Nurtured Postpartum

08/23/2025

August 22 was National Rainbow Baby Day.

Not sure what a rainbow baby is? Well, a rainbow baby is the baby born after a pregnancy or child loss. The rainbow after the storm, if you will. The love after the pain. The brightness after the darkness.

In 2010, my rainbow baby was born. It's hard to believe it's been 15 years since we welcomed him in that hospital room.

Sometimes I look at him now and wonder who that first baby might have been. What her favourite foods would be. What her laugh would sound like. How her smile would light up the room. Would her teenage self be as stubborn as mine was (and still is). I wonder how good of a big sibling she'd be and if she'd like basketball like he does.

It's a bittersweet, guilty feeling that I'm not sure will every quite fully go away.

If she was here, he would not be. And I am so grateful for his incredible self and that he joined us on this earth when he did. His birth healed a part of me that was desperate for healing. He brought light to my world after so much darkness.

It can be hard to be pregnant after a loss. If you need support, check out , or feel free to contact me.

Do you have a rainbow baby? Do you know about the guilt I'm speaking of? Double tap if so, and please, I'd love to hear the story of your rainbow baby!

It may be late but, for National Rainbow Baby Day, I celebrate my rainbow baby and I celebrate yours.

PS: Did you know that the baby that comes after a rainbow baby is called a "Pot of Gold"?

First 📸:

08/09/2025

This week I've had some very welcome unexpected visitors that I haven't seen since moving to the Kootenays.

These two women are half of the group of women who have been with me through my entire parenting journey.

When my first was born, I had no friends in my city, certainly not mom friends. So, I joined a group called momstown and promptly met a group of women that would forever change, and save, my life.

No, I am not exaggerating when I say they saved my life. They were in the trenches of babies and toddlers with me. Play dates where we could breathe and know we were understood and not judged, where we didn't have to worry if our toddlers behaved like toddlers, where someone would hold our baby when we were touched out, where we knew that we could count on each other. In the darkest of times, they were there. I knew, I still know, that I can message them with anything I am struggling with and they will not judge me.

These women have laughed with me when our toddlers emptied all the board games, rejoiced with me when good things happened, guided me when things felt too dark and I couldn't see, held me when I couldn't stand up on my own, and cried with me when the hurts were too much to bear. They have watched me and stood beside me as I grew as a parent, as I said good bye to former versions of myself and welcomed new versions of myself.

If I had one piece of advice for new parents - it's find your people. Find your people that will walk beside you through these hard days. You may not find them right away, but they're out there. They may quite literally save your life - and at the very least, they will help you make it out of the trenches.

And thank you to Tiffany Vanderzyde, Jessica McCafferty, Janine Foote, and Kristin Heimbecker for being in the trenches with me. Can't believe those babies and toddlers are now graduating and becoming adults.

08/03/2025

16 years.

16 years ago, I came home from the hospital after a miscarriage that ended up in a d&c. 16 years ago, I said goodbye to the dreams I had dreamed for my first baby. I said goodbye to the innocence around pregnancy that I held until that moment. I said goodbye to a life that was not to be. I still remember that day as if it was yesterday. It sits vividly in my memories just as the births of my other children. I remember clearly the things that were said to me by other patients, nurses, and the (unwanted) hospital chaplain.

I go weeks now without thinking of her, but the grief remains just under the surface. And when it flares, I ache with both guilt and grief. Guilt that I had not thought of her, as if I had forgotten her. Grief that she was not a part of our life, not a part of these moments with my kids. And yet, I think about what might have been so often. About who she would be. Even 16 years later.

The ache doesn't go away, we just build a life around it so that it doesn't fill every nook and cranny of our thoughts. My Nana told me afterwards that she still ached for her lost babies, and especially her youngest that died shortly after birth. She said the ache did not dull for her, and nobody would talk about them with her. That even 40 years later she still grieved.

And so, in honour of my Nana, I will not be silent about it. I will speak about my miscarriage and loss and the grief I felt and still feel. If you too have a story of loss, I encourage you to share it if it feels right for you. I open this space below to talk about the things around pregnancy that people don't like to talk about. And if you need to talk privately, dm me and I would be honoured to hold that space for you.

As my friend Kristin wrote on the blog, a baby's a baby, no matter how small. And your baby matters.

08/01/2025

This week is World Lactation/Breastfeeding/Bodyfeeding Week. And before I say or share anything else, I want to say a few things.

However you feed your baby is right for you and your baby. We all know the biological benefits of human milk - and truly, they're incredible. But they're not all we have to think about when we are deciding what's best for our families, and lactation is not necessarily the best choice (or a choice at all) for all.

So, for those parents who work so hard to make breastfeeding/chestfeeding work for them - you're doing a good job.

For those parents who choose to pump and bottle feed, whether it's truly a choice or not - you're doing a good job.

For those parents who breastfeed/chestfeed for one day/one feed/one week/one month and switch to formula milk - you're doing a good job.

For those parents who decide to feed donated human milk - you're doing a good job.

For those parents who decide to feed formula milk right from birth (for any reason) - you're doing a good job.

For those who decide to feed both human milk and formula milk - you're doing a good job.

For those who cannot breastfeed/chestfeed (for whatever reason) - you're doing a good job.

No matter how you feed your baby, you are doing a good job.

07/29/2025

I've been absent.

But for a good reason.

Sometimes, you just have to step back and live your life. To decide where your limited energy needs to be directed.

