Happy New Year!

So long 2021…

Last year we had to walk through fire.

We learn

ed to live in our own power

To trust our ways of knowing and find our truth.

To lean into surrender and let go of that which we can’t control.

This will serve us in the new year.

May you find Peace, Rest, and Ease

💜 Katy

Feeling Heard and Honored in Medical Appointments

Whether you’re dealing with chronic illness, pregnancy appointments, or your annual checkup – Visits to see you care provider can be intimidating, and often leave you feeling like there could have been a more productive conversation.

If you are one of the millions of women who feel like they aren’t heard by their doctors and other care providers, I have made a tool for you to use before, during, and after your appointment.

This workbook can help create a safe and informative appointment that leaves you feeling like you got what you needed, OR that you definitely need a new care provider – because sometimes, no matter how ready and self-assured you are, they just aren’t going to hear you or believe you.

Fill out the form below to get your free workbook to have empowered conversations and ease in making choices in the medical setting.

You got this!


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A little of my origin story…

a little of my origin storyWhen I started doula work, I thought it was a stepping stone to midwifery. As I attended more births in the hospital as well as at home I realized I was desperately needed to support women in their hospital births. While homebirths are beautiful and often very intervention free, my work as an advocate and empowering source of trust in the process was needed in the hospital.

As I continued my work I learned that watching women step into their power in birth, motherhood, AND life would always be a part of my life.

Being a Doula has taught me so much about all the cracks and gaping holes in our care for women and babies. It is both infuriating and saddening to watch women get bad information, care that is not based in any evidence and disregarded or criticized when they have questions or concerns. While there are definitely care providers who are working hard to try to fill these gaps it is not enough.

The love I have and the joy I feel watching women step into their power in labor and birth is the reason I decided to grow to be able to provide more than the physical emotional & logistical support a Doula provides. My hope is to provide women a safe space to tap into their intuition, their other ways of knowing, their vulnerability and bravery to discover the pieces of them that are not quite being fulfilled. Whether this looks like nutrition, sleep, relationships, community, movement, trauma, fear. There are so many facets to our humanity. There is so much to delve into and discover. You are complex, unique, wild, miraculous.

I hope to continue to support, guide & grow in this impossible culture we live in.

If you have ever found it difficult to find your voice, to speak up for yourself, especially in any medical situation, if you have ever felt like you weren’t being listened to, if you have been harmed by misinformation or lack of information in our medical industrial complex, you are not alone. You can take back your power.

You can heal your wounds, spiritually, physically, emotionally – I’m here to help if you need it!

Some things I’ve learned about me!

So it’s been over three years since I decided to start on my “health coach” journey. Since then I have learned many ways that I don’t want to work in this field (more on that at a later date) and so many ways that I DO!!

Here are a few. 

I DO want to be a touch stone for women who are trying to find balance, and themselves in the childbearing years.

I DO want to support women from pre-conception through the first 3-5 postpartum years.

I DO want to use my intuitive gifts to help guide women to find their answers. 

I DO want to offer space to explore choices in all areas of life. Choices in medical, relational, internal, and environmental arenas. 

I DO want to use my 15 years of education and experience to provide evidence-based support.

I DO want to keep learning to provide better and better service to my people. 

I DO want hold space in a year long container for radical change to happen. 

I DO want to offer a safer space for exploration and curiosity. 

I’m sure I’ll think of more to add here, but for today- these are my musings 

Is it ever going to be enough?

Sometimes what you’re doing is enough. Sometimes – and probably likely – what you’re doing is too much!

We are asked to do too much. We are expected to be perfect — or least we THINK we’re expected to be perfect.

Prefect skin, perfect hair, perfect body, perfect food, perfect house, perfect kids. It all needs to be perfect, but also you can’t think too much about it because you also can’t show that you’re trying to be perfect – perfection with easethat’s the way to be.

Also selfless.

Don’t take care of yourself because that’s SELFISH, we’re looking for self-LESS, while being perfect with ease. Please don’t have a self while doing your perfection. If you look like you’re uncomfortable, or working hard at the perfection it’ll make other people uncomfortable. Don’t do that. yuck.

