Virago Birth Services

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I’m seeking breastfeeding models for an opportunity to make feeding education accessible to those who otherwise might not have resources in our local communities. So amazing.

Must meet this criteria:
~ recently postpartum (1 day-4weeks)
~Sign consent/release form

Open to images of:
~feeding positions
~latch demonstration

Bonus if have:
Mastitis/clogged duct
Engorgement
Thrush
Newborn stool diaper

If you or someone you know meets this criteria AND wants a complimentary newborn session, please connect us! And share 💗

a love story for the ages 🕊️
so thankful for this couple and the story that is unfolding for their family, through the addition of their sweet baby boy. He is the most precious little guy and I can’t wait to see him again for his newborn photos! ✨

Hi baby!

It is such a privilege to be at your birth. Especially in a time of history where the importance of having support is recognized, including while in the OR! Your birth remains as important and as powerful as the births happening down the hall.

growing in love and through love. ✨

don’t forget to be present today. As the day closes in, work hours end (or before they begin), look at your Person and see how far you’ve come, be eager to know the nooks and crannies of their heart and mind:

how are they experiencing motherhood/fatherhood today?
what is filling or draining their cup?
what simple joy did you or they notice today?
Delight in WHO your person is, lay down the tensions and hardships for a moment and savor the person before you.

I’m not sure who will benefit from that reminder but I hope it’s clear that you a and your partner are worth investing in even in the simple and yet so-sustaining everyday connections. ✨

On the blog // An Empowered Cesarean Birth
For you, this could feel like an emotionally loaded concept, maybe its humbling as you reflect on your birth or those whom you love, or perhaps you are removed & uninformed at such concept as an “empowering” cesarean. Wherever you fall, your birth, and those around you, are worthy of celebration and deep honor. Your experience and resiliency through a birth of any kind is remarkable and a milestone in your journey as a parent. Despite being a professional in the birth space and trained/certified through The VBAC Link , I have not experienced a cesarean birth myself — I don’t have the inside scoop on what it’s truly like outside of my observations..

Blog link in my story ✨

Can’t believe this little moonbeam is ONE! She gave us all the sweet expressions and a few moments for mom + dad to connect and be captured. Although I’m so thankful for all of my families, I’m feeling extra thankful for this one and their support of me as friend and in my business. ✨

hi squishy baby ◡̈

so empowered, supported, strong, relieved, delighted.✨

telling myself this will be us so soon!

on the bend of 41 weeks (tomorrow✨)

If you had an epidural or spinal, was your partner/primary support person able to be close to you like this client and her person?

Over the years I’ve seen partners asked to leave the room/OR or stand far off as part of protocol. This can be really confusing and add more anxiety for both the client and her partner.

You can always advocate for a scenario like this image series. As an aid to be soothed and relaxed during the procedure. If you’ve had an epidural, you *know* labor and labor support doesn’t stop during administration or even the minutes after! So support is still so important and necessary during this transitional period. Do you see how at peace this client is with her person while receiving her epidural?!

Birth might be at home, birth center, hospital, car, parking lot 😜 but whether your lovation provides various handy dandy tools or you (and your doula) supply your own, these are the three “tools” you can take with you anywhere 🤍

1) Mobility/movement
2) Partner/Doula Support
3) Sense of emotional security

What tools do you see in these images? My client was able to utilize a variety of tools provided by her hospital, herself, and doula as her labor progressed. ✨

This beloved family is already on the other side 💫 snuggling the Little One once cradled rigghtttt there.

But as I reflect, I’m so proud of this mother in her season of pregnancy and birth. She showed patience, endurance and unwavering fight for what she needed to cultivate a safe story.

Love my job.

✨ VBAC Birth Story Part 3 of 3 ✨

Client Perspective:
Every round of pushing seemed to be followed by an equally uncomfortable feeling of baby heading back up the birth canal in the opposite direction. Unconstrained noises like a blend of roaring and yelling and then I would go into almost a dreamlike state of exhaustion and recovery where my body scrambled for whatever amount of rest it could get in order to sustain the next round of pushes, for however long it needed to.

(“Active labor” is not something you can literally practice doing and why I think it's important during pregnancy to listen to as many birth stories as possible so that you have a bank of encouraging and informational memories to draw from in the moments when you aren’t sure where your own story is going.)

