Tiny Human Doula

long gone are the days where every night could be date night.
now we play mario party and watch superstore on repeat

long gone are the days of naughty texts
now we text each other dinner ideas and grocery lists.

long gone are the days where I was the most important girl in his life.
now the two most important girls in his life are also the two most important in mine.

Do I miss back then? Sure, of course, who doesn't?

But would I change it?

Not in a million years.

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It's only recently I've learned this, and I'm not sure if it's because I've become more comfortable as a parent or because I just hear my toddlers say it constantly, but either way it's one of the most important things I tell mamas.

"We need to try oxytocin, it's been too long"

"I think you'd benefit from an epidural"

"You need to stop picking your child up too much"

"Just let her cry, they'll fall asleep eventually."

Just say no. That's it. nothing else. You don't owe anyone an explanation.

Your body. Your baby. Your choice ✌️
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Here's the thing everybody, the 4th trimester is the hardest, by far. You've got a tiny screaming baby, hormones surging, recovering from birth, sleep deprived, covered in old milk, haven't showered in days and someone asks you,

"How's the baby?"
"When can I see the baby?"
"Can I hold the baby?"

And no one asks how you are doing, no one asks how they can help you, and frankly not enough people ask if they can hold you too.

Postpartum is so incredibly difficult that there needs to be much more focus on helping not only the new baby but the new mother as well. Offer to help her clean, bring her a cooked meal, let her have a long shower and put your sole attention on her.

If there was anything that could of helped me during both of my 4th trimesters it was that.

When I first thought about becoming a doula I was worried I'd go in all and end up hating it. Or worse, I'd end up not being good at it.

When I walked into the hospital for a birth this past weekend I felt oddly calm and at home. I have spent many hours up at perinatal for my own pregnancies that I just assumed my body enjoyed being there.

It wasn't until right before delivery that I had this out of body experience where I realized that this is exactly where I'm meant to be. Helping Mama's bring their babies into the world is everything I thought it would be and let me tell you, I could do this forever.

In addition to that, some women are more confident in their ability to breastfeed after their second, third, fourth, ect delivery!

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

August is generally one of my least favourite months of the year. I'm not entirely sure why, but it always seems to drag on and on. However this year we have much to look forward to!

• Multiple births to attend
• Salt Spring Trip
• Adventures in Victoria
• My Sister's Wedding!

I could go on and on about how you've got to make each day count, but honestly, it's the last month of summer, do whatever brings you joy.

This was me yesterday. I had been slapped, yelled at, bit, and endured multiple meltdowns before I gave up and put on cocomelon to get us to nap time.

One thing I've learned is that a bad day doesn't make you a bad parent. Bad days are going to happen and it's okay to ask yourself why on earth you decided to have children (we all do it). It's okay to miss your old life and it's certainly okay to not always have your s**t together.

Parenting is H A R D. And when you need to utilize every tool in your box to get through those hard days, remind yourself that it's OKAY to do that. If our children aren't expected to be perfect all the time then neither should we.

How cool is this?! Breastfeeding Mamas aka built in pharmacy!

Birth, like the rest of the world, has become a competition where you're either a winner or a loser. if I had a dollar for everytime someone asked me how I delivered my girls I'd have a lot of Starbucks coming my way.

Here's the thing, all births are unique, and everyone has their own birth story. Whether it's vaginal, csection, vbac, home birth, water birth or even free birth, a new life was brought into this world and that needs to be celebrated!

Let's stop comparing and ranking our births. Instead, we need to remember that we are powerful beings who created, carried, and birthed a human!

If you had asked me 3 years ago I probably would of said breast is best. Actually, I know I would of. But that was before a traumatic c-section, before preeclampsia, before hellp syndrome, before a NICU stay and before my mental health took a dive.

Formula feeding has not only helped my family but has helped countless others when breastfeeding was not available. On the other side, breastfeeding has also helped many families in the same way. I'm not entirely sure when the line was drawn and it became breastfeeding vs formula. There's already enough guilt and ridicule we face as mothers that the simple task of feeding your child shouldn't be one of them.

And honestly, at the end of the day, they're all going to eat old cheerios stuck inside the couch.

What happens when colostrum isn't available? 🤔

Yes, technically colostrum is the only thing your baby needs, but sometimes it's not available. Why that happens can look like:

• Preterm delivery
• NICU stay
• C-section delivery
• Medical history
• By choice

Whatever the reason may be, there are options for you and your little ones! We are very fortunate that NRGH is able to provide donor milk and ready to feed formula for whatever feeding choice you choose.

And remember this mantra my friends,

My body. My baby. My choice.

Did you know? 🚨🚨

Colostrum is ALL your newborn needs in those first few days until your milk comes in. But how do we get colostrum? There are three ways:

• Chest Feeding (if you choose this route)
• Hand Expression
• Pumping

Did you also know that you can start collecting Colostrum as early as 37 weeks via hand expression?

