About Me

From the time my mother became pregnant with my sister when I was eight, I was fascinated with the beauty and wonder of pregnancy and every facet of God's design of it all. I loved that I was invited into the whole process, helping with the nursery, watching A Baby Story on TLC with my mom, and even joining her at many prenatal appointments. When my mom went into labor I even got to help write down the duration and time of contractions for her (this was before apps and smart phones!). My mom gave birth to my sister shortly after I turned nine years old, and I was there to witness it all! One nurse in particular even invited me to help angle and shine one of the lights for her during the pushing phase. I watched my sister come into the world in a very traumatic way due to shoulder dystocia and her initial APGAR score of a 1, but in the end my sister and mom were OK.   

Some of my earliest memories are of waiting on and watching the labors of our shelties growing up. My family has been breeding Shetland Sheepdogs since before I was born! In a way, I've been a "doggie doula" for a couple decades! I learned a lot about physiological labor just from being there with our canine friends! As a kid I learned about how letting puppies nurse stimulates contractions to help deliver the placenta and bring the next puppy down. I saw puppies born en-caul and born breech. I learned how to help latch puppies onto their mama, and I even learned how to clamp, tie off, and cut their cords! I saw how the laboring shelties wanted to feel safe in their environment, not wanting other dogs or a lot of people in the room, and they only trusted and felt comfortable with just a few very specific people. I could see in their body language that they relaxed when we pet them and told them they were a "good girl" after contractions and when we remained a constant presence with them. All of it left a lasting impression on me and further deepened my interest in birth over the years. 

While I do love dogs, I'm much more interested in supporting women and their families in my community. In a way, I feel that birth is a once in a lifetime experience. Sure, some women have lots of babies! I just can't help but think of those who may not have been able to conceive their own children and those whose previous birth experiences were traumatic or left them feeling dissatisfied. Every pregnancy is a miracle, and I honor it as such! My heart is to make you feel heard, safe, empowered, loved, protected, and supported in your birth experience. No matter how many times you've given birth, each experience should be treated with reverence and respect. I'd love to partner alongside you, hear about YOU and YOUR birth wishes, and support you in your journey from pregnancy to postpartum.

In my own two birth experiences I did not have a doula. Looking back at those births now, well, I know that I needed one. The first time around I knew about doulas but had the wrong assumptions about what they were and I thought my husband and mom were the best ones to advocate for me and support me. My first labor I had such tremendous back labor that it felt like there was no break in between contractions. I knew about position changes but was in too much pain to speak and also didn't even want to be moved. For hours I laid on my side laboring incoherently and silently in pain. I eventually decided on the epidural when I was around 8 cm dilated, but I know now that I could have had the unmedicated birth I planned for if my husband, my mom, and I had more support. It was too hard for them to see me in so much pain. While they did help and support me, there was totally room for that go-between person who could have had me out of that bed and moving to get my son to turn in a better position sooner. My labor was just slightly faster than the average length of labor for a first time mom - around 11 hours. I would say overall the experience was good, but not as great as I envisioned, and I believe it could have gone even better, faster, and easier if I had a doula. My second son was born within 5 hours of my first contraction. It was in 2020 when only one person was allowed in the hospital with me when I gave birth the second time. I still thought about a doula during that pregnancy, but didn't know if a doula was worth the financial investment. It seemed kind of expensive. But now I know their worth, and it's priceless if you truly are wanting better birth outcomes and better birth support for you and your birth partner. My birth was pretty fast the second time, and it was unmedicated. I felt much more in control and aware of everything that was happening. Because of this, I think I was much more "vocal" during pushing and my husband was a little unsure of this! Having a doula for HIS support and mine that second time around would have been very valuable, especially since he already felt really alone not having my mom there the second time. We still needed an extra set of eyes and ears to ensure my birth plan was properly advocated for because I gave birth within the hospital system. Let's face it, when you're giving birth, you should not be having to worry about advocating for something you want or not want done with your birth team. It should be made clear in advance and then every procedure should be properly explained to you and should receive your permission before proceeding. Without adding every single detail of both births, I could list many ways a doula would have been beneficial to us prenatally, in labor, and postpartum. I draw from my own experiences and attending other births and hearing others' birth stories to fuel my support for God's best birth for women.