The Mustard Seed Village

08/28/2026

🌿 **WHEN SHOULD I CALL MY DOULA?**

Please don't sit at home thinking:

“I don't want to bother her.”

You aren't bothering me. 😂

If you're wondering whether you should reach out—**reach out.**

Call or text when:

🤎 You think labor might be starting
🤎 Your water may have broken
🤎 Contractions are changing
🤎 You're heading to the hospital
🤎 You're scared or overwhelmed
🤎 Your provider gave you information you're trying to process
🤎 You need help remembering comfort measures
🤎 Your partner needs some guidance
🤎 You simply need reassurance and support

Your doula doesn't only show up when you're 8 centimeters and roaring through contractions.

Support can begin much earlier.

Sometimes you need hands-on support.

Sometimes you need education.

And sometimes you just need someone to say:

**“Okay. Tell me what's happening.”**

That's what the village is for. 🤎🌱

08/27/2026

📣 **DO YOU KNOW HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF DURING BIRTH?**

You made the birth plan.

You packed the hospital bag.

You picked out baby's first outfit.

But have you prepared for the conversations that might happen **during labor?**

🌿 “We'd like to start Pitocin.”
🌿 “Your labor isn't progressing fast enough.”
🌿 “We recommend breaking your water.”
🌿 “We'd like continuous monitoring.”
🌿 “We're recommending a C-section.”

Would you know what questions to ask?

That's exactly what we're going to practice at my upcoming **Birth Advocacy Class!** 🤎

📅 **September 15th**
⏰ **5:30 PM**
📍 **Carey, Ohio — at my home**
💌 Message me for the address!

This class is for **EVERYONE**, no matter where you're planning to give birth.

We're going to talk about:

✨ Informed consent & informed refusal
✨ How to ask about benefits, risks and alternatives
✨ Understanding common labor interventions
✨ How to ask for time when a decision isn't emergent
✨ Communicating with your birth team
✨ Helping your partner become a confident advocate
✨ What to do when birth doesn't follow your original plan
✨ REALISTIC role-playing scenarios so you can actually practice what you've learned

My goal isn't to teach you to walk into your birth ready to fight your care team.

It's to help you walk in feeling confident enough to **ask questions, understand your options, communicate your wishes and participate in decisions about your care.**

Because advocacy doesn't have to sound like:

❌ “NO!”

Sometimes advocacy simply sounds like:

**“Can you explain why you're recommending that?”**

**“What are our other options?”**

**“Is there a medical reason we need to make this decision right now?”**

**“Can we have a few minutes alone to discuss it?”**

Those little sentences can make a BIG difference in how prepared you feel. 🌿

Come learn.
Come ask questions.
Come practice using your voice.

🤎 **Birth Advocacy Class — September 15th at 5:30 PM**

Message me to reserve your spot and get the address!

**The Mustard Seed Village 🌱**
*Helping families feel informed, supported & confident through pregnancy, birth and postpartum.*

08/27/2026

having back labor ????? Asking for pressure on your back ???? Here are something to try to get baby to turn and to help that pain!!!

🔥 **BACK LABOR? LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.**

Some people feel contractions mostly across their abdomen.

Others feel a HUGE amount of pressure and pain in their lower back or sacrum.

If that's you during labor, there are several comfort measures you can try:

🤎 Firm counter pressure
🤎 Hip squeezes
🤎 Hands-and-knees
🤎 Leaning forward
🤎 Warmth on the lower back
🤎 Birth ball
🤎 Shower or tub when available
🤎 Frequent position changes

Sometimes baby's position may contribute to back labor, but that isn't always the reason.

And here's where having support can be incredibly helpful.

When you're deep in labor, you probably don't want someone handing you a list of 14 positions and asking which one you'd like to try. 😂

You need someone who can say:

**“I've got you. Let's try this.”**

Then adjust based on what your body is telling us.

That's part of doula care. 🌿

08/26/2026

Where are my dad's at ???? I have listed below some tip that can help you keep busy and be helpful to your partner while in labor !

💙 **DADS & BIRTH PARTNERS — THIS ONE IS FOR YOU.**

You don't have to know how to deliver a baby.

You don't need to memorize every stage of labor.

And you definitely don't need to stand awkwardly in the corner wondering what you're supposed to do. 😂

When labor gets intense, here are **5 things you CAN do:**

1️⃣ **Stay close.**
Sometimes your presence is more important than anything you could say.

2️⃣ **Offer water.**
Seriously. Become the keeper of the water bottle. 😂

3️⃣ **Use counter pressure.**
If she's having back labor, firm pressure on her lower back or hips may feel AMAZING.

4️⃣ **Protect the environment.**
Dim lights. Quiet voices. Limit unnecessary interruptions when possible.

5️⃣ **Remind her that she can do this.**
Not “calm down.”
Not “it's almost over.”
Try:
🤎 “I'm right here.”
🤎 “One contraction at a time.”
🤎 “You're doing it.”
🤎 “What do you need from me?”

And here's something I LOVE about being a doula:

**I'm not there to replace you **

I'm there to help you support HER.

Birth partners deserve support too. 🤎

08/25/2026

Time and time again I see my friends get so excited because they left their weekly appointment and Dr. said I was "2 cm , I was..." and baby is coming but . Let's talk about dilation and what it really means.

One of the biggest misconceptions about labor is that dilation tells us the whole story.

