Marlene was such a blessing for our new family. She provided overnight support for our newborn from birth until ~6 weeks. Since this was our first baby, she immediately made us feel at ease and supported with her warmth and friendliness.
Marlene is very professional: was always on time, followed our lead/routines, and offered a wealth of knowledge and advice when asked. She provided us tips for soothing, feeding, and sleep shaping to encourage longer stretches of overnight sleep (which was so valuable for us as new parents!) based on what she observed with our daughter.
It is so clear that she is extremely experienced and absolutely adores what she does. We cannot thank her enough for supporting us in the early weeks - it made a world of difference in adjusting to our new lives as parents. I would recommend her to anybody who needs postpartum or family support, day or night!
— Jacqueline T.
Marlene was a lifesaver! Her support helped me navigate some very difficult nights with my newborn daughter. She cared for our family for about six weeks, and her knowledge, and reassurance made such a difference during those early weeks. We highly recommend her services!
— Nicole W.
Marlene is simply the best! We spoke to a number of post-partum doulas and Marlene was a breath of fresh air. From the moment we talked, we knew that we, and our little one, would be in great hands. Marlene is as kind as can be, steps in to support in every way that she can, balances professionalism with wamrth in a way that made us excited every time she came over. If you are looking for someone to help with day-time or night-time support, we can’t reccomend Marlene enough. We guarantee that you’ll be singing her praises, like we are, and be sad to say goodbye!
— Michael P.
Marlene is an AMAZING postpartum doula! She arrived at our home the very first night we brought our baby girl home after a two week NICU stay. She quietly stepped in, rolled up her sleeves, and started doing things I didn’t even know we needed as a family.
She anticipated our needs and, every night after that, continued to remind me that we weren’t alone. She always asked how I was doing and feeling, cared for our baby with such sweetness, and deeply understood the needs of our preemie, from feeding positions to eating patterns. On top of that, she answered every question with so much knowledge, patience, and kindness.
Each morning after she left, our home and nursery were peaceful and tidy. She truly lifted us up when we needed it most.
If you’re lucky enough to have Marlene available, don’t hesitate. She’s one of those rare people who make the hardest moments feel calm. We’ll forever be grateful for her care.
— Amanda P.
Marlene provided us with exceptional night support from the time our son was 4 weeks through 13 weeks of age. Our baby is now sleeping through the night, and so much of that is due to Marlene's guidance. Knowing what I know now, I wish we had enlisted her help earlier on.
As a new parent, I felt instantly comforted and reassured with Marlene's help. She empowered me to make choices while simultaneously taking the reigns when I needed her to. She had so many helpful tips about feeding, reducing spit up, soothing our baby, diaper rash, and sleep patterns. Marlene made sure to work with us to establish routines that work for our family, and was flexible with adjusting routines as our son grew.
Marlene is kind, empathetic, and trustworthy. She was always on time and professional. My husband and I not only had more rest, but we also immediately had a better quality of life once Marlene started helping us out.
We will truly miss her, and I am forever thankful for her support.
— Marcy M.
Marlene was such a gift to our family. From the very first night, she made us feel calm and supported. I trusted her right away with my baby and was able to rest knowing he was in caring hands. She always shared helpful tips and left thoughtful notes that made my days easier.
What I loved most is how kind and gentle she was with both me and my baby. She never made me feel judged, only encouraged. Having her during those early weeks gave me so much peace of mind. I’m so grateful for her and would recommend her to any new parent
— Marie B.
Marlene’s postpartum overnight support gave us peace of mind. She was reliable, professional, and wonderfully calm with our baby. We highly recommend her to any family looking for trusted support.
— Kelsey F.
Marlene is a wonderful doula and human in general! She's communicative, experienced with newborns, and has a calming presence. I will leave her at home with my newborn and pop out to run errands, come back to breastfeed, then run to an appointment. Marlene also discovered my baby enjoys being sung to to fall asleep and figured out other comfort measures to calm my baby. I've always felt my baby is in great hands with Marlene and can't recommend her enough.
— Jen O.
Marlene provided occasional doula services for our family after our son Luca was born in March 2025. Marlene is a kind and trustworthy caregiver who you can tell is very passionate about her work with infants. Her presence helped my husband and I build our confidence as parents and make this big life transition easier :) we would absolutely hire her again and would recommend her services to any new parent!
— Gabrielle D.
We had such a wonderful experience working with Marlene as our overnight doula. She supported us during those challenging newborn nights with so much care, professionalism, and warmth. She has a calming presence, is incredibly knowledgeable, and we always felt our little one was in the best hands. Thanks to Marlene, we were able to get the rest we desperately needed and truly felt supported during such a tender time. I can’t recommend her enough!
— Alessandra C.
Marlene was our Nanny for 4.5 years and I truly can’t say enough positive things about the experience. My kids (and we!) absolutely adore her. She’s intelligent, fun, kind, thoughtful – and always comes up fun (and inexpensive) ways to engage the kids. She’s also responsible and respectful (and teaches that to the kids – so many “please” and “thank yous”) and was a pleasure to work with. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Marlene to anyone….she’s the absolute best!