The last 7 months have been hard and busy and beautiful all at the same time. From family medical issues to two kids in travel basketball to new job placements to vehicle problems to busy clients to volunteer work to passion projects, well, there's been a lot to juggle.

But I'm still here.

And I'm coming back with ideas that I wouldn't have had had I continued on as I was.

So, here's a photo from my recent annual family trip to Alberta that was full of (surprise, surprise) taking a kid to basketball. Plus, I threw in some puppy spam from my auntie's recent litter for all you who can't get enough puppies. (if you want more, stay tuned to my stories because I already miss those little nuggets).

07/15/2025

July 14-20 is Birth Trauma Awareness Week. 30% of birthgivers report experiencing birth trauma - and with the last few years, that statistic is likely low.

But what is birth trauma? So often, many people think birth trauma is only related to the physical events that happen during birth. And yes, those matter. But birth trauma can be related to so much more, including past birth experiences, previous sexual abuse, previous mental health challenges, the way you were treated and supported around birth, or if you felt in control or not.

And, above all, no matter what happened in and around your birth, if you found it traumatic, then it was traumatic. Trauma is in the eye of the beholder and no matter what others say, if you experienced it as traumatic, it was. And it's not your fault.

Birth trauma can present as:
-nightmares or difficulty sleeping
-anxiety or panic attacks
-flashbacks/memories of the birth
-feelings of shame, guilt, anger
-detaching from your feelings, thoughts, surroundings, or people in your life
-feeling numb

If your experience was traumatic, reach out to someone. You can heal and move forward with help. You do not have to suffer through this all alone. Aside from your birth team, care provider, and a trauma-informed therapist, here are some places you may find helpful:

org.au
birth

07/04/2025

A Postpartum Wellness Plan isn't a set of Ikea instructions for the postpartum. It's not a map of directions for how to get from point A to point B. It's more of a tourist brochure, a guidebook if you will. It gives you a place to put the information that you might need in the postpartum. It gets you thinking about how you will arrange your environment to be supportive. It's not the plan that's important, but the process of getting to the plan that matters.

But what exactly should you include in a postpartum plan?

This downloadable, comprehensive workbook & guide will help you to create a Postpartum Wellness Plan that will help to make your postpartum an easier and more positive experience. It will walk you through 10 steps that will help you figure out what's important, and how you will manage all the aspects of adjusting your life with a new baby.

Get your copy on my website shop! ( )

07/01/2025

It has been quite a few years since I've celebrated Canada Day. And I will not celebrate Canada Day again, or any day until we have true reconciliation, and not just the performative s**t that the government likes to pass off as reconciliation.

So called Canada was built on genocide, and I will not take pride in that. We cannot only celebrate the good parts while ignoring the rest.

Silence is complicity. And I will not be complicit.

I love this beautiful land that I live on, but it is not mine.

And I will not celebrate while my Indigenous friends and family mourn.

I am grateful for the Indigenous birthworkers and people who have tended to this land and her people for generations before me.

Fellow white folks living in so called Canada: it is possible to feel multiple feelings about Canada. But it's also important to consider why you feel grateful or proud to be Canadian. Does your place in Canada come at the expense of others? (hint, if you are not Indigenous, the answer is yes). You may not even have ancestors who took part in any of horrors that make up Canada's history, and you may not actively take part in the ones still happening, but you benefit from them in some way. It's beyond time we go further than land acknowledgements. Knowing whose land you live on is only scratching the surface. It's the tiniest thing that has no substance. We must do more. And it has to start yesterday.

There's no pride in genocide.

F**k Canada Day.

06/28/2025

Every birthing person deserves to feel safe, seen, and respected exactly as they are.

Whether you’re LGBTQ+, non-binary, a solo parent, in a poly family, disabled, racialized, or just tired of having to explain your identity, you belong in birth spaces that honor and uplift you.

Inclusive care isn't a “special” kind of care — it’s what everyone should receive. Inclusive care doesn't mean we are excluding people. That we are throwing out the terms "mother" and "pregnant woman" and "mom to be". It means we are not assuming that those terms apply to EVERYONE and instead are getting curious and being open. Everyone deserves to be seen as they are.

That’s why I am committed to:

✔️ Using gender-affirming language
✔️ Asking for your pronouns and chosen names
✔️ Respecting your family structure and needs
✔️ Advocating for equity in care
✔️ Urging other birthworkers to do the same in their own practice.

Because including everyone excludes no one.

You deserve a birth experience that feels safe, supportive, and fully yours.

06/19/2025

06/01/2025

It's Pride Month!

Q***r families face many challenges in growing their families - and many of those challenges are rooted in homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia. I have a lot more words that I want to say, but words aren't enough. These challenges exist in the medical world as well as the doula world. Too many say they support q***r families, but don't know how to do it in a way that does not perpetuate harm.

Just know that today, and every day, I stand with you because I am you.

Let's remember that Pride Month is, above all, a protest started by Black trans women. Let's keep standing up and calling out the violence and discrimination that the q***r community faces every day.

And not just today, but every damn day.

Because q***r families matter, no matter what they look like. Your q***r family may be visibly q***r, or like mine, it may not be. Let's celebrate ALL q***r families.

05/21/2025

Sharing this local fundraiser for a great cause happening in June! Write it down in your calendar, and plan for pizza!

We are pretty excited about this event! We are doing our first fundraisers for adopt a family 🩷 we have some pretty big goals and plan to make a big difference for families in our communities. Grab a ticket and join us or mark your calendars to order from home! 🏠 🍕