My story.

I am originally from Massachusetts and grew up near the ocean which, besides my family, is probably what I miss the most living in upstate NY! I am the second of four kids and have two sets of loving parents, and a great crew of step-siblings.

I have lived in the Capital Region since 2006. I remember passing signs for Albany on the long 12 hour drives between home and Oberlin College where I received a B.A. in French in 1999 (and played lacrosse, learned to juggle, sang in an a cappella group, got credit for a U.S. road trip, among other things!).

Fast-forward to the present, I am co-parenting three fantastic children (Egan, 15; Reed, 13; Kathryn 9). We live in the magical village of Round Lake; a true community.

Music runs through my veins and has been ever-present in my life, in various forms. I sing and play the piano and guitar, and have been known to get a crash course on a new instrument for the sole purpose of a party!

I am a certified Kindermusik educator and have taught for the Saratoga Sings studio for six years; working with babies through preschoolers to foster the enjoyment of music, awareness of musical concepts and to weave musical elements into every day experiences.

I love languages! I take every opportunity to practice the ones I know well and learn new words in those I don’t know well. The world is vast and we can learn so much from other cultures.

My drive to become a postpartum doula comes from my own first postpartum experience. I was ill-prepared for all that it would take (as much as I had been a “baby whisperer” my whole life - see photo below - bringing home my first baby was not the same thing). Many circumstances converged to put me in a very isolated place; I was relatively new to the area, had chosen to stop working, had some postpartum complications and my immediate family and close friends were a few hours away. How I could have used the care and compassion of a postpartum doula!

From 2018-2020, I volunteered as a peer mentor in PSI’s (Postpartum Support International) relatively new peer mentor program in which a mom who has recovered from PMADs (perinatal mood and anxiety disorder) is matched up with a mom who is currently struggling in some way. It was a very gratifying experience, knowing that I helped new moms to feel less alone on their recovery journey. This experience was a great building block for my postpartum doula training.

As DONA International states: “The doula’s goal is to facilitate the transition to parenthood by supplying reliable and factual information, reassurance and hands-on support with children and household organization.”

I am a certified postpartum doula PCD(DONA).

I truly look forward to being your postpartum doula!