Those first few hours after birth are so special and sacred. You just experienced the most intensity that your body can physically handle. Then you experience extreme joy, relief, shock, and euphoria, and it's all quite overwhelming. The day that a baby is born is my favorite day. It was my favorite for the births of my own babies. It felt so surreal. Almost like the world stopped turning, just for us. Sometimes it's full of smiles and sometimes it's full of wide eyes. And both are absolutely perfect.

I have a friend who shared with me the story of her first birth. Even though it was 7-8 years ago, one of the things that sticks out in her mind is the memory of how her OB disappeared after the baby was born. No "congratulations" or anything. Wasn't that just a really big moment? The birth of her first baby?! Surely it deserves a little more fanfare than that.

THRIVE's most popular service is placenta encapsulation. I often get the experience of being invited into that sacred space during the magic hours. It's quite the career!

That moment, when you're picking up a placenta. It's special. And it's beautiful. And not very many people get invited to join it. Many people will live their lives and never experience the feeling in a room when a new life has just entered. And I'll never forget that while I'm working. And I'll never turn it into just "going through the motions" and treating it as a simple pick-up job. Not only does it have an impact on the mother, baby, and family how they're treated after birth, but I would be truly missing out on something so special if I didn't take a moment to be present and soak it all in.

The importance and desire to share your birth story is in our DNA. I often get to hear it when it's still fresh and raw. I'm not a staff member who sees tons of birth every day and who says "Yeah, that happens all the time."

I get to be the person who says "Wow! That's amazing!"

I get to be the person who quietly slips in, checks in with the mother to see how she's doing, listens if she wants to share, congratulates her, and leaves with a smile.

We believe that all of our work is important. Not just when we're the doula, attending the birth.