It doesn't.

Your care team may also be paying attention to:

✨ **Dilation** — how open the cervix is
✨ **Effacement** — how thin the cervix has become
✨ **Station** — how low baby is in the pelvis
✨ **Baby's position** — which direction baby is facing
✨ **Rotation & descent** — how baby is navigating through the pelvis
✨ **Contraction pattern** — frequency, length and strength

Sometimes labor isn't about needing *stronger* contractions.

Sometimes baby needs a little more room to rotate or descend.

That's where movement and positioning can be incredibly useful.

Side lying.
Hands and knees.
Lunges.
Peanut ball positions.
Position changes.

Every labor is different, and there's no magic position that works for everyone—but understanding that birth is more than a number on a cervical exam can completely change how we look at labor progress. 🤎

**Your body is working. Your baby is working. Birth is a process—not a stopwatch.**

08/24/2026

Are you planning a hospital birth ? have you ever wondered what it will look like ? Here are somethings that may happen.

🏥 **What Happens When You Get to the Hospital in Labor?**

You walk through those doors…and then what?

Knowing what to expect BEFORE labor can make the whole process feel a little less overwhelming.

Depending on your hospital and your situation, you may:

🤍 Check in through L&D or triage
🤍 Have your vital signs taken
🤍 Be placed on the fetal monitor
🤍 Be asked questions about contractions, leaking fluid, bleeding & baby's movement
🤍 Be offered a cervical exam
🤍 Have your provider notified
🤍 Be evaluated to determine whether you're in active labor and should be admitted

This is also a GREAT time to start using your voice.

You can ask:
🌿 “Can you explain why you're recommending that?”
🌿 “Is this required or optional?”
🌿 “Can we have a few minutes to talk about it?”
🌿 “What are the benefits, risks and alternatives?”

You don't have to memorize everything before birth.

You just need to know that **questions are allowed.**

And if you have a doula beside you? I can help you slow the room down, understand what's being discussed, and remember the questions you wanted to ask. 🤎

**The Mustard Seed Village**
Supporting families through pregnancy, birth & postpartum.

08/23/2026

Guys , Septembers newsletter is going this week !!! if you would like one and you didn't get August newsletter message me your address! Each letter has a devotional , a connection to the community , an inspiring birth story and so much more .

08/23/2026

🌱 **Seeds of Faith Sunday**
**God Never Asked Us to Do Life Alone**

*“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”*
— Ecclesiastes 4:9–10

There are seasons when we desperately want to prove that we can handle everything ourselves.

Motherhood can be one of them.

We carry the baby.
Feed the baby.
Care for the house.
Care for our families.
Show up for everyone else.

And somewhere along the way, we can begin believing that needing help means we aren't doing enough.

But look at how God designed His people.

**He designed us for community.**

Throughout Scripture, we see people carrying one another's burdens, encouraging one another, praying for one another and stepping in when someone is weary.

Maybe today you're the person who needs someone to help hold you up.

Or maybe God has placed someone in your path who needs **you** to be part of their village.

Both have purpose.

We weren't created to walk through pregnancy, motherhood—or life—completely alone.

So this week, ask God:

**“Lord, show me where I need to accept help, and show me where I can be Your hands and feet to someone who needs it.”**

Sometimes God answers our prayers through the people He places around us. 🤍

🌱 **The Mustard Seed Village**
*Faith • Support • Community*

08/22/2026

Sometimes supporting a mother isn't complicated.

It's noticing what needs done and doing it.

It's checking in after everyone else has stopped checking.

It's bringing food without expecting her to entertain you.

It's praying with her.

It's reminding her that there are people around her who care.

**A strong village doesn't have to be a big village. It just has to show up.** 🌱🤍

Tag someone who has been part of your village.

08/22/2026

Did you know that I also offer postpartum doula support.

🤎🌿 **“BUT WHAT DOES A POSTPARTUM DOULA ACTUALLY DO?”**

You've probably heard of a birth doula…

But what about AFTER the baby is here?

Because everyone spends months preparing for birth, and then suddenly you're home with a brand-new human, running on two hours of sleep, trying to remember the last time you ate. 😂

That's where postpartum doula support comes in.

A postpartum doula comes alongside your family during those early days and weeks to help YOU recover, adjust and find your rhythm.

Depending on your family's needs, postpartum support might look like:

🤱 Helping with basic breastfeeding and feeding support
🍼 Washing bottles or pump parts
🥪 Making sure Mom actually gets something to eat
💧 Refilling that water bottle that's somehow ALWAYS empty
👶 Holding baby while Mom showers, eats or rests
🧺 Folding a load of baby laundry
🧹 Helping with light household tasks
😴 Helping create opportunities for Mom to sleep
🌿 Talking through normal postpartum changes
🤎 Listening when you just need another adult to talk to
📚 Helping connect you with lactation, mental health, medical or community resources when something is outside my scope

And sometimes?

It's walking into a house and asking:

**“What would make today feel a little easier?”**

Postpartum doula care isn't about coming into your home and telling you how to parent.

It's about helping you feel supported while **YOU learn your baby.**

We spend so much time making sure new babies are cared for.

I want to make sure someone is caring for **Mom, too.**

Because birth might be the beginning…

But the village is needed long after baby arrives. 🤎🌱

**The Mustard Seed Village**
Pregnancy • Birth • Postpartum • Village

Send a message to learn more