Slowing Down

My jogging partner tonight is my 7 year old son, soon to be 8! On this beautiful, perfect evening! I was suddenly struck by how old he’s gotten in seemingly such a short time. Last time I was a SAHM he was 5 and now he’s almost 8. It’s like I blinked and three years went bye.

As parents I think it’s the most important thing to slow down and pay attention, really pay attention. Before we know it we are sending them off into adulthood. So let this be a reminder to take advantage of this time we have together. 💜

Be grateful for every day, make memories, enjoy life and have fun as a family. Make the most of every day. Say ‘no’ less often and laugh more. Relax and enjoy.

When we look back and remember Covid quarantine we will remember having FUN and living our best lives, during the craziest times. 💜😊

With Love,

Brooke Elizabeth

Who needs a doula?

Every expecting mother can benefit from having a doula at her birth. No matter if you are birthing in the hospital, at home or in a birth house. No matter if you are planning drug free, epidural or a c-section. All families can benefit from having a doula's support throughout labor and delivery! As your doula I am your labor and delivery coach and personal assistant of sorts. Offering you comfort measures, emotional support and partner support. A doula never stops paying attention to and catering to mom and/or partner! 💜

See It. Believe It. Be It.

I believe the mind is a powerful tool that we can all utilize in our daily lives. We are where we are in life because we choose to put ourselves there. If we want to change something or do something in life then we have to see it, believe it and be it. We all have the power to make whatever it is we dream for, to turn it into reality, but it takes serious believing to make it happen.

For anything in life we may see something we want, for example a peaceful birth and beautiful birth experience. So I would see it, visualize the birth, down to every detail that we want to occur. See the perfect birth (or whatever it is you want) in your mind and believe in it. Truly believe that you can do it, that you can make it happen and play the perfect scenario over and over in your mind. Believe it will happen with every fiber of your being. Have no doubts and have no fears but rather have full belief in what it is you want to see happen. Don’t think it will happen, but rather it IS happening. Focus on the now, don’t keep it in the future. Replay your image and mantra daily and full well believe it is happening, then be it.

Be what it is you want to be/do/have/see. Be positive and happy every day and focus on the good things in life. Focus on and remember what you are grateful for, what you have been blessed with. Then focus on having more of that goodness in your life. Same goes for birth, focus only on positive aspects of your pregnancy, labor and delivery. Focus on the goodness of the gift of life that has been given to you. Concentrate on the birth of your dreams and believe that it is happening for you. Acknowledge your fears and then let them go, don’t focus on the negative.

When it comes to anything in life that you want for yourself, focus on the good, the positive, the happy things. What you put out, you get in return. Maintain the energy you want within yourself every morning and start your day out right and remind yourself throughout every day that you are who you want to be, and where you have chosen to be in life and bring yourself more of it. If you believe it, truly believe it within yourself then you can be it/have it/do it, whatever it may be. I believe we can all accomplish our dreams.

With Love,

Brooke Elizabeth

The Covid Effect

Throughout the Covid 19 pandemic all the isolation, schools closing and all the changes in the birth world I have been able to remain optimistic and positive. I have been still connecting with expecting mothers and doing my best to offer comfort as best I can. My heart goes out to them all right now, because how stressful to have a baby during all of this. I still have had clients and prospects I have spoken with in the hopes of being able to help them and guide them through labor and delivery when the time arrived. Everything changes daily but today was when I really became devastated and the reality of the situation was like a punch in the face.

I have lost all of my clients at the moment because I cannot go into the hospital. Which I understand the reasoning, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Every part of me just wants to help these mothers through this life changing experience. Every part of me wants to really start my business and live the dream that I quit my career to do. Everything has been put on hold for me right now, except being a birth assistant. Which I am so grateful to have the opportunity to do and every day I just wait for the call to come in.

I have done my best to remain positive, happy and optimistic every single day. But today is a day I will allow myself to be sad, sad for everything that is happening right now. I’m sick of being trapped at home, I’m sick of the news and sick of not being able to do my job.

Even though I am sick and tired of all this today, I always remember to be grateful for my family and our health. I understand other people have it worse but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a bad day.

Hopeful for a better day tomorrow.

xo

Brooke Elizabeth

5 things to focus on when naming your business

If you are starting your business then one of the very first things you do is name your company. This is such an important first step because it is the first thing anyone sees about your company and it lasts forever! It’s a huge challenge to change the name of your business later so you want to do it right the first time. Here are five things to focus on when thinking of your business name:

1. Keep it Simple. You don’t want a name that is too long or too complicated or even too cutesy. It needs to be easy to remember, quick to jot down, and even easy to spell. If people are searching for you how hard is it going to be for them find you?

2. Keep it Unique to You. This doesn’t mean complicated but special to you.

3. Keep it broad. Allow for yourself to grow and change what your are selling OR who you are selling to over time. For example if your a photographer and think your target market is children so you think Happy Hippo Photography is cute and fun for kids. Then you aren’t allowing yourself for growth because maybe you start doing Senior pictures and Weddings but your business name doesn’t target them.

4. Check Name Availability. Make sure your business name is already in use.

5. Check Domain Availability. Make sure the name of your business is available as a domain, you can do a quick google search on this.