The doctors talked me through the final stages letting me know when to keep going and when it was ok to stop. And then she was out!! They handed her to me through my legs and we sat there on the floor for five minutes while Julia struggled to get the first cry out.

There was quite a bit of fluid in her lungs which needed to be removed quickly so they took her to a table where a tube was used to clear the airways, cutting the umbilical a bit sooner than I would have ideally liked. But soon after I made it up into the bed she was being handed back to me for more gooey snuggles and kisses.

I won’t ever forget how that felt holding Julia fresh out of the womb, and how proud I was of her for doing such a great job. You realize how resilient they are in that moment and what an honor to be responsible for their little life. My husband and I look at pictures of Julia’s birth and we are so thankful for the joy, the optimism and peace surrounding the whole event.

For me, I had to consider the birth my new favorite or only hobby and treat it like an athletic event. Envisioning what I wanted to happen and doing as much physical prep work as possible as well. Recommend spinning babies daily essentials for stretching exercises, lots of water, sitting on a birthing ball, staying positive and happy. However you can do that.
And of course, never cease praying!! 🙂 oh, and hire Virago Borth Services! 🤗

✨ VBAC Birth Story Part 2 of 3 ✨

By midday the Pitocin was at level five and there was very little downtime between contractions, but it was my goal to not get an epidural. Having had a C section with my firstborn I was eager to experience every aspect of a natural birth. I remember shaking my head and saying out loud “I can’t do this”. I think a more accurate statement would have been, “I have no idea how I’m going to do this and right now I am way beyond my conceivable capability”. It was around 8:30 PM, 40 hours after my water broke when it happened. I had heard all the stories and fully expected this moment to come but it was still totally miraculous.

At the exact moment when my mind seemed to go completely berserk that’s when we were given the go ahead, and I had the urge to push. I did not know how dilated I was the entire time but the baby’s heart rate stayed strong and the hospital staff was confident everything was progressing well so doing any checks seemed unnecessary.

The hour and a half of pushing was only made possible by having my husband there who I clung to the entire time, our doula who offered countless encouraging words and our nurse who patiently instructed the younger doctors in the room to not intervene in the process.

✨ VBAC Birth Story Part 1 of 3 ✨

From perspective of client:
I felt the “gush” at 4 am and excitement flooded over me. Contractions were manageable but I knew GO time was close so I focused my attention to food and water intake. Laboring at home with the support of Samantha (doula), keeping things lite and fun... honestly such a great memory I’ll cherish forever.

My husband and I decided at 2 am the next day to admit ourselves into the hospital where we spent 2-3 hours in triage determining that indeed my water had broken and that due to long spacing between contractions and being dialated to 1 after almost 24 hours that I would have to agree to low dosage pitocin. I had birth wishes written down on a note pad and the dr. on the floor was super supportive of everything on our list, even of my desire to deliver the baby on my hands and knees on a yoga mat next to the hospital bed.

We slept a little bit and ate breakfast, still managing contractions with deep breaths and different positioning in bed. Pitocin started on a level 2 by about 9 am and by the time Samantha arrived at about 1 pm it was up to a level 4. At that point the pain management techniques were very necessary. A Hypnobirthing app I downloaded led a visualization exercise where you picture
yourself with your new baby surrounded by loved ones and / or in a particular location, and doing that enough I feel like somehow made the entire experience I was going through feel like
an amazing memory. Not that the pain wasn’t totally real or that I knew at all what was going to happen next moment to moment, but I felt that I had a specific goal in mind and I knew that I
had to do whatever it took to reach that goal.

Maternity sessions just get sweeter and sweeter

What a love. ✨

Would you describe those first few hours as blurry or vivid?

Some clients reflect not being able to recall those early moments - having memory fog - describing it as "a blur." As I edit several birth stories I ponder what moments will serve as a gift to those with memory fog, who may only have a blur of their story.

Whether to relive their experience or meeting their experience anew, photography has brought to reality what is true of a client's birth - sometimes it is healing, affirming, revealing. Bringing my beloved clients even more closer to connection to their body, birth, and baby.

Celebrating ✨ FORTY ✨ births as a doula.

I want to share my baby-wisdom from what has been affirmed over the years:

I have thought many times that I have birth figured out. But truly, birth can't be put in a box, or textbook, or be compared to another's birth experience. Birth is...birth. It's its own unfolding story that can't be replicated exactly the same. Although elements may run through one story to another, birth means so many things. I'm certain so many other birth doulas agree that birth humbles us. The more births I journey through as a support person, the more this is affirmed. Birth is...birth.

