Kristin Smith

Newborn Care Specialist
Newton, Massachusetts
20 years of experience
5.0
About me

I’ve spent more than 15 years supporting families through birth, postpartum recovery, and overnight newborn care. I began my career as a professional nanny, working closely with more than a dozen children over several years. In 2008, I was honored to be recognized as Nanny of the Year by Family Helpers, and the following year I was selected as a finalist to appear on ABC’s America’s Supernanny. In 2009, I trained as a Birth and Postpartum Doula. Around the same time, I became a parent myself. Experiencing the postpartum period firsthand gave me a deeper understanding of how vulnerable, complex, and important those early weeks can be. That experience ultimately shaped my decision to focus my work on supporting families during birth and the transition home with a new baby. Over the years, I have attended 112 births and supported more than 200 families, including 39 sets of twins, through postpartum and overnight newborn care. As my private practice grew, I founded Nightingale Night Nurses, an overnight newborn care agency based in Massachusetts. Through that work, I built and led a team of experienced Postpartum Doulas, Newborn Care Specialists, and nurses, creating individualized care plans for families seeking overnight and extended newborn support. Building on that foundation, I later expanded the work nationally under the name Well Supported Family, with a continued focus on ethical practices, professional sustainability, and high-quality, family-centered care. We would love the opportunity to support your family's postpartum experience.

Certification and training

Newborn Care Specialist (2010)

Postpartum Doula (2010)

Birth Doula (2010)

Sleep Consultant (2020)

Memberships and affiliations

Newborn Care Specialist Association

International Nanny Association

Specialties
Adoption Infant Care LGBTQ+ Newborn Care Parenting Safety
Languages

English

Service introduction

Well Supported Family provides experienced in-home support for families during the newborn and early postpartum period. Our team includes Newborn Care Specialists, Postpartum Doulas, and nurses who offer overnight newborn care, postpartum recovery support, and guidance for feeding, sleep, and newborn development. Whether families need help during the night so they can rest, hands-on education as they adjust to life with a new baby, or ongoing support during the first months at home, our goal is to provide calm, knowledgeable care that helps parents feel confident and well supported.

Ratings and reviews
Average
5.0
# of Reviews
91
5.0

As new parents, can't imagine what we would have done without Bethany and Keyana's support. The mental, emotional, and physical support and care is priceless during the newborn phase and we cannot recommend Well Supported Family enough- especially for new parents! Thank you Karina and team for taking such good care of us so we in turn could take care of our son.

- Julia Simons

5.0

Breanne is absolutely fantastic! She provided the highest level of care for our newborn, helping us get rest when we desperately needed it. She offered a great deal of support and guidance to help get our baby sleeping longer stretches, making an overwhelming time much easier on us. Breanne provided above and beyond emotional support as well, checking in on me when I was dealing with mastitis, providing support via text during her off nights, baking my family homemade chocolate chip cookies, and even bringing gifts for my baby and 4 year old. Anyone would be extremely lucky to have help from Breanne! ❤️

- Kate Nichols

5.0

We had an incredible experience with Well Supported Family. From the very beginning, the team made us feel confident and supported during such a vulnerable time. Our Newborn Care Specialist was not only kind and professional, but also incredibly knowledgeable about safe sleep and newborn care. Within just a short time, we felt more rested and much more confident as parents. The guidance we received around sleep and routines was gentle, realistic, and truly effective. It never felt rigid or overwhelming, just thoughtful support that actually worked. I would recommend Well Supported Family to any new parent looking for safe, reliable, and compassionate care.

- Jenny S.

5.0

We had a wonderful experience working with Well-Supported Family. Mollie was incredibly responsive, always providing clear and helpful answers, and you could really tell she put effort into making everything seamless for us. We renewed our contract multiple times, and each time she made the process quick, easy, and stress-free, which we truly appreciated. Marcelline, our night nurse, was absolutely fantastic. She was consistently prompt—and took great care of our girls. We would wake up each morning to happy, smiling babies, which speaks volumes. She kept detailed notes, helped with cleaning, and handled everything with professionalism and care. Beyond that, she was warm, kind, and a genuine pleasure to have in our home. We are so grateful for all that she did for our family.

