Three Phases Doula

I cannot speak highly enough about Andrea and her expertise as a postpartum doula. If I could put my advice to you in 6 words: Run, don’t walk and hire Andrea.
After the birth of my daughter, she took care of the whole family — not only looking after our daughter, but making my husband and I feel empowered and comfortable. She’s professional, caring and supportive of your choices. Incredibly knowledgeable, we found we didn’t need to read any books during the first 3 months (we booked Andrea for 12 weeks), as she was a fount of information and suggestions.
Andrea is the best — cannot recommend her more highly.

Andrea was invaluable as our postpartum doula. Not only did she help us get a little much needed sleep while she cared for our newborn son, but she was a true fountain of knowledge about newborn care. As first time parents, Andrea’s thoughtful insights, reflections, and suggestions provided us with exactly the type of support we needed. And, due to Andrea’s warm demeanor, it always felt like an old friend was coming to visit us. Most importantly, we knew that Andrea was taking great care of our son at all times. I can’t recommend Andrea highly enough!

We are so thankful to have worked with Andrea. Our 10 month old baby was still sleeping 3 – 4 hr stretches during the night, and I my husband and I were working full time jobs and getting up 2 – 3 times every night. I was so resistant to any «cry it out» method or sleep training, but Andrea took a lot of time with us and helped us find a plan that worked for our family. We didn’t «cry it out» at all, and after the first night our son was sleeping 7+hours at a time. It’s been a week now, and he just slept 9 uninterrupted hours last night. He doesn’t cry himself to sleep and never has. Andrea brought a lot of education and developmental research to us, so I felt comfortable setting the expectations appropriately for our son. Our family needed her support to get over this major hurdle. I would highly recommend Andrea for family support.

I absolutely LOVE Andrea and have no idea how I would have survived the past few months without her!
I hired Andrea Berkey from «Three Phases Doula» after the birth of our 2^nd son. She worked with us for about 4 – 5 nights/​week (~8.5 hours/​night) from the time he was ~2 days old until he was sleeping through the night fairly consistently around 11 weeks. I think my baby is a pretty solid sleeper and I am sure it is in large part due to Andrea’s involvement.
Aside from having 2 little boys I also run a start-​up company and manage a family business. This means I really didn’t get to take very much time off after my baby’s birth. Andrea not only allowed me to get enough sleep and to manage to the best of my ability but also allowed me to enjoy this special time as much as possible. The newborn stage is so fleeting and special and I am extremely fortunate that Andrea allowed me to maximize and focus my energy on the things that really mattered — such as spending my limited energy enjoying my new baby!
Andrea is completely professional — she had her own contract ready to go with the terms of our relationship clearly spelled out, always showed up on time and had an extremely gentle manner that makes you (and the rest of your family) feel at ease having her in your house. She was organized keeping track of hours and providing receipts for payments received. I remember a couple of specific times where our baby was irritable and I thought I was going to go crazy from the «night fussies» — Andrea knows every trick in the book for soothing babies and it never ceased to amaze me how she could comfort him in just a few minutes.
FYI — there are many different options to get night support. I would consider Andrea the highest quality you can get. She has taken all sorts of classes and has many certifications. I recall one time her telling me something about how you can tell what stage sleep an infant is in by their breathing pattern. She knows a lot about nutrition and is just truly a top-​notch professional when it comes to maternal health. Andrea is there for you whenever you need her — weather it is problems with your 2 year old waking up in the middle of the night, challenges with breastfeeding (such as getting thrush!) or techniques to cope with jetlag Andrea’s wealth of information is remarkable.
Compared to many others, Andrea really seems to be focused on the mother and making sure she has as many tools and as much knowledge as possible to successfully cope. I really can not recommend her highly enough.
I relied on her so much I am uncertain who I would call first if I found out I was pregnant again… Andrea to make sure I had her booked up… or my husband! …just kidding! I would tell my husband first, but Andrea would probably be 2^nd :)

Andrea was such a wonderful doula, and I really don’t think I could have had my unmedicated birth without her. She was so calm and knew exactly what to say to me when I was faltering. She reminded me of what I wanted without being pushy or annoying in any way. I felt so comfortable around her, and knew that I wanted her to be my doula from our first phone consultation. The information she gave me was invaluable and my only regret is that we didn’t hire her for postpartum work (we really should have!!). She spent her birthday helping bring my son into the world and every time I think about it I smile that they will always share a birthday. I love Andrea and would recommend her to anyone looking for a doula. If I ever get pregnant again, she’ll be one of the first calls I make.

