very easy to talk to and learn from. I think my wife missed Anna even more than our boys did when we were finally ready to say goodbye.
— On one or two occasions we requested nights that Anna wasn’t available and she was always able to secure coverage for us within her network. Colleen was excellent with our twins as well.
For the time she was with us, Anna M. really became a critical member of our family. We will always remember the important role she played in our boys’ lives and will continue to provide an excellent reference for her whenever asked.
If you want to have a phone reference, send me a message. Either myself or my wife will make time to answer any questions you have.
If you have read this far, you clearly care about your kids a lot. Do them a favor and hire Trinity Night Doulas.
Thank You,
Mike

I cannot recommend Christina Lordan enough. I hired her 1 month prior to giving birth and knew instantly that my baby would be safe in her hands. She met us at home from the hospital, which gave us peace of mind. She educated me on how to care for myself and the baby. She came to our home 3 nights per week for the first 6 weeks and I tried to extend her contract, but she was already booked. My moods and ability to function were so much greater on the days when Chris was there give me sleep relief. Without getting into too many specifics or making this review too long, I would just like to say that she is a caring and wonderful mother of 3 girls and a terrific person. I will always be grateful that I had her guidance at such an important time in my life.

I can’t say enough great things about Michelle Cudden of Trinity Night Doulas. Michelle met our baby the first night we were home from the hospital, and it was so comforting to have someone with so much experience help us get the hang of things and answer all of our questions.
She’s wonderful to talk to, especially about all-​things-​baby, be it ways to establish good sleeping habits, soothing techniques, baby gear, etc., and she’s unbelievably warm, gentle and loving. She was always curious and excited to hear how the baby was doing each night she came to work, and was a tremendous support for my husband and me. She was consistently early to work, and was helpful with washing bottles and folding the baby’s laundry in addition to making sure we all got a good night’s sleep.
We’ve stayed in touch since Michelle finished working with us, and would jump at the opportunity to work with her again. I’d say with 100% confidence — hire Michelle if you have the chance!

I highly recommend Christina Lordan of Trinity Night Doulas. As a first-​time Mom (single Mom too), my list of «you don’t know, what you don’t know» was lengthly. Chris played the role of educator, cheerleader, counselor, caregiver, nurse, maid and sanity checker during the first 8 weeks after my sons birth and still works with us on occasion. Chris has a patient, easy-​going, witty, approachable and warm style about
her that was so comforting for me and my baby warmed to her instantly. I could not have managed my nights without her and today I constantly finding myself sharing tips and tricks or products she taught me about with other new Moms. I consider Chris a vital part of my community and trust her completely. I also had a wonderful experience with Claire who helped us out on occasion as well.

We hired Chris Lordan as a night doula when our son was born. I can’t recommend her enough. Since I am a first time mom, I had so many questions and she was like the instruction manual that you wish your baby was delivered with! She was so encouraging with nursing, helped with swaddling, schedules, equipment, clothing questions, engorgement issues etc. not to mention handling everything with the baby at night, including giving me nursing advice, when I asked for it. She brought us all sorts of things that were all very useful (different swaddles to try, nipple soothing pads, things to help with my son’s gas, a travel sleeping bed (she loaned us for when we took a trip)). We only hired her to come a few days a week for the first few weeks, but she would answer questions that I texted to her in between her nights with us. Both my husband and I wanted to hire her as our daytime nanny (she only does nights)! Chris is a godsend! Love her!

I highly recommend Colleen M. and Trinity Night Doulas. Colleen first met our babies when they were in the NICU and has helped us out immensely after we came home from the hospital. She is diligent about keep notes on how the babies acted/​slept during the night and how much they ate. She is always happy to give advice/​recommendations for them regarding scheduling and feedings. In addition, she washes/​sterilizes all of the bottles and pumping equipment while the babies are asleep and even tidies up our kitchen. My babies love her and I feel very comforted in knowing that during the night my babies are being take care of by such a loving and caring person.
I don’t think we could have gotten through the newborn stage without her and recommend her to all of my friends.