Did you also know that NRGH has multiple pumps on hand you can use while admitted to help with collection?

Chest feeding might not work for everyone (myself included👋) but just ONE drop has enough nutrients and antibodies to set your baby up for years following birth!

B I G N E W S 🎉🎉🎉

I am SO excited to announce that I am joining the team at HCD

I cannot wait to get started working with this fantastic group of amazing doulas. Please send all your requests to them so I can help bring all your wonderful tiny humans earth side.

Exciting things are happening soon!! Stay tuned everyone, it's gonna be big!

During the days of never ending self doubt I try to remind myself that this too shall pass.

Make. Yourself. A. Priority.

So now that we know what a doula is, now let me tell you what a doula does NOT do.

As previously mentioned, we do not take the place of your physician and/or midwife. We work alongside them!

Take the place of your partner. No! Your partner is likely the most important person you know and I could never replace that. However, two of us can work in harmony to help you! You are the focus.

Only attend natural home births. Heck no! We attend all births! In fact my passion is high risk pregnancies. Having been through two very high risk pregnancies I understand how challenging they can be.

July 5th will be here soon!

I have received a lot of questions lately on what exactly *is* a labour and birth doula.

Do we take the place of your doctor/midwife/ob? Nope, but we are part of your care team.

Do we take the place of your partner? Nope! We know labour and birth best while they know you best. We're a team.

Do we make medical decisions for you? Nope! We provide information and you ultimately make the choice.

We're here to work for YOU and make YOUR birth goals a reality!

Calling all pregnant and postpartum people! 📣📣📣

Starting July 5th ALL our birth and postpartum packages are 50% off!

Have you ever wanted to have someone available 24/7 to answer any of your pregnancy questions? I can do that!

Have you ever wanted someone to be available by your side through the entire birthing process? That's me!

Have you ever worried about not having your birth goals and not being able to advocate for yourself? I will be that for you!

Have you ever worried about navigating the highs and lows of the postpartum phase? I will be there for you!

Remember everyone, you deserve to be supported in every single moment of your pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Let's get you there!

Moms are superheroes. We can do the dishes, cooking, laundry, gardening, grocery shopping and do it all while taking care of a newborn and our spouses. We do it all while simultaneously adjusting to bringing new life into this world and figuring out what it means to be a mother.

But here's the thing that nobody likes talking about, we aren't superhuman. Eventually someone needs to take care of us and give us a break.

And guess what? You deserve that.

You deserve to have someone come in and help you.
You deserve to bask in the newborn stage while someone does the little things. You deserve to have your cup filled.

Let me do the cooking, cleaning, laundry and let you sleep! Remember, even though there's a new baby, there's also a new mom.

Ok friends, it's time to celebrate!

1. School is nearly finished,
2. Summer is upon us,
3. Just over 3 weeks until opening day!

In honour of that, we're having an introductory sale. From July 5th to 10th ALL birth and postpartum packages are 50% off!

If you're in the season of pregnancy, birth and/or postpartum then you deserve to have as much support from your village as possible.

Let's Doula this! 💖🌿🌻

Someone told me once that if something scares you you should probably do it. Well, let me tell you, I am beyond terrified of this but hey, I'm also extremely excited.

So with that, here are the packages I will be offering starting July 5th! My focus is birth and postpartum but I'm no stranger to all other aspects of pregnancy/fertility/infant sleep. If something doesn't quite fit for you please please please reach out to me! All I've ever wanted is to help people have the best birth and 4th trimester possible.

Also, stay tuned for the announcement about our discounted opening prices! 👀

Nanaimo's newest doula is coming soon!July 5 2022

When I found out I was pregnant with Evelyn my first thought was excitement and pure joy. My second thought, however, was fear.

* Fear of childbirth

* Fear of the pain

* Fear of tearing

* Fear of failing

When Evelyn ended up being breech some part of me was glad I wouldn't have to give birth vaginally and experience that type of pain. Looking back on it, I wish I didn't think that way although I don't think I'm alone in those thoughts. Birth is meant to be

* Empowering

* Joyful

* Freeing

* Beautiful

At the risk of sounding cliche, it's time we take our power back as birthers. We are strong. We are powerful. We are the most important voice in the room and we were made to do this.

There are many voices in the delivery room - the care provider, nurses, pediatrician, the OB, doula, birth partner and yours.

All of them are equally as important but yours is the MOST important one. It doesn't have to be the loudest, and it doesn't have to be the quietest, but it is the one we need to all listen to.

Your body. Your baby. Your choice.

The best medicine is spending time with those you love the most.

The house will always be messy, there will always be laundry to do, and the kids will always need to be fed but who takes care of you?

If you need a break then take the damn break. Everything else can wait.