I am the Painted Doula. Feel free to stop by my website!
My parents taught me that life is about finding happiness. They advised me to figure out what makes me the happiest, and then find a way to make a living doing it. I did just that for my first career as a hairdresser, and then when that wasn’t doing it for me anymore I made the metamorphosis from stylist to birth doula. I’m happiest when I’m learning and when things are in motion. I’m a mover and a shaker and I love to help people see themselves the way that I see them. As a doula, one of my biggest responsibilities to my client is advocacy. I have to make sure that my clients have a clear picture of their options in any given scenario, and that the decisions that they are making about their health care are educated and reflect their hopes and beliefs about birth. I believe that there are no right answers in life, especially when it comes to how we birth our babies. Everyone I meet as a doula has a unique set of ideals about their birth. Their plan may be similar to someone else, but it will always have its own nuances. When Kathleen and I decided to write Rebel Birth it was because we had to be a source for EVERYONE. We didn’t want to teach people to be biased one way or another. Instead we wanted to teach people to carry ALL of the tools, but know when and how they will want to use them. We wanted to teach people to work the system and manipulate their circumstances in order to get what they want. We wanted to empower families, no matter what choices they are making. The way that I have educated myself as a doula has been key to forming such a well rounded curriculum. If there is a training on something birth related I can go to, I do it. Rebozo, Reiki, Labor Whispering, OFP, Spinning Babies, Sexuality in Birth, Dancing for Birth, Acupressure and so on…I don’t pick and chose which things I want to learn. I learn everything that I have access to. I believe that I have to be able to offer anything and everything if I am really doing my job. The possibilities in birth are endless and I want to have as close to all of the answers as I can.
Thats who I am professionally, privately, well I guess it is kind of the same story. I have never played by the ‘rules’ of life. I am adept at carving my own path and going with my gut. I love recklessly and I am a devoted friend. I am a wife and an aunt and animal lover. I have 2 dogs and 3 cats and they are my children who I spoil rotten. I love music and movies and board games. I collect piggy banks and coffee table books. I spend as much time as I can with my parents, grandmother and my sister and her family. My nephews are the coolest and I have to say that I’m a pretty badass aunt. As much as I love being outdoors and finding new adventures, my favorite thing in the world is sitting on the couch catching up on our shows while my husband and the dogs invade all of my personal space and compete for all the scratches.
