Why we decided to hire a doula...

Pregnancy and birth are such beautiful and deeply personal experiences.

I feel fortunate that my husband and I have been on the same page as to what we wanted our birth to look like from day one. We want to create a beautiful experience for all three of us, allowing for as much holistic and alternative treatment and coping mechanisms as possible, while still having the security and back up of Nurses and Doctors. This is why we decided to birth at a Birth Center, and hire our own Doula to support us in the experience.

We are just weeks away from meeting our little guy, and have already met with our Doula several times. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect when we hired a Doula, first time parents over here, but she has already exceeded our expectations.

Our Doula, Alli, has guided us through what to expect during labor, various holistic coping techniques, has laid out what our options are, what to expect during and post labor and what to expect once we bring our little guy home. To say it has been helpful as a first time Mom, would be an understatement.

As a Certified Holistic Nutritionist, I love holistic healing, prevention, and alternative medicine and Alli has walked us through all the alternatives and options available to us. She has also taught me new breathing techniques, and has reinforced the importance of remaining open and flexible during labor. As a yogi we often think that we are very open and flexible in the mind and body, but when it comes to labor we can sometimes have difficulty tapping into those ways of being. To help balance that out she has taught my Husband all of the coping and breathing techniques as well so he will be able to guide me when my mind is elsewhere.

Alli has helped us create a birth plan that aligns with our wishes while remaining open to allopathic treatments that may be necessary. Birth is such a personal experience, and it’s important to surround yourself with a team that you not only trust but that understands your goals and preferences. I feel so blessed to have my team of Doctors and Nurses whom I trust, my Doula and my Husband who will be my biggest support.

I hope to share more about our birthing experience with our Doula, and the techniques that I found most helpful, after baby boy arrives.

If you are pregnant or hoping to become pregnant I would highly recommend checking out Blue Moon Doula Care. She works with families in person and virtually, and is an excellent resource for first time parents.

Photo By Jontel Chere

This post is in no way sponsored, these are my own opinions and thoughts that I am sharing.

Dealing with body image & weight gain during pregnancy

Pregnancy is such a beautiful time, we literally have the ability to create life. How incredible!! However, for many women this beautiful time is over shadowed with past traumas, body image issues, mental health concerns, and so much more.

Many mama’s-to-be become overwhelmed with comments and suggestions from others. It seems that once you begin showing everyone will have something to say or some wisdom to impart on your and your growing bump. Legit everyone from the lady behind you are Whole Foods to your 2nd cousin will want to share how awful their delivery was to how you life will never be same. While many of these comments and conversations come from a loving place they may not be appropriate or helpful for the new mama. 

Sometimes in our society we transfer our feelings or our personal experiences onto others as a way to connect with them, help them to not go through what we went through or to try and “save” them. Instead a healthier approach would be to allow the new mama to have her own experience, and if/when she reaches out with questions then kindly share your wisdom and insight. 

Pregnancy is such a journey and a bit of kindness and empathy can go a long way.

I am now six and a half+ months pregnant and have been talking to some new mamas and some pregnant mamas recently about our journey’s, and thought it was an important conversation to share on here because it’s not that is often discussed publicly. After all, we don’t always realize how our actions or words affect others until we pause and educate ourselves. 

Personally have received all sorts of comments about my body and my growing belly in the last six months. I know that many of these comments come from a place of love and curiosity but to a pregnant mama, whose body is changing on the daily these comments can be confusing and hurtful. During pregnancy our bodies are flooded with hormones, emotions, a growing baby, not to mention your blood volume increases by 50% and our lung capacity seriously decreases - we are trying to recognize and love this changing body on the daily as we move through and towards the biggest transition of our lives. 

Every body - and especially every pregnant body - is beautiful. Every body is unique and different and that truly is something that makes us all so special, and during pregnancy this is no different. Each pregnant bump looks different. Some women gain 50+ pounds, and some only gain 25 pounds. Life is so much more than a number on the scale. 

From what I’ve heard our bodies will “never be the same”…and I’m totally okay with that. I will never be the same after this experience, so why should I expect my body to be any different. This is the most powerful, most life changing experience I have ever been through…and I am here for all of it.

The most important thing is that the mama and baby are healthy - mentally, physically and emotionally. 

Let’s embrace and honor this change.

Let’s praise and honor these women that literally create human life.

Photo By Jontel Chere

Life Lately: being a boss during the first trimester

Last week I started a new blog series called ‘Life Lately’ and it quickly became my most popular blog series in six years! Thank you all for your support in reading and sharing my blog.

This week I am touching on the first trimester of pregnancy & running a business at the same time…let me tell you it’s not for the faint of heart.

The first 16 weeks of this pregnancy were rough! It was so challenging emotionally because I was so grateful and excited but I felt awful. I couldn’t walk my dog for weeks, I didn’t eat dinner for 6 weeks because I was so sick. Praying I would make it through a client session without throwing up became my norm, and I almost ended up in the hospital twice.

That being said I was still running my business (solo) and trying to hide this blessing.

I wasn’t able to engage on social like I had been, I had to skip two weeks of my blog, and my energy just wasn’t in it. My SEO (search engine optimization) took a tremendous hit, and after working so hard on my engagement and social last year it was crushing… but I had bigger things to focus on. So I let it happen and watched the numbers and engagement drop..

If you are an entrepreneur or small biz owner I know you can relate to how tough this was. SEO and engagement are huge for entrepreneurs and small biz owners.

On top of all that I had to cancel dozens of plans with friends, family and events because I literally was so sick and had nothing left to give.

It was lonely and I wondered if I would be the 2% that stayed sick my whole pregnancy. (My Dr seemed to think so.) I told myself that I had waited years for this miracle babe, I could do whatever it took.

Luckily by 16 weeks I felt like a new person. The nausea subsided, my energy slowly increased (although I’m still no where near pre-pregnancy energy), and I saw the light.

It feels so good to be engaging with all of you again! It feels incredible to be hosting live events and classes…and meeting so many of you IRL thank you for your patience as I navigated that chapter, thank you for being here and waiting for me. I’m beyond grateful.

I’m curious have any of my other Mamas experienced horrible nausea during their pregnancy??