— Courtney B.
Marlene is fantastic! She has vast experience caring for newborns, toddlers, and supporting new mommas! I had a health scare 3 days postpartum (and I delivered 3 weeks early!) and the day of Marlene’s first visit! She listed empathetically and connected us a resources right away. Marlene enthusiastically prepared warmed up meals for me, organized our nursery closet, and helped us give our daughter her first bath (those babies are slippery!) I highly recommend Marlene if you are looking for post partarum support!
— Sarah S.
Marlene was wonderful! She showed up on time, did a great job interacting with and entertaining our 6 month old, and helped feed and put her down. She was was great to communicate with and she made everything so easy! We look forward to working with her again!
— Bill C.
Marlene was awesome with our 3 kids (6, 4, 1)! She was on time and clearly had a lot of experience and was comfortable with children. She watched our babies while we attended wedding. Would definitely recommend! And would absolutely hire again next time we visit Chicago!
— Alexys H.
Marlene was wonderful with our toddler while we came in from out of state for a wedding. She was receptive to all of our wishes and entertained our toddler very well and managed bedtime well. She was very helpful to us in a totally new situation. At the end, we had major problems with the website platform, and she helped us out with that as well. She went above and beyond and was great.
— John J.
We had Marlene watch our 7 month old for a date night. She was super friendly, asked several questions to understand how to best care for our daughter and provided a prompt update when we checked in. Our daughter had the biggest smile on her face when Marlene went to hold her and was having fun playing with her when we left. We plan on asking Marlene to watch our daughter again very soon!
— Jill W.
We hired Marlene to look after our 10-week old son while we attended a friend's wedding. We were nervous about leaving him, as it was our first time and he was so young still. However, Marlene relieved all our fears! We spoke to her on the phone prior to hiring her, and really liked that she had lots of experience caring for kids of all ages. She was friendly, warm, and conveyed lots of confidence in looking after our son. She stayed in touch throughout the evening, and sent us lots of updates and photos. We loved Marlene, and will definitely hire her again in the future!
— Jackie S.
We loved Marlene! She was timely, very accommodating, and excellent with our children. We were visiting Chicago and needed childcare for a few events. I felt very comfortable after the first night she watched our children. I wish she lived where we live so we could hire her regularly.
— Marisa M.
Marlene was great with my boys! Very responsible, kind and engaging! Would definitely hire her again.
— Angie D.
Marlene couldn't have been sweeter with my 2 year old son! We we're traveling from out of town and this was my first time using care.com and we had a great experience! I wish she was local to us!
— Nicole L.
Marlene took care of my two kids age 2.5 and 1 for a date night. She fed the kids, played with them, and put them to bed without difficulty. My daughter asked where Marlene was in the morning so I took that as a good sign! :)
— Emily L.
Marlene watched our 5-month-old baby boy during a Sunday afternoon. She was on time, incredibly nice, and my son absolutely loved spending time with her! She got him smiling right off the bat. You could tell how comfortable she is with babies right away. We would hire again and definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a babysitter!
— Jennifer M.
Marlene watched our 2 month old for a few hours while Mom and Dad met some friends. This was our first time leaving our son with a sitter, so we were understandably nervous. Marlene put all of those nerves at ease! We spoke via phone prior to the event date to get a better understanding of one another, which made us 100% comfortable that we were making the right choice.
Marlene arrived right on time and settled in to watch our little guy, who can be a handful from time-to-time. She did fantastic! Instead of constantly looking at our phones, Marlene gave us a little heads-up that everything was going along nicely. That made a world of difference to us. When we returned, everything was in perfect order and the baby had been fed and was resting peacefully.
100% recommend and would re-hire in the future.
— Patrick R.
Marlene watched our child in our hotel room while we attended a wedding. Our daughter had an easy time with her. Marlene was great about knowing the area and taking her for a walk. She took her to dinner at a restaurant and even brought leftovers back for her to eat later. She put her down to sleep in our hotel room and made the best of the situation in a small room. We really appreciated her and would definitely use her again if we were back in Chicago!
— Kyle S.
Marlene was amazing at helping with our 3 month old daughter while I took work calls from home. She came in with limited prep from me since our morning was a little crazy and hit the ground running. She kept my fussy baby happy until nap time and interacted with her thru play and tummy time. Her personality is so genuine and sweet, I'd definitely hire her again for date nights or any babysitting needs we have.
— Shannon M.
Marlene is an amazing babysitter. We moved to Chicago not knowing anyone and found Marlene through Care.com. She was wonderful with our 2 boys (3.5 years old and 9 months old) and watched them many times over the summer so we could go out. She was very professional, punctual and texted us back within a timely manner. Our boys loved when she came over to babysit, our youngest goes right to her with no tears and our oldest would pretty much push us out the door he loved having her watch him. Not only did our boys have a great time and we knew they were in good hands but we always came home to a clean house, their toys were picked up and things put nicely away! I highly recommend Marlene as a babysitter!
— Jessica S.
My daughter says she loves everything about Marlene :) she is so kind, helpful, & the kids love just love when I say she is coming over!!
— Lisa N.
