JayBird Doula Services

12/19/2023

I'm so excited to release our class schedule for next quarter! Join us via Zoom on Saturdays at 4pm to talk all things nutrition, birth, postpartum, and breastfeeding! Join from your couch, in your jammies, with your kids running amuck in the background. Just join us.

02/01/2023

So… this is what I’ve been up to/ why things have been quiet over here!

I am so excited for this. When I was finally ready to dip my toes in the birth pond here in RVA, Carlie was the first person to welcome me. She kinda took me under her wing and mentored me (even though she hates that label) and her impact on my life in all the ways has been huge and wonderful. I could literally not love her more, and I’m so excited for this venture together. 🖤

Sometimes the universe brings people into your life to heal you, light you up, open you up, and move your forward. I'm stoked to introduce you all to SASHA, my new partner ☺️ She's a fu***ng ROCKSTAR of a human who makes me feel SEEN and appreciated as I am. She brings that to her birth support as well along with some awesome new services included birth photography and lactation counseling.

01/14/2023

Some sound advice from a pelvic floor PT!

01/13/2023

Let’s discuss cervical checks. In a healthy pregnancy, I recommend avoiding them before - and even during - labor. Why? Because we tend to look at the cervix as a crystal ball, as if it can predict when the baby will arrive. But the truth is, not only can two different providers give you two different answers on how your cervix feels to them, but your dilation has no bearing on how long labor will take (the idea that it does is based on a study that is incredibly flawed and very outdated). In addition, it’s an easy way to introduce bacteria into your body, which can then lead to an infection.

During labor, interrupting your primal brain to get back into your logic brain can slow you down and make it more difficult to get back into the zone again. The bottom line is, between the person laboring who knows their body, and a good provider/doula/team who are watching you closely and paying attention, there are other ways to tell what “stage” of labor you’re in. You won’t miss the birth of your baby, I promise.

So the moral of the story here is that you can say NO to cervical checks in pregnancy and labor, even when it’s “standard protocol.” Hold your power. You can be an active participant in your birth, not just a patient who has procedures done to them because it’s hospital policy. You deserve to birth with dignity and autonomy.🖤

01/12/2023

I’ve been in a period of change lately. Something is brewing… I don’t know exactly what, yet. But I’ve been trying to pay more attention to what my body needs, and what my soul craves. That looks like lots of books about birth and spirituality, mixed in with some yoga and time spent under the sky. I’m trying to write my thoughts down more often, and be mindfully in my body in the moment.

I’m wrestling with what it means to be feminine, to be a birth worker, to be an advocate in our current system… to be me. I’m a bit of an eclectic mashup of all sorts of personality traits and personal preferences, and I’m learning to lean into the fact that I just don’t quite fit anywhere. Maybe that’s ok, maybe I was meant to stand out.

In any case, I’m in a state of flux right now and I’m honoring that by being still and paying attention. I was recently diagnosed with ADHD after having it brushed off as anxiety my whole life, and maybe that’s been part of what’s pulled me inward. But whatever it is… I’m enjoying the journey. So this space may start to look more like a lot of musings on birth and life more often, as I grow into my voice as a birth worker and flex my writing muscles again. 🖤

01/11/2023

01/11/2023

12/31/2022

After spending many months soul searching over the last year and a half, I finally “re-opened for business” in April with no real goals or expectations for the year. I just wanted to test the waters and see if there was space for me in the birth community here in Richmond. Birth work is my passion, and I am lucky enough to be able to chase that passion as my job… but I had no idea just how fast and hard I would fall in love with my community — of people to serve, of people to teach me to serve better or differently, of people to serve with — and the impact it would have on me.
I’m looking back on this past year in absolute awe and gratitude. I have learned SO much about birth and about myself; I’ve found myself and learned to really love her. And I’m so excited for 2023 and to be able to spend more time looking outward instead of inward… but always learning more and growing my village. THANK YOU to each family who trusted me to be in their birth space, and thank you to all of my fellow doulas who let me cry on your shoulder and who pushed me to be better. I have big goals for this next year and I’m so excited to see them come to fruition!

12/27/2022

Try something with me, would you? Close your eyes for a minute and picture the birth of your baby. What does it look like? How does it feel? What are some of the words that come to mind to describe it? Now open your eyes and let me let you in on a little secret: you’re allowed to want things for your birth. You’re allowed to want more out of it than just a healthy baby! Your initiation into parenthood (for the first, second, or tenth time) matters. It deserves - even demands - to be celebrated. Coming away from your experience with your health and your baby’s health should be a given. There can be so much more to it than that! So tell me… what does your birth look like when you allow yourself the space to want more than just a healthy baby?