What does birth mean to you? What words would you use to describe your birth?
I'll share mine in the comments. ✨

I adore this birth story for so many reasons. Some memories too sacred to share. But here's an etch of time that will cross the oceans and scale mountains. Because, this story did that. Every barrier that presented itself was overwhelmed by love. Over and over and over again.

To the ends of the earth. A love so deep.

The secret of support during birth?

"Presence. That's it. You. being. there."

I get the honor of hearing the sign of relief when partners get the news that they, by just existing, is 90% of support. When having a doula, you and your partner can be present, focused, and connected amidst the unknowns of whatever comes next. You have the reassurance in a person-form guiding you into ways of participating in birth - sometimes that's encouraging closeness and other times it's the permission to nap.

Two things you need to know:

1) I had the hardest time narrowing this album down.

2) Furry babies are hilarious. This sweet girl was both baby & camera-shy.

2022 may be behind us but there are so many sweet moments like this one to look back on. 💫

It was so fun showing up to their doorstep to see matching pajamas & a big brother (scroll to the end) with his own matching accessory!

| hope-fulfilled |

When this long-awaited and fiercely anticipated bundle arrives, it’s ok (and normal) to be met with mingled emotions. Perhaps relief, excitement, joy, or maybe grief and fear, or disconnection for some.

Find your safe people. To explore your story and process all that needs tending to. ✨

Birth photography is one way to emotionally connect and tend to your story. For some it glues pieces of the birth story, or maybe is a vehicle to creating healing and empowering memories - for both you and your support person. 🤍

Just like labor, we welcome and invite and make space for the highs and the lows of birth and that first house. Tending to what’s to come and what is hoped for.

Birthing by cesarean after several days of labor is a form of heroism and expression of love that is remarkable. Laying down of all desires and expectations for the betterment of you and your child -- to the ends of the earth, to the end of yourself.

So proud of this family. This little (not so little) guy was worth it all.

Little Moonbeam wasn't a fan of this portrait-moment but every expression had us cooing over her. ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

| a birth at home |

| the dilation station |

The rest of the world may call this a toilet but in birth world, it is the dilation station!

Contractions often intensify while sitting on the toilet because of three reasons:

1) the position can mimic a squat, especially when propping feet on a block,
2) clearing your bladder and bowels makes room for baby and,
3) your pelvic floor relaxes more because you subconsciously know this is where you can!

For example, If I was to ask you to urinate (or pass a bowel) in a Target aisle with your partner and strangers watching, you likely couldn't do it even if you tried. But that is what we ask laboring women to do during birth! Ok, not in Target AND a different context but you get the point.

The toilet can be one of the biggest tools for relaxing the pelvic floor and hence intensify contractions and progressing in labor.

First, there will be NO Birth Worker Meet Up this month. But knowing this is postponed, I want to encourage you, Birth Worker, to engage in your community. These are a few things I hope to do this month to honor the birth workers (and clients) around me.
________________________________
Walk & Talk is Wednesday, January 11th 10am-12pm ________________________________

A simple tag, share, coffee date, gift card, review can be one way you cultivate community this month.

| 𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓹𝔂 𝓷𝓮𝔀 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻 |

Echoing so many birth workers: I am so so grateful for this work and the clients, birth workers, and curious folks I cross paths with.

My clients: I am your #1 fan - always here, waiting for a baby/postpartum picture and an opportunity to encourage you in your moments. Thank you abundantly for choosing me to hold the space of trusted doula. You are remarkable and I got to witness that reality.

Thank you, My Village. Behind every doula is a network. Friends who've watched my children. My husband who's rearranged his work. Missing holidays/events. My village is your village. They mobilize me to support you *because* they believe in the power of a village. My children are learning the invaluable necessity of support. We are rooting for you and your little one!

I am SO excited for what's to come of the birth community in the Seattle area, in the US, and globally. Hosting Birth Worker Local Meetings has been my own little baby. I love gathering us up and just existing, being seen in this work, and figuring out how to serve each other and you better.

Thank you, 2022, for what you were. Let's see ya, 2023!

| placenta, a temporary organ |

〰️provides baby with oxygen & nutrients
〰️removes wastes and carbon dioxide from baby
〰️protects from toxins
〰️transports immunity from mother to baby
〰️hormonal tank for baby growth &
〰️triggers milk production upon detachment