Emma, who is part of the Trinity Night Doula coop, is currently supporting the overnight care of our baby girl and us as new parents. We look so forward to when Emma arrives — she’s such a welcome site for tired eyes. Emma is so kind, caring, and super helpful. Our baby was in the NICU for 2 weeks before coming home and Emma even came by to meet her in the hospital to understand her special needs and bring some appreciated food for the parents. She helps us understand what is typical at a certain age and size and helps diagnose issues/​problems the baby may be having. She’s provided such helpful tips and tricks that have saved our sanity. She’s set us up and loaned us items that have been well appreciated. She’s so comfortable around our baby — even when she was small (5lbs when she came home). I feel like Emma is a part of our family and I’ll be sad when we have to say goodbye… but I know she’s always a phone call, email, or text away. I completely trust Emma with the care of our precious little girl and would recommend her.

I would like to recommend our night doula, Emma. She was basically a Godsend. She came and watched our baby the night I had to go back into the hospital for complications.
As a brand new mother, although I had read a lot and attended classes, I was basically clueless. Emma gave us the practical knowledge and information we needed during the critical initial weeks home. Watching Emma bath and swaddle the baby was the best class I ever took. She taught us things about sleep and feeding that we would never have figured out on our own. To this day, our baby sleeps through the night, and as soon as she was over 11 lbs!
Our friends told us that it was the best money they ever spent, and although it wasn’t cheap, they were right.
I had major issues with breastfeeding/​latching, so our baby had to be fed formula initially. Emma helped implement the lactation consultants’ advice. I couldn’t have done it without her. The beauty with Emma was that she was completely supportive and reponsive to our wishes.
Even now, once in awhile I have questions. Emma is always a text or email away. We could have done it without her, but boy we would have had a far far far harder time.
She’s an Irish blessing:)

Agree that I could have tried working with TND before public Unilocal humiliation. But we had such a rough night with TND, by 2am (halfway through) I really wanted to throw her out, but stuck with it til the morning. As a new mom, I apologize for not having the patience to work through these issues privately. But that’s as much compunction as I can muster. Here’s my response to the TND response.
Incidentally, my initial email to TND referencing my earlier review was prefaced with the following:
«It is with great pain and sadness that I am writing this email. I’m not sure if there is anyone who leads the TND group and manages constructive criticism or feedback on behalf of the organization, but if there is, I wanted to let you know about our recent experience with TND.
It is posted in a Unilocal review. I made best effort to respect privacy, to be objective, and to be fair. The content of my review is copied below.»
–Response to Anna M.–
Re: unrealistic expectations with a 4-​day old, I don’t fault TND for my baby’s cluster feeding night habit. I do fault TND for sitting around doing nothing while I fed him for a total of 4 hours over the course of the evening.
Re: breach of contract response, I believe it’s breach of contract on the part of our TND, and not us, when she did not perform a large majority of the tasks marketed on your website, reiterated during the «meet the doula’s» session my hubby attended two months before the birth of our baby, and that our specific TND assured us she would do during the 1 hr interview in advance of hiring her.
Re: extra bonding time, perhaps you should put that information on your website so you don’t mislead parents who think a TND will be helpful during the first few days with a newborn.
Re: taxes, I’m not an accountant, but I’m pretty sure under-​reporting income is illegal. Our TND admitted during the first night that the reason she wouldn’t provide her SS# is to under-​report income. Post-​partum doulas can be paid for using DCAP, and DCAP requires SS#. The only reason to not provide it is to evade taxes. If your policy is to not make DCAP payments possible, this information should be provided on the website as well. You are not cheating «the system» — you are directly taking more money out of your customers’ pockets by shielding your own tax liability while increasing ours.
Unhelpful and unsympathetic response from Anna M. came after what was intended to be constructive criticism and a chance for them to make right. Unrealistic expectations? I only expected the doula to provide the services as advertised. If only she did one of the many things she was supposed to…