12/25/2022

I’ve seen this beautiful depiction of Mary giving birth, by , going around on social media today, and it just really struck a chord with me. 7 years ago, I was 9 months pregnant on Christmas… and something about that experience just really drew me in to Mary’s story like never before. Whether or not you’re religious, there’s power in connecting to the universal transformation of birth. Mary did it alone in a stable. She dug deep within and did the work. How amazing it is that all these years later, although birthing circumstances usually look somewhat different, so much of it is still the same?

Anyway, I wanted to wish all my doula families and doula friends a very Merry Christmas to you and your family from me and mine. Thank you for allowing me to dive deep into birth work this year… thank you for trusting me to be part of the process. Thank you for letting me learn from you. And here’s to an amazing year of birth work next year!

12/24/2022

Friendly reminder for the holidays: if you are newly postpartum, don’t play host! You have my full permission (really, you have my urging) to hide away in your warm bed snuggling skin-to-skin with your sweet baby instead of dressing up, going to holiday gatherings, and potentially exposing said darling babe to germs that their delicate immune systems can’t fight off yet. You get a pass this year, because your doula said so.
Give yourself the gift of rest this Christmas. You (and your baby) deserve it. 🖤

12/23/2022

If you feel you need validation to say “no” during the holidays, here is your sign.

You don’t HAVE to go anywhere.

You don’t HAVE to pass the baby around.

You don’t HAVE to buy presents.

You don’t HAVE to “keep the peace” and be around anyone you don’t want to be around.

You don’t HAVE to disregard your boundaries to appease anyone.. even if it’s Christmas.

You don’t have to do anything that is going to make you or your littles uncomfortable, uneasy, or overstimulated.

Your feelings and comfort matter too. Stay within your boundaries 💛

12/21/2022

I know this is a little crunchy, so bear with me… but just imagine for a moment that we approached birth as a spiritual event? What if it was a sacred rite of passage? An initiation into something uncharted and new? Would we spend more time preparing our minds ahead of time? Would we be more inclined to let birth unfold the way it wants to? With patience and gratitude?
Birth is HARD work no matter how you choose to do it, there’s no doubt of that. But if we alter the way we approach the experience, it can be transformational, both physically and emotionally. If we let ourselves crack open, imagine what kind of light would shine through?

12/19/2022

What do you get when you hire me as your doula? First of all… let’s dispense with the idea that you’re “hiring” me as if this is solely a business transaction. Because this isn’t a business to me. Yes, technically I have an LLC, and yes, I do ask that we sign a contract because money does exchange hands… but the reality is that this is heart work. This is my passion — Birth, education, community. Building a village. This is my calling in life. I feel it in my bones every time a client gets that “look at what I did!” look on their face when they’re holding their fresh babe in their arms for the first time. It reverberates in my soul when a family confidently makes informed decisions for themselves. It makes my heart sing when a client tells me, “I’m so glad I have you to come to for questions.”
This is heart work. Soul work. It’s not really a business. So when you “hire” me, what you’re really doing is bringing someone alongside you in your journey that will be your unwavering, honest, and nonjudgmental support system for the duration of pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. My clients are special to me; they become my family. So when you “hire” me, what you’re really getting is a piece of my heart. And my heart comes with a bursting passion for physiologic birth and the creation and care of a community. I can’t wait for you to join me. 🖤

12/17/2022

Have you ever found yourself kind of crabby, and you just don’t really know why? Maybe you’re hungry, maybe you’re tired. Maybe you’re physically uncomfortable, or you’re anxious or overstimulated. Maybe you’re a mix of all these things. We’ve all been there, right?
The thing is, these are all reasons why your baby might want to nurse, beyond just hunger/thirst. Sometimes your baby just needs the comfort only you (and lets be honest, often your b***s) can offer. This is why I recommend throwing out the notion of watching the clock when it comes to feeding your baby — Watch your baby instead. Really get to know them, and learn their cues. I know it’s easy to start to feel “touched out” and wonder when you’ll ever be able to just put them down… but the truth is, they were literally part of your body for 9 months. So you have the unique capability of offering them the kind of comfort they crave that no one else can! That’s kind of incredible, if you think about it. Be patient with your baby and with yourself, mama. You’re part of a unit right now, but it won’t always be that way. 🖤