I initially reached out to my Cleo Guide for help finding child care for my toddler son. We discussed different options and considerations, but the conversation quickly turned to how I was doing. I happened to be in the midst of a serious health scare that was throwing me for a loop.

In talking with my Guide about the prior agonizing weeks of waiting and worrying about a potential diagnosis (while trying to stay afloat at work and at home), all the overwhelm of the past few years as a first-time mom juggling a demanding career with motherhood came into sharp focus. My son was well cared for, but I was struggling.

My Guide was caring, empathetic, and knowledgeable, and gave me concrete specific advice. With respect to child care, she armed me with the information I needed to feel empowered and confident in my decisions. She offered specific tactical suggestions for preparing for the transition and took a lot of the pressure off of the decision—I realized that we can always make changes later and that my son will probably be fine no matter what we decide.

With respect to my more pressing need for additional mental health support, she helped connect me with a counselor through Cleo who was absolutely amazing. I learned so much from talking to her about staying present as a parent during a challenging period. In talking to her, I realized that the past few years of putting my child’s wellbeing first, navigating a pandemic, and working late into the night to meet my professional obligations had really taken a much bigger toll on me than I knew. I resolved to take better care of myself.

My Guide kindly checked in periodically just to offer support and information on additional resources. While I was relieved and elated to get good news on the health front, I owe the Cleo team a big thank you for all that they did to support me during a very stressful time.

I am grateful for this amazing service that makes me feel completely supported as a parent and—maybe even more importantly—as an individual.