I hired Mary Flynn from Trinity Night Doulas when my son was 2 – 5 weeks old, and she was well worth it! I only wish I had hired her the day we arrived home with him. My husband and I were your typical clueless, sleep-​deprived new parents that were completely overwhelmed by life with a newborn. On top of that, we both had to go back to work after two weeks (while only part time for me and from home, he had to commute an hour each way) so we desperately needed sleep. I was recovering from a c-​section and having breast-​feeding issues, and Mary’s knowledge and emotional support were invaluable. She has a no-​nonsense, take-​charge demeanor which I really appreciated as a clueless new mom, but is never pushy or judgmental. She is warm and funny and was so much fun to chat with when I had to get up to pump in the middle of the night. She even helped encourage my son to sleep longer at night. By 5 weeks he was sleeping in 5 – 6 hour stretches, which was a solid foundation that helped him sleep through the night by less than 3 months! I felt completely at ease knowing that she was in the other room taking care of our son, which allowed me to relax and get some sleep. Mary is professional, punctual, and having her support and advice was one of the best investments we made for our sanity and peace of mind. I highly recommend her!

This review is for Mary Flynn (also goes by Mary B), but as she is a part of Trinity Night Doulas, I’m putting my review here.
I was and still am a total rookie when it came to motherhood. While some ladies spend their pregnancy reading books on parenting, taking classes, interview friends with babies, purchasing baby gear, ect… I was the total opposite. I didn’t crack a book and had to be forced into purchasing a crib.
However, the one piece of advice that I did heed was to get a night nurse. Many of my friends hired fancy NY baby nurses that fly out and come live with you and your newborn. However, I wasn’t interested in having someone live with me during my first weeks as a mom. Rather, I wanted someone to help us out during the nights and then left during the day. So I googled Night Nurse/​Doula and called.
Trinity Night Doulas is a co-​op of Doula’s that work together and help match families with doulas.
Mary came to our home for an interview and I loved her demeanor right away. She was calm and mellow with a great sense of humor and gorgeous Irish accent. I immediately liked the fact that she didn’t seem bossy and dictatorish — which was my fear for a night nurse /​baby nurse/​night doula. Rather she said she would tell us her opinion, but whether we chose to follow her advice was up to us. Additionally, I wanted to like the person who was going to be in our home for 8 hours a night and I definitely got the vibe that I would like Mary.
We called Mary from the hospital and arranged for her to be there the first night that we came home with our new daughter. From that first night until now — Mary has been nothing short of amazing. Here are my top reasons for why you should get a night doula from Trinity Night Doulas and ask for Mary Flynn!
1) it is worth $$. Instead of buying al the fancy gear and monogramed pillows with your newborn’s name on it — spring for a night doula. They are worth every penny. Or ask for family to pitch in instead of buying you tons of baby gifts that you really don’t need or want.
2) Mary is great to talk to during the middle of the night feeds. Instead of sitting there alone in the dark with a newborn sucking away for 30+ minutes trying not to nod off or staring blankly into the darkness, you get to chat with Mary. She’s a wealth of knowledge about everything having to do with new-​borns and kids in general. She makes you feel at easy with her so that you can ask whatever questions you want. She also has a wicked sense of humor and we spent many nights laughing so hard that I thought my stitches were going to bust open.
3) Mary and the Trinity Night Doulas know all the best products to purchase. Forget to top rated stuff on Amazon or recommended by the cute, kidless employees at Giggle or Sprout. These ladies will tell you what is best for your child based on their specific needs. In our case Mary told us witch swaddles to get, which diaper size we needed, bottles and nipples to help our little girl eat slower and so much else.
4) You get at least some hours of uninterrupted sleep. Trust me this is worth its weight in gold.
5) Your partner or husband can sleep straight through the night.
6) Mary and other night Doulas do all the things that make having a newborn so difficult. At first I wasn’t sure what exactly a night nurse/​doula does… but now I understand. Mary brings my baby into me when she’s hungry. When its over, she takes the baby away, changes her, soothes her and deals with all the other 45+ minutes that it takes to get our baby back to sleep. She’s doing all of this while I’m dreaming of giant McDonalds Milkshakes and getting my pre-​pregnancy body back in shape.
7) Mary is super responsive. I call, text and email her with any questions that I have during the day. She’s quick to respond and makes me feel like I have an expert there when I need her.
8) A night doula leaves at 6am which gives me the day to hang out with my kid and practice the skills I learned from Mary during the day. Its a great way to have someone to help you, yet not become totally dependent on them.
I cannot begin to say how much I highly recommend Mary and Trinity Night Doulas. She helped me become a confident mother and gave me so many tricks and tips that will carry me through the months to come when Mary is no longer our 10pm savior.

