Meet Cassie Williams of Top Notch Newborn Care

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassie Williams.

Hi Cassie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was working as a waitress while going to college, very unsure as to what my future career path would look like. Once I graduated in 2008, the recession was in full swing, and job opportunities were scarce. Shortly after graduation, I began working as an administrative assistant, then eventually an office manager for my in-laws’ environmental consulting firm, A-Tech Consulting, Inc.

In 2014, I decided to leave the family business in pursuit of finding something I was passionate about. But first, I needed to pay the bills. So I began working 6-7 days a week as a daytime nanny and evening babysitter. During this time, I worked with a large number of families between my nanny families and evening babysitting families. I cared for children of all ages, observed varying parenting styles, used different products, and really developed a passion for newborns and infants.

One family I worked for had a six weeks old baby, where I served as a “Mother’s Helper”. It was with this family that I was introduced to a wide range of duties for the first time, many that I perform to this day nearly ten years later. It was the first mother I had witnessed breastfeed her baby and use a breast pump. I helped her with organizing and storing her breast milk. We did baby-wearing, cloth diapering, tummy time, setting up her baby monitor and various gear, hanging blackout curtains, you name it, we did it! I stayed with them until just after the baby’s first birthday.

Around this time, I was still working nights as a waitress. A friend and fellow waitress, Bree, was also working as an overnight postpartum doula. She was convinced that I’d be great at this work. However, I felt inexperienced as I had never birthed, nursed or cared for a newborn at night. She urged me to take a training workshop, get educated, and read as many books as I could. I reluctantly agreed, and am so beyond grateful that she was persistent and saw the potential I had to make a difference in families’ lives while working a “dream job”. She took me under her wing and guided me, giving all the right advice and helped me get my first few jobs. I took my first training in 2015, a DONA International Postpartum Doula workshop in San Fransisco, and things really took off from there!

Fast forward to now, where I have been consistently working overnights for the past eight years. I have worked with many clients for their second and third babies, partnered with so many amazing colleagues, have expanded my services to education that ranges from baby care basics to CPR and safety, nursery registry and home organization consultations and more! To say that I’m working my “dream job” would be an understatement!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I definitely had some struggles in the beginning with feeling confident enough to give advice. But once I saw that I was capable of making valid and helpful suggestions, witnessed improvement with my clients’ struggles, and gained their trust, I knew I was on the right path.

Another challenge that took me a while to master was setting boundaries with my clients and prioritizing my personal and family needs. There were years where I said “yes” to every shift opportunity, every request to come in early or stay late, answered every text regardless of where I was or if it was my night off.

But it really took a toll on my ability to have restful and restorative time away from work. It was consuming for a while, and I have been much better about settings boundaries and being more realistic and honest with expectations for myself and my clients. It’s really a reoccurring theme in our industry, but self-care and time to rest is so vital.

We’ve been impressed with Top Notch Newborn Care, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I specialize in in-home overnight newborn care, new parent education through classes and consultations, nursery/baby gear recommendations, and setup.

I chose my business name because I believe that I truly provide a high level of care with compassion, integrity, and expertise. I take pride in knowing that everyone I get the chance of supporting learns something they can use and gains confidence in their parenting abilities.

I am so proud I found a way to positively impact families with parenting education, even if they don’t have in-home overnight postpartum doula care. All new parents deserve to feel educated, ask questions, get resources, and feel confident as they start their parenting journey.

I offer monthly group or in-home private Baby Care 101 and Pediatric CPR & Safety classes, in-home newborn consultations, and nursery organization for small or large scaled projects. There’s something for every expecting or new parent!

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Luck and really, being blessed has played a huge part in my life and business. My ability to be booked out for the past two years isn’t a coincidence. Overcoming the 2020 quarantine lockdown during the pandemic, when I wasn’t even sure families would allow people into their homes – was incredible! And such a blessing! I ended up with clients extending their contracts to have me stay with them longer, families booking out as far in advance as they could, and I developed services that brought education to expecting parents when there were no substantial options from their hospitals.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.topnotchnewborncare.com
• Instagram: @topnotchnewborncare
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/topnotchnewborncare
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/top-notch-newborn-care-anaheim?uid=eJ9B0jCq7VPijWYJPqFz0w&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Image Credits
Erin Serna – Sprout Photography