These are photos from about 3 hours after Ferris arrived earthside at Seven Sisters Midwifery & Community Birth Center. We were home by noon where we began to find our new footing. Our little one turns 3 today. My motherhood journey turns 3 today. Our little family unit of 3 turns 3 today.  More than any other birthday so far, THIS FEELS LIKE A LOT!  Three is a wildly significant number to me- for so many reasons.  In my Montessori training, there was a lot of focus on “the first three years”... Unfortunately, one of my biggest takeaways from that learning - before I becam ..read more

After a really enjoyable prenatal visit with a lovely client, I got this message:  “A question came up for me afterwards. In your experience at different births, are there any common qualities, attitudes, beliefs, or actions you've seen among birthing people and their partners that have made the biggest difference between an empowering/calm/joyful/[insert positive adjective] birth vs. a more challenging birth?” I’ve been sitting with this question for a while because there are so many ways I could answer it. Sometimes putting on a little music will give me the start of an answer. I don’t ..read more

Do not try to satisfy your vanity by teaching a great many things.  Awaken people's curiosity. It is enough to open minds;  do not overload them.  Put there just a spark.  If there is some good inflammable stuff,  it will catch fire."       Anatole France This quote flashed across my dumb phone screen in my middle-of-the-night, waste-of-time scroll session. But, dang it’s so good! I feel this way about teaching…but more importantly about parenting. I'd like to think I'm leaving little sparks around for my little one to notice and say ‘ah ..read more

This time last year, I was deep in the pit of new parenthood wondering when my body, mind, and heart would truly be ready to give other families the kind of energy they deserve during some of the most transformative moments of their life. And, here I am now… Doula bags always packed. Breastmilk in the freezer for my little guy. Camera bag ready to roll. On-call childcare situated on the daily. Brain beautifully packed with doula experiences, knowledge, and truly life-altering moments. I have witnessed quite a few births in 2021, and I feel more prepared than ever to share what support I have t ..read more

One whole year ago, we met. A little quote from our birth story: I don't remember who handed the baby to me (or maybe I just picked him up), but I shifted to my bottom so I could hold him to my chest. This happened both so quickly and in slow motion. At 7:11am, I said in my new mom-voice, "It's a boy! It's Ferris! He's here!" We didn't know the sex of our baby and hadn't really decided on the name, but these words just so smoothly slid out of my mouth. He was SO alert when he arrived. He was already curious, seemed determined, and just had a sweet kindness about him. - You’ve probably already ..read more

But, wait! How do I breathe during each stage of labor? What should I avoid? What if I forget what was mentioned in my childbirth ed classes? What if I forget how to count?! Okay. Whoa. Take a deep breath! Inhaaaaaaaaale through the nose. Exhaaaaaaaaaale through the mouth.  Raise your hand if any one of these questions has crossed your mind at some point during pregnancy. Or something similar? Eek! Guilty over here. Those darn movie portrayals of labor & birth with the holding of the breath and the hee-hee-hoo’s... I promise there are more/ safer options!  To start, definitely ..read more

Journal. Chat on the phone. Text. FaceTime. Voxer. WhatsApp. Meal Train. Voice Memo. Talk it out. Talk to yourself. There is so much to think about during pregnancy, labor, birth, & beyond. How do we take the swirly, scribbly thoughts and unravel them to make sense of even just some of it. How do we make space for learning? For growing into the latest version of ourselves? For reflecting on the decisions- the giant and the tiny? Who are you now? Who were you pre-baby??  The value of reflection in the perinatal experience is beyond important, and I find that most clients discover that ..read more

I've always been a nurturer. People have called me ‘Mom’ or ‘Mama Walts’ in various group or community settings. I always found it kind of odd, but it would typically and quickly become a thing. Maybe it was my nannying experience, my love for kiddos, or my Mary Poppins status bags, or my Miss Frizzle spirit. Honestly, I think it started way before that. I was always my mom’s little helper- classic middle child. My favorite toy growing up was a sweet doll that I seemed to have brought everywhere with me because it appears in so many of my childhood pictures. I used to really practice with this ..read more