Grounded Hearts Doula Services

My work as a Childbirth Educator has been a "front" since my OWN "baby" was born almost 23 years ago! Yes, I teach about what to expect in labor and birth, but what I'm REALLY trying to do is babyproof the couple relationship!​​​​​​​​
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Officially, I've been teaching Becoming Us Classes for the past 5 years and there are several hundred families that would tell you it was some of the best preparation ever for strengthening their relationship as they were starting a family, or getting their relationship back on track once they'd brought a little person into the world.​​​​​​​​
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Listen, becoming a parent is one of life's most awesome and transformative events, but it's also true that it's one of life's most stressful events as well... ​​​​​​​​
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Learning how to manage expectations, how to navigate the realities of life with a newborn, how to communicate and do conflict well, and how your s*x life can actually be BETTER post-baby are just a few of the things that we'll cover in these 4-week series.​​​​​​​​
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The BEFORE Baby series are for those who are expecting their first and the AFTER Baby series are for those who are already parenting. I keep these classes small so that you can really dig into the material and make connections with other couples as they find their way and what works for them!​​​​​​​​
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Please DM me with any questions you may have about the class series coming up, I'm happy to connect! ​​​​​​​​
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When 92% of couples report increased conflict after the birth of their first baby, and 67% are still experiencing relationship dissatisfaction 3 years after they started their family, we know there's an issue...​​​​​​​​
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Let me help you avoid becoming a statistic! More information and registration can be found on my website at bbsuarez.com​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Top 10 Portland-Area Destination Playgrounds An exploration of the Portland area's coolest, most imaginative, most climbable and generally most awesome playgrounds

The first 48 hours — The Doula Darcy A new client just asked me a great question: “What's something you wish someone had told you about the first 48 hours after birth?”  What a great question!  And boy, do I personally wish I had asked it when I was 38 weeks pregnant.  Since I did nothing to p

Thank You, Adidas!!!! Moving in the right direction!!!!! Next we need bras and tops that are conducive to working out and breastfeeding!

I can't help it...! So cute!

Call of The Wild: Download the First Chapter for Free Read the first chapter right now for free!

Does everything hit the fan around what used to be the happy hour?
Did you used to look forward to your connection with your partner in the evening and now there is a fussy baby in your (or their) arms?
Do you find your baby and older kids the MOST needy when you are the most tired?
When you are the most stressed, the least calm, and the hungriest--and your baby is wearing you out--a Happy Hour Doula can help!
Arriving before the dinner hour, a Happy Hour Doula can show up just in time to give parents a break, start dinner, hold baby so you can eat, help with dishes, and get everyone on their way to sleeping peacefully.
Don't tough it out. Call a doula. Get support. It is a short time that your newborn will be so challenging, and you are worth getting nourishing food, a few hours of sleep, and the peace of mind that a doula can bring to your home.
Read more about this service for Portland or Vancouver metro families here: https://www.abcdoula.com/postpartum-care-plans

Still Recovering From a Difficult Birth? These Free Meditations Can Help. You deserve to feel whole again after a difficult birth.

Find out if an epidural is something you are open to in your birth journey or not in the latest blog post!

https://www.doulafidelity.com/birthdoulablogportland/2020/6/9/should-i-use-an-epidural-during-labor

Check out my blog post on the differences between a Birth Doula and Midwife linked below!

https://www.doulafidelity.com/birthdoulablogportland/2020/6/10/birth-doula-vs-midwife

www.sociedelic.com

*A vulnerable Doula share*

I've been on a journey into actualizing myself as a Doula since Sept 2016. Fully understanding why I am doing this work allows to me to tap into an unlimited resource to further my drive along this path of heartfelt work.

At a very young age my mother asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I always answered with "taking care of babies". That was my answer until I went into college. My dream wasnt obtained during my 4 years at SFSU, but my interest in health care was. 4 years after graduating, I stumbled upon a Midwifery Today magazine and read it cover to cover at the store! I finally found my opportunity to care for infants and new parents to be!

Now that I've stepped into Doula work, the answer to my mother's question has shifted a bit as I continue my journey into being a more conscious being.

My journey with my mother, first as a young girl and now as a woman, has been a powerful one. She struggled with her delivery with me but mentioned she had a Doula by her side who was her birth educator initially. She said she couldn't have done it with out her. With my mother's history of trauma in her upbringing, I could very much understand the fear that can take place as you birth a child into this world. It is a very very vulnerable experience both physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Postpartum, my mother struggled hard as a single parent. She didn't have the support and knowledge to help her in meeting her breastfeeding goals with me. So she fed me goats milk as the best alternative so that way she felt confident as a mother being able to feed her child properly. She didn't grow up with a mother who taught her how to breastfeed. In fact my grandmother didn't breastfeed any of her 5 children. Most of us are not raised with the understanding of how to navigate the very real challenges that come with most breastfeeding parents willing to give it a go.

Also my mother struggled with postpartum depression and luckily had the support of her spiritual organization to get her through it. She wasnt aware of the resources that lie within most communities now to help support parents struggling with PPD.

Her story had an impact on me growing up. I didn't want other parents to struggle during the most vulnerable time of their lives. Her story had an emotional impact on me driving me forward as a little girl to keep answering my mother's question with the same answer. Now that I am older and can articulate my feelings & this is how I would have responded if I could have.

Learning to "mother the mother" or "parent the parent" during their time transitioning into parenthood helps heal my relationship with my mother. For her trauma and struggles have had a biological & spiritual impact on my being. Whenever I can support a parent to help make the transition a little easier for them, the more healing I can offer my relationship with my own mother.

Thank you for reading

Sincerely,

Heidi Long