A Woman's Design Doula Group Minneapolis | St. Paul Doula & Childbirth Education Services
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What we do is bittersweet...

5/19/2014

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I love it when I think about someone and they call, text or email me around the same time. Has that ever happened to you?

I especially love it when I'm thinking about my birth and postpartum clients, remembering their birth experiences and their sweet little babies and lo and behold I will receive a text, a picture, or an unexpected "thinking of you" note.

What we do is so bittersweet. In order to fully support a couple we have to open our hearts and become vulnerable so that our clients can feel safe to be vulnerable as well. Childbirth is such an intimate time. We are witnesses of the good, the bad, and the raw. I've seen the meek be strong, the quiet find their voice, the tears, laughter, the fears and love so present in a room that you can't help to be swept away. Being gatekeepers of their space, their wishes and silent witnesses of their stories.

Part of us wants to continue to stay a part of their lives but we can't. There are the hugs, kisses the "You've got this", as we pull away- giving them the room and space to trust their instincts, learn their babies and discover themselves anew as individuals and parents. 

Yes, it is bittersweet indeed and that is why I want my families to know that they always leave an imprint on my heart. It blesses this doula's heart to know that not only am I thinking about them, but they are thinking about me too.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made, 

Natalia
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My Heart Is Overflowing...

6/13/2012

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On a Birth Professionals page, someone asked us to name one thing we loved most about being a birth doula. "Just one? Just one???!!!", was the sudden outcry from the birth community.  I offered one for the sake of the original poster's request but continued to consider in my heart all the of the reasons I love supporting women and families during this time in their lives. 

I spent a few hours today working on a birth story from a previous birth I attended and all of the reasons began to pour out as i recapped our time spent together and all of the wonderful moments I was blessed to share with them.

I thought I'd share a few with you:
The "dance" that a couple shares when they are working together to bring forth their new life.

The moment a laboring woman finds "her voice".

The moment when a laboring mother is peacefully riding the waves of contractions. 

The moment when a partner looks at his woman with pride as she is being transformed right before his eyes. 

The look on a woman's face when she realizes what she is capable of doing...she knows her own strength and will never be the same. 

An expectant grandmother quietly sitting in the corner watching her little girl become a mother. 

The cry of a newborn who is away from his/her mother who is clearly calling out for her, wanting to know that she is still close by.


The moment a father takes his new baby and nuzzles, sniffs and talks to him/her as if it were just the two of them in the room. 


The moment when a mother and her baby lock eyes for the first time.  

The look on a mother's face when her baby latches on for the first time.

The moment I quietly bow out as the new family are becoming one.


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Motherhood Changes You~ For the Better

5/8/2010

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I was nineteen when I had my first child. I wasn't sure how I would embrace being a mom. She was born on Father’s day and when they placed the six pound beautiful little girl in my arms, I felt like the weight of the world had been placed on my shoulders. I took the little bundle, which was wrapped so tightly like a gift, brought her close to my chest and began weeping. The nurses and my family thought my extreme emotions were from exhaustion and a rapid drop in hormones. I assure you however, in that moment, reality hit me hard. I was going through a transformation right before their eyes. It felt quite spiritual, as childbirth can be, as I clearly remember to this day having one foot in girlhood and the other in the unknown world of motherhood.

I knew that there was no turning back. I was responsible for this precious life I held. At nineteen I didn't know exactly what that entailed, but I knew; my life was no longer my own, that it wasn't about just me, and this new role was for a lifetime.

Fast forward nine years later. My new little girl is handed to me. My heart is bursting with love and expectation for the future. I cry but it is a different cry.  I’m older, more mature. I believe that this overwhelming love that poured out for this new little one was prepared by her older sister. My heart became fertile ground as my oldest daughter prepared it for seeds of future children. She taught me how to love until it hurts.

Motherhood changes you. It has and continues to change me. You learn resilience, unconditional love, responsibility, tenderness, patience and selflessness. You are passionate, courageous, determined, graceful, merciful and creative. You never return to the person you were before. Maybe that’s the point.  


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    A Woman's Design

    A Woman's Design Doula & Childbirth Educators are here to walk along side you during such a precious time. Whether it is your first journey or tenth, empowering women and families with education and support to trust their inner wisdom and make wise choices in pregnancy, birth and early parenting is the heart of A Woman's Design. 

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Contact A Woman's Design:
info@awomansdesign.com
(612) 314-6378
Specializing In
Attachment Parenting | Babywearing | Birth Bootcamp | Bottle Feeding | Bradley Method | Breastfeeding | Cesareans Section (Family-Centered/Planned/Repeat) | Cloth Diapering | Epidural Birth | Home Birth | Hospital Birth | Hypnobabies | Induction | Lamaze | Multiples | Natural Birth | Spinning Babies |Vaginal birth Assisted by Medication | VBAC | Water Birth | Birth Doula | Postpartum Doula | Lactaction Support | Prenatal Education | Childbirth Education | Placenta Encapsulation |
Lamaze International, Childbirth International, DONA International
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Providing Professional Doula Services to Families in the Twin Cities, Minnesota

Minneapolis - St Paul
Anoka | Hennepin  | Carver | Chisago | Dakota | Ramsey | Washington    

​At the heart & soul of A Woman's Design is the belief that every mother has the inner wisdom to make the best choices for herself and her baby in pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting. 
This is your story and we are your supporting cast. Birth. Your Way. 

Copyright © 2012-2018, Natalia Hals. All rights reserved.