However you come to conceive, carry, and birth your child, one thing is certain - you need support. The way we are designed as humans is that we thrive in social environments with people we trust. The biggest question, one that you must decide pretty early in your pregnancy or journey to becoming a parent - are you connected? Connection with your child is nourishment for their souls. It feeds their brain with information proving the world is safe, it soothes their nerves and quenches their curiosity. But often, especially for moms, they feel exhausted. There needs to be a balance. There needs to be connection between the partners that is reliable, if applicable. And most importantly, there needs to be connection with ones self. There are two versions of us that seem to be living life simultaneously. The outer world, the logistics, planning, paying bills, maintaining a home, and keeping food on the table. Then there is the inner world. The desires, pleasures (met & unmet), solace of stillness, longing for self-care and being cared for deeply by another. Connection to ones self might look as simple as drinking water and taking a deep breath. Or it might be stretching, dancing, going for a walk, making love, or talking with a friend. Whatever it is, and however you do it, if you neglect yourself, your family will suffer. This is where it gets juicy. Connection to self means being able to know what you want and to take steps towards making it reality. To ask for your needs to be met. To put boundaries around your time and energy. And all of this comes down to self-awareness. The more you connect with your baby, from before birth, during pregnancy, postpartum, and baby years, the better their brains will develop a model of the world that is safe as well as healthy regions of the brain that regulate behavior, immune system, and metabolism. When your baby reaches toddler years, connection will be the antidote to temper tantrums, the balm that soothes bumps and scratches, the way to building your child's understanding about the world. And into teenage years, connection will be the reason your child comes to you when they are in trouble or need help. Starting to build an authenticity practice in pregnancy and the early stages of building a family could be the most important skill you build to be a parent. I say skill because it requires practice in a container with others who are also building the skill. If you're curious to go deeper down this journey, I recommend books like "In Touch" by John Prendergast or "Getting Real" by Susan Campbell. Comment below what your practice looks like for tuning into your inner world and how it has transformed your relationships.

We hear this word "community" a lot, so much that we might feel that it's mundane or implicit. We "live in" communities, we see community happening around us, we might even feel a connection within our community. They denote spaces for gathering, like the community pool or ways of giving back, like community service. But how many of us feel the core of what it means to be a part of a community? The root of the word comes from Latin "communis" meaning "common, shared by many" and with that sense, it seems that we are more isolated nowadays than we may even realize. How many people do you feel that you can share commonality with when it comes to something as personal as pregnancy, birth, labor, and the first few months with a newborn? Sure, it is a natural phenomenon to birth and be born, and something we share in common with every living human on the planet - regardless if they have birthed themselves, they were born. But it is also immensely private, personal, and compounded with layers of complexity that is unique to each and every birthing person or couple. Research shows that the more support a person has during their birth and postpartum period, the more success they will have in weathering the ups and downs that come. The better equipped they will be for navigating the medical system (if they chose a medical birth) as well as the more informed they will be for a natural birth. They have greater outcomes for breastfeeding/chestfeeding, lower rates of postpartum depression, faster recovery rates from labor and, most importantly, lower levels of stress. This is the biggest one. Stress. Another word that gets thrown around a lot without much understanding of it's implications. Stress during pregnancy is dangerous for the mom because it can raise blood pressure (preeclampsia can be fatal for both mom and baby) as well as create rifts in the relationships that are vital for their support. But above all else, stress during pregnancy and the early years actually changes the development of your child's brains. Have you been curious why we have a huge uptick in early childhood diseases in the recent years? Highers rates of autism, adhd, obesity, and food allergies? Yes, you guessed it, they are all correlated with stress. All of this is to say that support in the form of community - a consistent and caring group that is attentive to your needs in a nonjudgmental atmosphere, with resources designed to help you find what best suits your desired outcome can make a huge impact on the health of your child and the quality and success of your close relationships. Bring Harmony Home is a place for you to get support, learn about your options, feel the commonality of your experience and as well as honor the uniqueness of your individual situation. We follow the Doula Code of not giving advise or coaching. Instead, we practice present attention and mindful reflection and offer access to information for each person to make their own informed decision that works best for themselves. Community matters during the journey from conception to parenting perhaps more than any other transformative journey you will embark upon in your life. Comment below on what brought you here and where you are on the journey. Welcome! We are so glad you're here. 🎨 Art by Ashley Foreman

If you are here, you are probably either starting or ready to start your journey of building a family. Congratulations!! What an exciting time! If that's true, then you've come to the right place. Bring Harmony Home is for people to step into the role of parenting in the most supported and informed way possible. Whether you are pregnant, trying, or considering if parenting is for you, we have something for you. And there are three ways to get involved. First, there's this General Discussion Forum. Here we will share some broad topics for discussion and you'll be able to get an idea of the vibe of our community. All members get access to this forum as well as the blog. Next, there's the Membership Community. For $5 a month, you can access posts and topics on pregnancy, motherhood, postpartum, and relationships. You can comment and engage with other members as well as join one monthly 90 min circle on zoom to drop in with the community in a deep meaningful way. Finally, we have the Come Connected series, a series of cohorts and workshops that are designed to help you have deeper, more meaningful relationships with your partner so that you can model safe and healthy attachment for your babies, whether on the way or already here. It starts with Owning It, a 5 week cohort to zoom in on your patterns and ways of relating. Then there is Real Talk, a weekend workshop on communication habits for getting out of the same nasty arguments and learning how to lean in, get curious, and come back to love. Finally we have Big Step, an online doula 101 course where you get all my prenatal visit information in one place so you can be the most informed in your journey through pregnancy and beyond. Drop a comment and let me know what you're most excited about and where you are on the journey! Can't wait to meet you along the way. ☺️

What if we knew there was a place we could go to get clear on our relationships and not feel so alone? What if you are wanting to have children but you are struggling to communicate already, before adding the intensity of birth. Bring Harmony Home started as a direct response to stress in the home and the impact it has on our babies and children's development. One of the greatest stressors in life is our relationships. When we are struggling with a partner, in constant conflict or silent treatment, feeling unseen, unheard, and unmet in your requests, your body is in a stress response. Stress response releases cortisol into the bloodstream which then cross the placenta to your baby when in utero. Especially in specific weeks (7-12 and 27-32) a severe stress response can more than double the child's chances of growing up with adhd or autism. The other most common early childhood diseases, obesity, asthma, and food allergies, are also directly coorelated with stress. Health babies come from healthy families who model safe, secure attachment. Feeling safe means feeling informed, in control of yourself and your responses, and your ability to lean on others when time should come. This will set you up for success in your family. Bring Harmony Home is a community for people who want to become better partners so they can be awesome parents for this next generation coming in. If this is you, then Welcome! ✨ leave a comment below and let us know where you are coming from and what brings you here today. I'm so glad you're here!