ROOTS

I was born into a large, baby-loving family. My own mother breastfed me and gave birth to me naturally with the support of midwives. I learned from her at an early age that birth and breastfeeding are beautiful, normal, healthy processes and that women’s bodies are capable of miraculous things. I am also the designated wild child in my family of origin. I am a nature lover, adventurer, visionary, big feeler, cycle breaker, authentic & intuitive soul.

CALLING

In 2010, I completed a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology and felt a call to become a doula. I loved the idea of giving babies the best start in life by supporting and empowering women. Over the years, I gradually merged my counseling background with my doula knowledge, offering my clients holistic, comprehensive support as they transition to parenthood. I have been doing this work for 15 years, and it continues to bring as much joy to my heart as it did when I first began.

MATRESCENCE

In 2011, my husband and I encountered the heartbreaking challenge of infertility. Four years later, I finally gave birth to my first of three beautiful babies (now ages 10, 8, and 5) and experienced the heartbreak of losing three others. Over the years of Matrescence, my heart simultaneously shattered from losses and soared through the miracles of bringing life into this world. I am well acquainted with the complexity of grief and joy and am thankful for how this has helped me develop greater compassion and attunement with my clients.

SAGESCENCE

I was 39 when I gave birth to my last baby. Before I knew it, I was breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and entering perimenopause at the same time. I am now approaching the end of this monumental rite of passage, which Jane Hardwich Collings has lovingly renamed Sagescence. She writes, “Old patterns are pruned. What matters most strengthens. You gain clarity. Focus. Vision. You see the bigger picture.” I am experiencing all of this and more and am overjoyed to bring the evolving Wise Woman within me to my work as a holistic, heart-centered doula.

Random Facts about Me

  • I am obsessed with fire – making it, tending it, smelling it, gazing at it, chopping wood for it. I even birthed all three of my babies at home by the fire. We warm our house primarily with a wood stove through winter, and it is my salvation through cold, dark, PNW winters. That, and warm, chocolate chip cookies.
  • I love all things natural, organic, ancestral. Home-birthing, co-sleeping, breastfeeding, gardening, cooking from scratch, homeschooling, forest schooling, tree-hugging, and beyond. To keep things nice and balanced, we also love ice cream, movies, and recently introduced our kids to Super Mario World.
  • I conceived two of my babies (and the three that we lost) via IVF, which was a profound gift and an agonizing decision for this crunchy mama.
  • My 8-year-old is PDA Autistic, and I am constantly growing, learning, and expanding as I navigate those beautiful and challenging waters with him.
  • I have close friends and family from both ends of the political and religious spectrums. Because of that, I’m comfortable traversing the landscape of a variety of worldviews.
  • My husband and I lived and volunteered in a rural village in Cameroon, Africa for a year in our twenties. I returned every summer for five years after that until we started trying to conceive our first baby. Twenty years later, we still maintain close connections with the dear Cameroonian friends we made there.
  • I am happiest when I am exploring the forest, climbing a mountain, or dipping my toes in a river with my husband and our babies. Solitude in nature has been the deepest place of peace and joy for me since I was a kid and remains to be so today.

Education & Training

 

  • BA in Social Work (2004)
  • MA in Counseling Psychology (2010)
  • Birth Doula Training at Bastyr University (2010)
  • Postpartum Doula Training at Bastyr University (2010)