What you see in this photo is a pretty momma and her one-year-old chunky baby boy whom she adored. What you don’t know is she was constantly sick and sleep-deprived. I also learned with my PPA and PPD no one was coming to save me. I thought the tribe that I had built and invested in from my job would show up for me. They didn’t! I had the support of an awesome postpartum doula and a mommy helper, both of which we paid to in our home. What I had concluded was: no one was coming to save me, and I had no control over anything but me.

The PPD and PPA took me two years to overcome fully. I left the job with toxic relationships. I got a job closer to home, where I could start fresh. I started to make truer friendships that reflected my values, parenting style, and interests (babywearing and breastfeeding). I kept getting Reiki and worked with my therapist.

I kept choosing me. I kept choosing Ollie. I kept choosing things that brought me joy. If I didn’t know the answer or didn’t want to go somewhere, I stayed home where I felt safe. I just knew if I kept trusting my inner voice and rested, I would be ok. After a long year, things got a lot better. It is my postpartum experience that inspired me to offer Reiki to women initially, then it evolved to offer services from fertility to postpartum.