Enneagram 1, type A as they come... I live for the spark in your eyes when you realize that you actually can do the things everyone told you that you could.
ONCE UPON A TIME
I've spent my entire nursing career in labor, delivery, and postpartum nursing. I was hooked at that first birth - you and your body and your baby are miracles - and I'll never stop marveling at all of it. Unfortunately, life threw some bumps at me when I started having children. My daughter was born, my mama died, my husband was traveling, my heart was broken - something had to give. So I left my patients... and starting dreaming about the day I could touch your lives again.
There is something about being at the bedside that no other job can replace. Watching you + your support team work together, teaching you about epidurals, pushing with you for 3 hours, watching your eyes light up at first latch? Being an educator can't take the place of that specific bedside magic.
But the question became, "how do I do what I love while I'm home with my kids and healing my own heart?" And that, for me, was teaching. Maybe I don't get to see your baby's head rotate as they crown anymore. But I can teach you about your body. I can teach you how to handle pain. I can tell you what it's like to be induced. I can walk you through a cesarean. And I can reassure you that beautiful birth can happen anywhere - and then empower you to go chase yours.
Sometimes we need to be reminded, over and over again, that we can do this. I want to remind you of that.
Top: my optimistic Irish other half Left: baby boy #1 Right: the baby girl who made me a mama
LEARN WITH ME
If I could eat one food the rest of my life, it'd be mashed potatoes - with Lawry's seasoning salt.
I'm the middle child of 3 girls
- and I think it's pretty darn easy to tell. #middlechildsyndrome
Favorite part of birth? That moment you realize they're actually here + you did it.
Born + raised in the PNW, 10 years in Denver, 18 months in Amsterdam, then back to Denver!
GET THE GUIDE
That baby moving!
Virginia Apgar (straight lady doctor boss)
Transition - get me OUT of there
Watching other people love my new baby
Zambia - unforgettable in every way
Peanut butter
Raising my kids without my mama
A quiet night by myself
I'll take lake-life actually
Not sleeping - I'm so bad at that
There’s so much more to parenthood than childbirth preparation. And I’d love to connect on it all! Join my email list for weekly tips, pregnancy + postpartum education, and the unwavering empathy of a mama who’s been there before.
The education never stops over here. Stay in stories - that's where the really good stuff is.
@thelabormama