I was flat-out for most of my pregnancy, throwing up, exhausted, and struggling to continue my career as a professional violinist. I thought I might find some relief after the home birth, but a few hours after my boy’s first breath, we had to rush him to the hospital, camping out for four days while his wet lungs cleared. After we finally came home, I sank into postpartum depression followed by three sleepless years of complete and utter exhaustion.
When he was one year old, my precious boy began to show signs of “off track behavior.” Don’t get me wrong, he was completely adorable, loving, playful and vital, but he was struggling too. It took us a few years, but we finally got him assessed and he was given a special needs label. My husband and I were both devastated and relieved. We searched for the right therapists, read every book on the subject, and struggled to maintain a semblance of a marriage. Our family had spiraled into a trauma loop that took years to climb out of.
What kept me going? My intense love for my creative, beautiful, charismatic son, hidden sources of inner strength I didn’t even know I had, the thousand and one parenting books I read, and the meager support I managed to scrape together. I needed more. I needed a parent coach.
I want you to have the support I wish I’d had: Someone who could help me recognize that in order to be a good parent I had to attend to my own well-being first and foremost. I needed tools and resources to navigate the intense emotional challenges of parenting in the context of my life as a whole. That’s why I trained in the best parenting support programs I could find and added integral life coaching skills to my toolkit.
Becoming a parent has forced me to grow up and heal my own childhood wounds. It has been the most profound and extended personal growth “workshop” of my life (and it ain’t over yet). Along the way, I’ve gained knowledge, experience, and some extraordinary practical tools that I’m eager to share with you.
Nobody can bring their best self to their family without adequate support. That means more than a babysitter for date night once a week or an occasional massage. I want nothing more than to provide you with the extra support and skills you and your family need to find more joy, ease, and connection. Yes, it’s really possible!