Who I am...
I was raised in a small town in Northeast Indiana, eventually spending my adult years in Fort Wayne. I moved to Michigan in 2019. I am passionate about advocating for and supporting birth as a physiological process. I completed my DONA approved Birth Doula training in March of 2019. I completed my DONA approved Postpartum Doula training in February of 2022, and am currently working towards certification.
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I am a certified yoga instructor, most recently holding Yin and Restorative yoga classes. I have also completed Prenatal Yoga certification through the Uplifted™ Pregnant & Powerful program.
I left a career in finance to become a full time parent to my toddler, and to pursue my passion of helping families. My partner and I are steadily learning to build and manage a small hobby farm where we grow many things, and raise chickens and goats. We are trying to show our son how to respect the land and to live from it.
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In my free time I enjoy cooking, reading, podcasts, knitting, spinning wool, and herbalism.
Why Postpartum Work...
In late 2019 I moved to Michigan and soon became pregnant with my first child. I had planned for postpartum support after our baby arrived, but like so many others, the pandemic rendered my birth and postpartum journey a bit different than I had imagined. Suddenly, we found ourselves living in a new state with a baby on the way, no family or friends nearby, and an inability to bring others into our space.
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I delivered my son at home after a very swift labor. A few short hours later the midwife and birth team packed up and left. I vividly remember the mounting anxiety as the reality of our situation set in. Those first days and weeks were tremendously challenging, and soon blurred into a whirlwind of sleepless and lonely months. Somehow my partner and I survived that time. We were still able to appreciate the joyous moments, but not without many obstacles and an underlying feeling that this time could have been better... was supposed to have been better.
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My experience taught me the value of support in those tender first months. It opened my eyes to the collective experience of parenthood, and it created a new place in my heart that desires to nurture parents and help them to thrive, not just survive, during this transformation.
I am grateful to have met another mother and postpartum doula who is currently working in the area as well (Audrey at Moonpath Doula). We are working to support the families of our community, with hopes of reshaping the narrative around preparing for and embarking on the fourth trimester journey.
Caring for a newborn is exhilarating and precious... and also messy and exhausting. Everyone deserves to feel healthy and supported in such a beautiful and delicate time. My hope is for you to look back on your postpartum journey as a time of salubrious discovery and growth with your newborn.
I am up to date on my Flu and Tdap vaccinations, and I am fully vaccinated for Covid-19.
I am more than happy to mask while in your home. I do ask that we are open with each other about symptoms and exposures to any illnesses, so we all remain healthy for our families.