These five steps will help you to create your business name which is step two in creating your business. This comes right after figuring out what you are going to sell to your customers! Good luck and I know you will create a wonderful company name!

With Love,

Brooke Elizabeth

Leaping... at the best time or the worst? It's all about perspective!

If you read my previous post from about two weeks ago then you know that I quit my career and decided to focus on my business and diving into birth work. I quit right before I went on vacation, strategically I might add. Coronavirus was really at the beginning of things for America before we left and while on vacation it all went haywire and America started shutting down…

I had a lot of things lined up for when I returned. I had a client whose birth I could be attending and I was anticipating assisting many births in the month of March with a midwife. I was starting up hosting two different mom groups, one in Grand Rapids and one in Lansing. I had two new client meetings scheduled for the week upon my return as well.

Here is what has happened since before I left on vacation. Friday night before leaving I got called notifying I would be able to assist a birth, I let them know I leave for a flight at 5 am but I don’t mind pulling an all nighter. If I was needed before 1 am they would call me in, I never got called in. I had a client have her baby while I was on vacation. My classes I will be hosting have all been cancelled until who knows when. I cannot attend any births or meet any potential clients for at least fourteen days after my travel…

I could freak out, be upset, regret my decision to leave and believe that all is lost. OR I could choose to have faith, choose to work hard to ensure I have future clients lined up. Keep working on marketing, networking, blogging to help me not lose mind while being home and plan what I will talk about when my classes open back up. I think I will take the time to prepare for success and prepare to be busy in the coming months!

Not to mention, I keep thinking about if I was still working I would have to be AT WORK through all of this! At work and doing what with my kids? I wouldn’t have anyone to take them all day every day for an unknown amount of time. I am so blessed to be able to be home and playing teacher to my kids, housewife and working mom all at the same time. Sure it takes effort, time management and cooperation from my husband and my kids, it is worth it. So I believe that even though a lot of things have fallen through for me right now, I still made the best decision for myself and my family and to be honest the timing was absolutely perfect.

I know God has a plan so I will remain focused, happy and positive. I am going to take advantage of this time to spend quality time with my kids, organize my house, get things done I haven’t had time to do and look forward to the future. The world will move on from this and it is sure to be a moment in time to never be forgotten. I am excited to see how we all come out on the other side!

With Love,

Brooke Elizabeth

You choose how to live through Covid 19!

Alright, so I’m sure your not talking about, thinking about, reading about, hearing about, and dreaming about Covid 19… Oh wait, literally the entire world is focused on this situation. This is unlike anything we have ever seen as far as anyone I have spoken with on the subject. Everyone is either making jokes, telling people to stop making jokes, sharing stats, or talking about what the other side of the world is experiencing in anticipation for what is to come. Some are focusing on the positive things, others the negative and some are in between trying to stay positive but get sucked into the negative at times.

Here are some good things that I have heard: in the current shut down countries; pollution is visibly clearing up from the waters and skies! They have eliminated most travel for about a month and we are solving a problem we have been dealing with for such a long time! Air and water pollution is improving by the day in these areas, I mean, how amazing is that !? Some people are thrilled to have family time like they haven’t been able to have with their children and spouses. There are no sports to distract family members, there are no kids sports so dinner around the table is possible, moms and dads are working from home. Together time for families is at an all time high. People are praising the teachers, doctors and nurses and thanking them for what they do, as now they are really being put in the spotlight of appreciation. People are sharing and focusing on their faith and encouraging others not to live in fear through this but with faith. Believe that no matter what happens, everything will be OK. The world is bonding as we are all in this thing together, isn’t that a positive and fun thing to see!?

There are also a lot of bad things happening. People are scared, living with fear and anxiety is not a fun way to live. People are being laid off work and losing their jobs, feeling like their lives will never be the same and maybe the wont be. Others maybe didn’t lose their job but are unable to go to work and therefore worrying about paying their bills and buying the essentials for their families. Some are living each day waiting and anticipating to be laid off… People are losing their minds about having to stay home and figure out what to do with their kids all day every day! People are fighting about basically everything, what the government and people should or should not do. Hospitals are over flowing and unable to help everyone who needs help. People are sick and people are dying.

For myself, this whole thing is unreal! At first I was feeling like, really, its a cold! The more I read and the more I hear and see and the more time that goes bye, I am not so sure. It’s like I cannot believe that this is really shutting the world down. How can that even be possible? Each time I hear of someone who lost their job I think but why? Won’t things go back to normal soon? Regardless of what I think, this is happening so we have to embrace it because we can’t stop it or control it. It is all happening so I am going to do my best to embrace the situation for what it is and be positive along the way.

The one thing that really eases my heart and keeps me calm is my faith. I know God has a greater plan at work here and we don’t need to try to figure out what it is or worry about anything. None of us should ever live in fear, just remember God loves us all and things will be wonderful on the other side of this. Make the choice to be kind, stay positive, stay calm and enjoy the opportunity to slow down and focus on things you haven’t had the time to focus on!