All snark aside, does this sound familiar? does this sound like the struggle you’ve been living with? How do we retrain ourselves to put US on the to do list? I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but you can’t pour from an empty cup. What does putting ourself first actually look like? How do we shift our lives so everyone is cared for, including ourselves?

When you’re fulfilled – emotionally, mentally, nutritionally, energetically, spiritually – you can be the source for your loved ones! When full, you can overflow and support those outside of yourself with ease and joy.

Can you imagine?!

It’s almost too much to imagine though isn’t it? It takes baby steps to get there. It takes support systems and networks to make small changes that lead to bigger ones. It takes putting one foot in front of the other, every day, in the direction of fulfillment and joy. It’s not comfortable work. It’ll make those around you uncomfortable as well (after all, you’ve been contorting yourself for years to make others at ease), but it’ll be worth it, I promise.

Sometimes doing less is more, and taking baby steps to a happier, more complete you, is probably less work (though maybe flexing new muscles) than the work you have been doing to be a perfect ______ (parent, wife, daughter, lawyer, teacher… fill in the blank).

This is work I’m doing everyday. Flexing new muscles, leaning into the the discomfort, knowing there is even more joy and ease coming. Trusting that my web of support will catch me when I stumble and I know I will. Getting up again, and taking the next best steps for me! Because when I’m feeling and being my best SELFISH self, it’s easier for everyone around me to be their best selves too.

Join me on this adventure! we can find your next steps too! I promise – it’s the good kind of hard.

 

This is for you if…

This program is for you if any of these sound like you!

You’re feeling anxious about returning to normal life — physical, emotional, social and you don’t know how you’ll adjust after baby is born.

You’re conflicted on jumping back into work too soon — on the one hand you’re worried about losing your job / position …. On the other hand, you don’t want to leave your baby.

You’ve planned for the proper support during pregnancy and labor (and your birth plan is etched in your memory) but you have neglected to plan for what happens when you get home.

Hey guess what? If you feel any of these things, you’re not alone! 

I’ve been there, and so have so many of my clients. And I want you to know that there is hope!

Have a strategy that feels doable and simple so you and your partner are getting all the support you need to parent at your best.

Be prepared with the best tools to rebuild and restore your body to full health and resilience.

Feel prepared to enjoy your postpartum time with the same confidence and trust in your intuition as you have in your ability to give birth!

We’re starting 5/1/21!!

Now’s the time to jump on-board!

**or share share share if this WAS you and you wish you would have had this opportunity when you were pregnant!**

In The Resilient Mother Program, we will be exploring what makes us joyful, impactful, and resilient NOW, before having a tiny human join your life. You will learn what babies and bodies need in the first year postpartum and how best to nourish your mind, body and spirit.

We will discuss what questions to ask, requests to make, and conversations to have before baby comes so you can be supported, fulfilled, and RESILIENT in your new role as MOTHER.

Come Join me! Space is SUPER limited, because I want you each to have time and space to get the support you need. I can’t wait to hear from you! If you have any questions, please set up a call and I’ll be happy to make sure this feels like the perfect next steps for you!

We Start May 1, 2021!

The Resilient Mother program for soon-to-be moms due after July 1, 2021

Jump in now! and if you know someone who this would be a good fit for, please share widely!

This program is for you if any of these sound like you!

You might already be experiencing sleep problems and from everything you hear, you’re afraid it will only get worse after baby is born

You’ve heard about postpartum bleeding & body changes and you’re concerned it will happen to you (and you won’t know how to recover)

You’re anxious about not snapping back to slender former self, so you’re staying active, watching what you’re eating — but you don’t know how you’ll keep this up post-birth

What if you knew you could:

Have a strategy that feels doable and simple so you and your partner are getting all the sleep and rest you need to parent at your best.

Be prepared with the best tools to rebuild and restore your body to full health and resilience.

Feel free to exercise in ways that fit your life as you recover after birth.

We’re starting really soon!

Now’s the time to jump on-board if you’re ready to get answers to some of the biggest questions around what it’s like to be a new parent and to parent a newborn.

In The Resilient Mother Program, we will be exploring what makes us joyful, impactful, and resilient NOW, before having a tiny human join your life. We will learn what babies and bodies need in the first year postpartum and how best to nourish our mind, body and spirit.

