Last week, my daughter turned eight.
And something about that milestone cracked me wide open.
Eight feels ancient and fresh all at once — a portal, a threshold.
A quiet rite of passage, for both of us.
The first eight years of life are unlike any others. We are wide open — living, breathing sponges — absorbing the world around us. Our nervous systems, our sense of safety, our beliefs about love, power, and worth… all of it is shaped during these tender years. It’s not just “childhood.” It’s the foundation for everything.
And as I watched Bella blow out her candles, I felt the weight of it all over again — the honor and gravity of being someone’s mother.
It’s awe-inspiring when you realize parenting isn’t about raising one child.
It’s raising a lineage.
It’s tending to the roots of every child that will come from your bloodline.
And that work begins long before a baby is ever conceived.
The deeper I walk into birth work, the further back I want to begin — in the dreaming, in the longing, in the moment someone says “I think I want to be a parent someday.” That’s where the real magic starts. Parenting is not a switch we flip. It’s a slow, sacred unfolding of self-awareness — a becoming.
This past year has been nothing short of transformational.
I’ve walked through fire.
I’ve done deep healing work.
I’ve released old versions of myself and stepped into something new…
In January 2024, I stepped into a dream role as Executive Director of APPPAH. I began my didactic journey in midwifery school. I dove headfirst into community, mentorship, and the kind of soul work that leaves you breathless and re-born.
I’ve had the honor of learning from extraordinary midwives —
Kristine Lauria, Lisa Marie Oxenham, Beth Barbeau, Maryn Green, Blyss Young, —
and I’ve been deeply shaped by the mentorship of incredible minds and hearts like Dr. Thomas Verny, Dr. Raylene Phillips, Carol McLellan, Barbara Harper, Susan Highsmith, and so many others.
A wise midwife recently told me that midwifery is a fickle mistress – she may elude you periodically, and then come on full force. She also shared something beautiful that I have not yet seen in practice and that will forever change the way I pursue this work: “When you’re called to this field, you’re called very specifically to alter something, and it’s fun to pay attention to what that’s going to be. You bring that to any practice you work with, and trust what you’re perceiving. When you’re at a birth, everyone is the midwife.” These words now live in my bones.
This is the kind of wisdom that rewires you. This is why I do this work.
I sit in so much gratitude and recognition that I’ve been given the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with midwives and perinatal professionals I once only dreamed of meeting. Every conversation, every training, every moment with this community feeds me. The further I walk, the deeper I want to go.
And now, I feel ready to share some beautiful shifts in my own practice:
✨ I’m currently welcoming repeat clients
✨ I’m teaching classes and facilitating circles in the community
✨ I’m working on some amazing projects at APPPAH to bring trauma-informed education to birthworkers around the world!
✨ I’ll be opening space for pre-conception clients later this year
✨ I’m growing through incredible mentorship with Victoria Rose in her preconception program at @luminousbirth