last quarter newsletter

Tell me you’re a birth worker that’s centered in community care without telling me…. 🥹 My car (the ‘Jo Mobile’ as some littles coined it 😂) is quite literally always filled with donations of baby/labor/postpartum stuff, clothes, books and more books, and most likely some palo santo and lukewarm coffee also 🖤 If you have donations for WNC or @cltbsa, let me know! I’ll empty this load over the weekend and have plenty of space for more! As always, your kindness and generosity to these communities is appreciated and needed. Be well 💓 Doula Jo

Let’s chat about postpartum care! It looks different for every family unit. The possibilities of how care can go are infinite. It’s about what you need in that moment (within reason and safety standards, of course). Every plan, schedule and routine is molded to what serves the family unit best. Along with the typical baby care like feeding and sleep support, light cooking and cleaning, laundry, dishes and ensuring families are getting the sweetest chances to simply heal, adjust and connect- sometimes we also pull out the wanna-be artist in us 🎨🖼️👩‍🎨 We know a good start to the morning can set the tone for the day in a busy home. So, for this specific client, I drew a little note on my first night with them for the bigger kids (siblings of baby) to wake up to- which is the first slide. The next night I was there the birth-giver told me just how much the kids loved it and were wondering if “maybe, just maybe, (I) could draw another one.” 🥹 Here is a peak of life during this time period and the white board doodles that became a tradition at every visit 🖌️ Every night upon arrival, the siblings would request drawings of their favorite things or something they did that day. This one little thing to look forward to shaped their care in the sweetest way! My goal as a postpartum doula is to bring ease and joy into your home during this overwhelmingly transitional time, even if it means drawing doodles and giggling at bedtime with your “big” kids every single visit. Baby is sleeping through the night at 8 weeks, parents are confident and competent and the siblings are well equipped with imagination and wonder 💫🌞✨🌈 Now their neighbor is getting a white board for their care that starts in December 😂💗 So if you see a Jo doodle at the neighborhood gathering, just know it’s very much part of our care plan 😊 With gratitude and joy, Doula Jo