Castalia C.

Cass has cared for our daughter full time from 3.5 months old to the present (18 months old). Cass is leaving us because our daughter starts day care in September. I hired Cass because I wanted someone who would love my daughter, and Cass has not failed me! I place my complete trust in Cass with our daughter, and our daughter adores Cass. When she hears Cass opening the door, she runs to the door shouting "Cassie." When Cass leaves in the evening, she says "Kiss" to remind Cass to give her a goodbye kiss before she leaves. They have a wonderful time together, mixing weekly swimming and music classes, with visits to local parks, recreation centers, the California Academy of Sciences and the zoo. Cass has driven Jacqueline to her activities around the city since she was approximately 6 months old. Cass enjoys sending us photos of their activities during the day, which helps us keep up with everything that they are doing. Once we laid out our expectations, Cass has been independent in terms of our daughter's care - she determines what our daughter eats, wears, etc. on a daily basis. Cass has taken a lot of initiative in caring for our daughter. For example, she encouraged me to buy a "lovey" for my daughter, which has been a wonderful source of comfort. She also initiated potty training and we've been happily out of diapers for several months now as a result. She is usually available for after-hours childcare and has supported my husband when I have travelled for work. She is also happy to run errands while out with our daughter, and volunteers for chores around the house. Cass is a great resource for anyone with a newborn or young infant.

Cass took care of our newborn starting as a night nurse through to age 2 and continues with us today. She is a warm, loving, spiritual, compassionate caregiver who really loves children and more importantly, knows what she is doing. She understood our daughter's developmental stages, recognized illness and how to treat them, taught me about rashes and how to prevent them, took her to the doctor when needed on her own, knows how to get results in a doctor's office, and is willing to do the hard work in teaching a child how to manage the emotions they cannot express in words. She loves her as her own daughter, dresses her beautifully and does her hair like a pro stylist, makes herself available for childcare outside her work hours, and is truly a member of our family. Cass puts her heart into her work because she really does see children as our future, and wants to give them a good start on life. She really supports parents, enhancing our role as primary caregivers and sources of love. We are coming to grips with the fact that our daughter is soon going to preschool, and we will have to lose Cass as our full time caregiver. Wish we had the funds to keep her full time but we do not. Even so, Cass will remain in our family, in our hearts and minds, and retain a connection to our daughter even when working for someone else. She is a very special person, and anyone lucky enough to secure her services for their newborn or young infant would find their experiences will match ours. Cass is a Brazilian native who has been in the US for many years, developing impressive academic and medical credentials in childcare. I mention this because her culture is rooted in people, in emotional connections, in spirituality, and loving to talk and connect with people. She will need to feel that she is a part of your family...not a paid laborer. She certainly feels that way with us, as we do with her, and the mutual rewards that accrue from this relationship are enormous. I can heartly recommend Cass to the right family without any equivocation, and would be happy to field calls on her behalf.

Cass came into our family when my twin girls were 6 weeks old. She stayed with us until they were 8 months old. She would have stayed with us, but we decided to move from San Francisco back to Salt Lake City. Cass was wonderful with the girls. As a first time mother of twins, it was very overwhelming, and Cass helped me through a lot of the first time parenting issues. She has a lot of experience, and is very patient and loving. During the day, Cass would be so attentive to the girls. She kept them on schedule, always got them to eat, and would sing or read to them. In other words, she didn't sit around watching TV and did not need to be told what to do. The girls were always very happy and the house was always clean when she left. Cass is very responsible and really becomes part of the family when you work with her. I live in Utah now and still keep in touch with her.