Our son from very early on had difficulty sleeping. We worked with several individuals with mixed results. After working with a sleep consultant over the phone, she recommended we work with Andrea.
Andrea was of a completely different caliber than anyone else we spoke with. She was able to come in, immediately connect with our son, and deliver results within a few nights. She has a gentle touch and we felt immediately comfortable with her working with our son.
Since she started working with our son, he went from several night wakings (lasting several hours) to sleeping through the night. Without Andrea, I don’t know what we would do. This happened over two groupings of visits and one final visit. While it still takes a while to get him down at night, we are grateful that he doesn’t wake anymore and has learned to fall back asleep if he does wake.
We were able to completely avoid the cry it out method. Others told us that this was really our only option based on our situation.
Lastly, she has always been responsive to our questions over text message, and always has sound, reasonable, and gentle suggestions that we feel comfortable implementing.
In summary, Andrea is a gift from heaven. She is a true baby whisperer and we would work with her again in a second.

When my son was about 4 weeks old I desperately needed help. We don’t have family nearby or other friends with children, and I soon found myself extremely overwhelmed and exhausted. After a ton of searching online I came across a Meet the Doula night at the Day One Center in Walnut Creek. That’s where I met Andrea (thank goodness!!). I immediately felt that she was very warm and caring and was impressed with her extensive experience with babies and colic. I only intended to get overnight help for a few days to a week, but after our initial consult I decided I really needed longer term help. Andrea worked out a plan for us where she came by for weekly sessions until our son turned 3 months old. This way she was able to help guide me through the bumps in his progress until his colic improved. During this time, Andrea showed us many different ways to help soothe him during his colicky episodes, basic baby care, and establishing day and night routines. After the second visit we already saw improvement in our ability to calm our baby and he even began to respond to the evening routine. Most evenings were peaceful after only a few weeks and our son began going to bed much earlier (around 7ish) which he is now still consistently doing months later!
I think Andrea was very honest about how well certain methods work (i.e. would not recommend or teach crying out methods under a certain age) and she is able to provide a variety of other things to try if we weren’t seeing improvement for whatever reason. I don’t feel that she pushed any particular techniques or opinions on us, but rather was very patient in listening to my millions of concerns and questions and made her suggestions based on our goals and what would work best for our needs.
I have to say that I honestly feel that Andrea saved the relationship between my son and I. Because of the colic issue, I was beginning to feel that we were not bonding well since I felt that it was due to something I was not doing or doing wrong. But our weekly sessions gave me someone to talk to and learn from so that I finally gained the confidence in my parenting skills that I needed. I only wish I had known about her sooner and had her help from the get-​go. I can’t say enough good things about her and I’ve recommended her to quite a few other new moms as well. I definitely know who I will be calling as soon as baby number 2 is in the works!

here’s the thing. when you’re a first time mom, it’s easy to feel lost and alone and scared and not know whether you’re doing anything right.
that’s when having a doula around really helps, if for nothing but your sanity.
it’s not crazy expensive and it helps to have someone to turn to with all your questions.
andrea is really easy to talk to and is a fountain of knowledge. when she comes over each week, i have a list of issues to troubleshoot with her. if the timing’s right, she can also help put your little one to sleep too. it really helps to see what she does and for her to see what you’re doing, so she can give practical tips and pointers.
i would def recommend her to anyone looking for help, esp as you’re getting your footing with your little one.
she also does night shifts if you’re in need of catching some Zzz’s and while I didn’t use the service, she is also a birth doula if you’re looking for a natural birth.