- Melissa Mazlin Kimmel

5.0

Our nightingale Hannah was wonderful. We had her come for 3 weeks when our baby was around 2 months and it was amazing. We learned a lot from her and she was very caring and gentle with our daughter. I would recommend this to any new parent who is struggling in the sleep department

- Kira Lew

5.0

We are so lucky to have found Well Supported Family! We had ad-hoc support with our first baby and knew we wanted more consistent overnight care for our second (especially considering the energy we'd need for our toddler!). Karina was incredible in helping us figure out exactly what we wanted/needed (3x/week, starting a month after birth, etc.) and our assigned Nightingale, Alba, was truly so wonderful!!! We met on FaceTime before she started to make sure our personalities matched up well and it felt very comfortable right off the bat. Because I was exclusively breastfeeding, Alba offered recommendations for feeding to ensure baby and I were both happy, came with suggestions to help stretch baby's sleep windows once he was ready, and was so accommodating whenever anyone needed to reschedule. We love Alba so much, after our second night, we recommended WSF to a friend looking for a night nurse. As our last night approaches, we decided to see if we could extend Alba! JUST HIRE WSF! They will change your life. Thank you so much, Karina, Alba, and team!

- Jai R.

5.0

We started out thinking we would only need 8 weeks of assistance, and ended up keeping our night nurse on for 6 months! She became a part of our family. The absolute best investment we ever made was hiring Well Supported Family to care for our twin boys overnight. We will miss Amanda dearly!

- corina olsen

5.0

My family has had the absolute pleasure of being matched with Cjaisey as our Newborn Care Specialist and Night Nanny. She has been instrumental in our success in becoming new parents to twins. She is professional, knowledgeable, caring, and kind. The experience and wealth of knowledge she brings to her profession has been invaluable. I would recommend her wholeheartedly to other families looking for assistance and guidance in caring for their children. Additionally, working with Well Supported Family was an incredibly positive experience for us. Karina was warm, welcoming, and professional from our first interaction. She answered many questions along the way and made sure we were paired with the perfect person for our family. We were also regularly provided with meaningful resources throughout our tenure as clients. I would absolutely recommend the services of Well Supported Family to anyone looking for childcare services. Cjaisey's professionalism and experience are unmatched. She is timely and reliable, both important qualities in a childcare professional. She approaches her job with a sure hand, which offers her clients the peace of mind that their children are in the care of a trained and skilled specialist. She pulls from her wide scope of knowledge and experience to answer questions, both simple and complex. She approaches challenges and questions by offering options and guidance, while always considering the individual needs of the family and child. When necessary, she performs additional research and is always happy to provide said research and resources to her clients. Cjaisey is also an uncommonly kind person. She supported our family through our transition into becoming new parents in a way that I wish was possible for every new parent to have. She is thoughtful, flexible, considerate, and gentle. It always felt easy to have her in our home. She quickly became an integral part of our village, and I will be forever personally grateful to her for her support and encouragement in my journey into motherhood. Cjaisey should be any family's first choice as a Newborn Care Specialist or Caregiver. Not only will she provide the best quality care available, but she will become a true part of the family dynamic. I will mourn the loss of her in our everyday life, but I know I will carry every bit of advice, patience, and knowledge she imparted to us throughout my life as a parent.

- Meaghan Robinson

5.0

Priscilla was absolutely fantastic. She took great care of our newborn (and us!) and was a huge help in settling some anxious first time parents into a comfortable routine.

- Jordan Samiljan

5.0

We had a really great experience with JennMarie through Nightingale now known as Well Supported Family. Having a newborn is exhausting and overwhelming, especially at night, and she made a huge difference for our family. She was calm, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable. It was obvious she has extensive experience with newborns, and we felt completely comfortable trusting her with our baby. She handled everything with confidence and care, which allowed us to actually rest. Beyond just getting sleep, I learned so much from her. She answered questions, shared practical tips, and helped us feel more confident as new parents. Karina, who coordinated scheduling, was also wonderful to work with. She is organized, responsive, and easy to communicate with. If you’re a new mom considering overnight support, I genuinely recommend JennMarie and the Nightingale team. It’s not just about catching up on sleep, it’s about having experienced, steady support during a really vulnerable season.

- Parisa Hassanzadeh

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