Anna was the night doula for my newborn twins & we credit her with
keeping us sane in the early days! She was our night postpartum doula
in the spring last year after my girls were born. We primarily hired a
night doula so that we could get rest at night to have energy to care
for the twins during the crazy, crazy days. Even in our teeny tiny SF
house, she tended so expertly to the girls that we never heard a peep
out of them. She was amazing at tandem bottle feeding them (no easy
feat to feed two newborns simultaneously) and soothing them back to
sleep. One of my girls was a very difficult feeder and she helped us
identify the cause & get help from our pediatrician. She also spotted
thrush in my other daughter & helped us get it treated. She had advice
on everything, from pumps to baby carriers to bottles, and would often
bring by gear for us to use or try. She was great at reading my mood
for middle of the night pumping sessions — sometimes I wanted to chat,
sometimes I just wanted to zone out — and I really appreciated that.
And as an added bonus, she washed all our bottles & pumping supplies
and folded baby laundry. It was so amazing to wake up at 6 when she
left with a full night’s sleep & a tidy house.
We also used Mary a few times when we wanted to get some additional
help last-​minute and she was a total pro, too.

I have worked with both Anna Mullen and Colleen Mulkerins and both are amazing night doulas! For my second child we wanted to get some additional sleep during the first few months of my son’s life. Both women did an incredible job with caring for my son, recommending suggestions/​remedies to care for his gas/​discomfort and also providing great resources and information on breastfeeding, feeding and general infant care. Its amazing how much you can forget from your first child and things are always changing so it was great to have a knowledgeable resource readily available to help me out when I had questions. In addition, when something came up during «off hours», ie during the day, Anna and Colleen were happy to provide suggestions via text or email and quick remedies when something happened. Both women were incredibly supportive and loving to my son, as you can imagine, leaving your son for a few hours the first week of their lives can be tough, but they made it easy. In addition, they helped with our laundry and washing dishes/​bottles. If you’re looking for a bit of help for the birth of your new child, these ladies are the ones to lean on!

We used Teresa McLoughlin for our second son, who had colic and was really struggling with sleep. I was at the end of my rope and was about to lose my mind… and Teresa saved me! She is incredibly grounded and calm, and was amazingly intuitive with my baby. I was very hestitant to bring in help, as I am usually an «I can do everything by myself» type of person, and she made the experience so easy and non-​intrusive. We divised a plan for the night that we both felt comfortable with, and for the first time since my son was born, I didn’t hear him cry all night!
She sent me an extensive email after every night detailing what had happened and the techniques she was using to help him get on a schedule and get more uninterrupted sleep.
Honestly, Teresa was worth every penny we spent and more! She helped our guy get on a schedule and gave me the relief I needed to be able to think clearly and get back in the game with my kids. I highly recommend her to anyone needing either a couple of good nights of sleep, or support/​advice/​techniques around a challenging newborn.