Andrea is AMAZING! I came home from the hospital after a c-​section and night 1 she was over helping to set us up and getting us going on the right path. She is a true expert when it comes to newborns. She knows all the «tricks» and how to ensure you are doing everything to ensure a smooth transition into this world for your new little baby. She also does so with a more natural approach always thinking «what’s best for baby and for mom’s recovery». What really stood out to me was how sweet and truly kind Andrea is in her approach. As she showed us several ways to burp our little boy (much better than the hospital or others who «trained us» and more effective), it was so wonderful to notice how Andrea looked at our little guy with such «kind eyes». It gave me such peace of mind that while I was able to sleep and heal during the night, our baby boy was being so lovingly looked after by THE BEST of the BEST when it comes to someone knowing newborns. I also mentioned (more of a passing comment) to Andrea that my hands and wrists hurt (apparently quite normal during/​after c sections). The next night, Andrea (after baby was sleeping) gave me a lavendar hand massage and next message which was so relaxing and really helped ease the pain. She just doesn’t «miss a beat» and knows how best to share her knowledge and skills to ensure that you and your family are in the best place possible during this exciting, new and exhausting time. I really can’t say enough good things about Andrea — I am just sad that I can’t have her everynight (she already has an agreement long term with a client as she is SO good). She is really a gem. For baby #2, I will be planning far in advance to see if Andrea can help for a longer/​extended timeframe.

Being a first-​time mom with no family to help can be an overwhelming and daunting task. Andrea picked up the broken pieces of my sanity and helped me glue it back together by being our night Doula. Her prolific expertise cover a wide range of baby and toddler issues. She advised us on colic, bathing, swaddling, baby-​wearing, breast feeding, pumping and bottle feeding, sleep issues, alternative therapies and medicines. But most of all she was there when we needed the emotional and practical help.
Mommies: you cannot do this alone! Hire Andrea. Your baby and your mental-​health will thrive under her intuitive care. –Michael K’s wife

Andrea was our doula for our first child. At first, we weren’t convinced we needed a doula, but when we met Andrea, we knew we wanted her on our team. She had such a straightforward, honest communication style and clear passion for supporting mothers through all types of birth experiences.
Andrea was incredibly thorough in her prenatal meetings with my husband and me – covering birth plan and hospital considerations, labor positions, fetal positioning, movement during pregnancy and comfort measures to practice with my husband.
When the big day finally rolled around, Andrea was with us from about 5:00 a.m. until 10:30 p.m., first coming to meet us at our home then traveling with us to the hospital. (I should mention — she missed Easter with her family for this)! Throughout my labor, Andrea worked seamlessly with the nurses, midwives, and my husband to suggest new positions and other measures to help me through. When hospital staff approached us with possible interventions, Andrea was able to clearly and succinctly help my husband and me understand those options. In the end, I delivered a healthy baby boy with no medication, and Andrea deserves a lot of the credit for making that possible. The nurses and midwives told me later that Andrea was among the best doulas they’d worked with and that I was lucky to have her –and I agree completely!
In addition to being a fantastic support before and during birth, Andrea has also helped my husband and me since the birth of our child. When we thought we had tried all the soothing tricks in the book, she came over and demonstrated even more techniques for us, and she’s even filled in for childcare. She is a true baby whisperer, and yet she always makes us feel supported and like we’re doing a great job. Hire this lady — she’s awesome!

Andrea was our doula for our first child, who was born at San Ramon Regional Birthing Center in late 2011. We used her for prenatal, delivery, and post partum services, including lactation support, and we are SO glad that we did! I don’t know how we could have done it without her. I had an intense labor, delivery, and recovery, and she was there for us every step of the way. She offered a lot of helpful prenatal information, she filled in where the nurses and doctor’s were lacking during delivery, and she was a reliable support system after our son was born. Our son is now two months old, and she still checks in with me from time to time! She has excellent communication skills, tons of experience with infants, and seems to be really dedicated to her work as a doula. She is flexible and patient — something that was really important to us as first time parents. My husband really wasn’t sold on the idea of using a doula before we met Andrea, and to be honest I wasn’t either, but now that we’ve been through it, I can’t believe we were considering doing it alone. We highly recommend her to anyone thinking about working with a doula — you won’t regret it!