We will discuss what questions to ask, requests to make, and conversations to have before baby comes so we can be supported, fulfilled, and RESILIENT in our new role as MOTHER.

Come Join me! Space is SUPER limited, because I want you each to have time and space to get the support you need.  I can’t wait to hear from you! If you have any questions, please set up a call and I’ll be happy to make sure this feels like the perfect next steps for you!

What don’t I know? The Resilient Mother Program!

You know what’s hard? You know what HARDER in ‘rona times? 

Motherhood.

Parenthood in general is a total shit show a lot of the time. A TON of flying by the seat of your pants, learning as you go, and lessons hard won.

We often think we have the skills we need to navigate parenthood, have “adult conversations” with our partners and in general not turn into puddles of emotions.

Motherhood changes all that.

Resilient mother "you're worth it"You WILL be a puddle of emotion at sometime. I PROMISE. You will feel like your partner doesn’t understand what it’s like for you (they really don’t) and it will make you a liiiiiittle resentful.

You know how I know this? I HAVE BEEN THERE. And I’ve been a witness to over 150 new mothers try to navigate these waters.

This May, I will be doing a deep dive with 6 soon-to-be mothers about what is in store for them on the other side of birth. In my doula work for the last 10 years, I have learned so much from my clients (and honestly failed so many of them by not preparing them, being present enough) as they navigate the 4th and then 5th trimesters.

In The Resilient Mother Program, we will be exploring how we each move through the world in our most authentic way. How that feeds us as we move through the most trying parts of parenthood.  We will learn what babies and bodies need in the first year postpartum and how best to nourish our mind, body and spirit.

We will discuss what questions to ask, requests to make, and conversations to have before baby comes so we can be supported, fulfilled, and RESILIENT in our new role as MOTHER.

Come Join me! Space is SUPER limited, because I want you each to have time and space to get the support you need.  I can’t wait to hear from you! If you have any questions, please set up a call and I’ll be happy to make sure this feels like the perfect next steps for you!

Empowering Resiliency After Birth!

Being a great mother is not just about the care you give to your children, it's about how you show up for yourself!

Happy spring everyone!

I’m so excited to be offering this AWESOME and very needed course for pregnant folks.

Being a doula and childbirth educator for the last 10 years, I hear:

“I didn’t know how to ask for help” and

“I wish I would have rested more” and

“my partner was trying, but didn’t know what I needed”

ALL. THE. TIME.

Whether this is your first baby or 4th, this course will help you prepare for a well adjusted return to “normal” life after a baby.

Please share with any pregnant people you know! This information is SO important!

If you would like more info or to chat please don’t hesitate to reach out!

You can find more info HERE!

New Year! Gathering my resources.

So… you know when you think you know all the things…

You know what to do, and know what triggers you, and you know the supplements to take, and foods to eat or avoid to feel your best?  Yeah? Me too.

And that’s why I’m finally reaching out to a health coach for myself this week! Because I’m totally overwhelmed with all the options and next steps that I need to take to get feeling better! It’s so hard to see outside your current situation…

and I’m feeling that big time right now.

I don’t especially like the idea of new years resolutions, (I am terrible at them in general) and I think it’s just asking for guilt and shame and resentment, which as women, we do NOT need more of in the culture we’re currently living in. I do like the idea of having a vision or goal for a period of time though. I love the idea of seeing where you want to be and taking steps in that direction.

For me, one of these visions is feeling less blah at the end of the day. It’s a simple vision… haha. I have struggled with digestive issues my entire adult life (part of why I have entered this coaching space, based on the massive amount of info I have gleaned working on my own issues) and while I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do to get feeling better, I know what supplements help me, what foods I need to avoid. I still have trouble implementing the next best thing for me.  I need someone outside of me, outside of my situation to hold me accountable, but also to help me see what are the small, not overwhelming things I can do to get me nearer to my goal of healthy resilient guts!

I’m excited to share what I learn in my own journey, and SUPER excited to feel better everyday! 

Let me know if this resonates for you! What are your 2021 visions for yourself, and have you found someone to help hold you accountable to yourself?