With Love,

Brooke Elizabeth

Take the Leap

I am so excited because today is the first day of my new life! I finished up my time at the corporation I was working for and now I am moving on to follow my dreams! I worked there off and on for the last twelve years. The company was owned by my dad for eleven of those years I worked there. I spent a lot of time thinking about and preparing myself to one day run that place! That was my ultimate goal and focus in life. I knew one thing for certain since I was 18 years old and that was that I would run my own business some day. I wrote several business plans over the last thirteen years but none of them was IT. I struggled to find what IT would be, until now.

Even though I was focused on something that never came to fruition, it is okay. It still got me where I am today and I learned so much along the way! Even though my focus has changed and for the better I might add… Lets be honest, working in corrections and selling personal care and food products isn’t something that I grew up wishing I could do. I want to make a difference in the world, do something to help make this a better place. In being a doula I can accomplish all my goals and wishes in life! I am running my own business, on my own schedule, while helping woman through a life changing time in their lives! If I get the chance to help a woman decide to have her baby over abortion, then I will have accomplished more than I could ever dream of in my life.

My point is that I was not happy in my day to day life at the job I held. The hours were too long and my heart was no longer in it with the company. I needed a better balance and to do something that leaves me feeling full filled at the end of the day. To make the change and take the leap I had to plan and work towards it for several months. I had to have the support of my husband and family as well. I am so blessed that he was okay with giving up my salary for me to find my happiness and place in this world. It is so important for your partner to be supportive and fully believe in you, I am so blessed to have that from him. I would never have left my job without his support, that is for certain. Doing this is far from the easier thing to do for us, but it also is going to have such a greater reward for us in the end, even though that reward may not be in the form of money.

I hope that if you are unhappy in your day to day life because of your current career that you can make the plan to take the leap. Maybe you don’t have the option to change your career as everyone has a different circumstance but if this is the case, then make the choice to change your mentality. Go into the day focusing on something positive, something to help you make it through with a smile on your face. If you are going to take the leap and change your life then be sure to do so with a lot of planning and strategy in place first. To be successful, you have to have a plan!

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I so look forward to continue to share what happens along the way!

With Love,

Brooke Elizabeth

Childhood Memories

This morning the boys had gone outside to work on the farm chores and I stayed inside to cook some breakfast. One of my sons came into the house and said, ‘That’s the smell I want to smell and the sound I want to hear!’ I was cooking the bacon and had the music playing in the background. I couldn’t help but smile!

It immediately made me think to the future for a second. To the day that he is a grown man and walks into his parents house and smells the bacon cooking and hears the music playing and he has a moment that he recalls his childhood. I know he will think, I’m home. Moments like these may seem like normal life, but to him he will remember it forever.

I couldn’t help but also recall my childhood in that moment. Remembering the days my dad would wake us up on a Saturday by playing music throughout the house, I remember I woke with a smile on those days. Or when my mom would come in my room and open the curtains telling me it was time to get up. Such a simple thing, but I specifically recall a few of those days and it’s a happy memory for me to have forever.

It’s usually the simple things that we remember, that take us back to a day or a moment. It’s a sound or a smell that we recall and feel the happiness in our hearts, even if we can’t remember exactly why or what it was. It was good moment to help me remember that in the hustle and bustle of life to stop for a second and really focus on my children individually. They will remember the special moments like walking in from doing the farm chores to bacon and music and mom putting together their breakfast… It’s so important to slow down, be calm, happy and truly enjoy these moments because it won’t last forever. This phase of life will come to an end and a different one will begin. I know there will be a day that we miss the mess, noise and chaos that we live in now. So slow down, hang on and enjoy the ride!

With Love

Brooke Elizabeth

The Passion Continues to Grow

So far in this process the most fearful event for me was the neonatal resuscitation program. In order to be a birth assistant I had to become NRP certified. I had heard more than once how challenging the online testing could be and more than the fear of failing a test, but the fear of actually having to be responsible and utilize my NRP skills! I knew once I completed the training for neonatal resuscitation I could possibly end up in a situation where I would have to utilize this knowledge and sometimes ignorance is bliss!

I read the entire neonatal text book cover to cover and prepared myself for the online testing as best I could. I passed both tests (one of them just by a hair) and the e-simulation was quite interesting and challenging as well. The feeling of pride was immense when I was completed after spending an entire Sunday testing, and weeks reading, I had learned so much and was ready for the in-person training.

The class was different than I expected and in a good way. The instructor, Karen, has so much passion for natural birth and proper resuscitation you couldn’t not feel her passion within yourself. I know she wants everyone who will listen, to gain knowledge on what she has learned over the years when it comes to a better birth experience not only for the mother but for the baby itself!

To practice breathing into mannequin baby is nothing like it will be in real life but now I know I will be prepared. If I ever have to witness a resuscitation I will have the knowledge to keep the parents calm and tell them exactly what is happening. Just knowing what is happening will be so powerful for myself as a doula and an assistant. Though I hope to never have to use it, if the time does come I will now be prepared and I know without a doubt that knowledge will be much better than ignorance! The weeks I spent on this process have increased my knowledge, confidence and passion within myself to continue on this journey to dedicating my life to birth work.

With more to come…

Brooke Elizabeth