Making the Transition

Hey Wild Fren,

I want to share something I've been sitting with for a while.

Wild Olive Birth is still doing big things. We're still out here offering free childbirth education, lactation support, and doula training and mentoring for families in Polk County. And honestly? I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching what that does for people. I've seen the impact firsthand, both on the families we walk alongside and on the people who trust us enough to send their own friends, family, and clients our way. It fills gaps that so many families fall into, the ones where nobody tells you what's normal, what's not, or where to even start. That frustration, that feeling of being left without direction, it's real. And closing that gap, even a little, has meant everything to me.

This year in particular has brought so much alignment with other wellness-minded people in our community. We've been building space for mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness too, not just physical. And with the world feeling as heavy as it does right now, I think we all need those intentional resets more than ever.

Here's the personal part.

This work has always been my way of giving back, shaped by my own capacity and whatever season of life I'm in. And lately, I've been curious. Really curious. About what's next, for Wild Olive, and for me.

Iowa has given me so much room to explore that curiosity, to build creative wellness spaces, and to just care for people here in a way that feels true to me. And that curiosity has led me somewhere I didn't fully expect.

Here's the thing about doula work: it's always centered on pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. But the longer I've done this, the more I've noticed something. So much of how someone experiences that season, how their body handles it, how they show up for it, is shaped long before birth ever enters the picture. It's shaped by how they're eating, moving, addressing stress, and overall life.

That noticing is what led me to start Nutritional Health Coaching. The program is teaching me to look at the whole picture of someone's health, not just symptoms, and to help people build sustainable habits around balancing hormones, managing stress, and supporting gut health. It's the kind of foundational work that can prevent so much down the road, and honestly, it makes every other part of life feel a little more manageable.

And then, because apparently I wasn't busy enough, I'm also becoming a Stretch Coach. This one's all about flexibility and mobility, learning how to safely guide people through stretching practices that improve range of motion, ease tension, and support recovery. It pairs so naturally with the nutrition work, because movement and nourishment were never really separate to begin with.

So here's my why, laid all the way out: I want to meet people earlier. Before they're in crisis. Before they're overwhelmed and out of options. I want to give them tools that build resilience in their bodies and their minds. Prevention and education have always felt like the most powerful place to lead from, because that groundwork carries with you, wherever life takes you next.

This isn't me stepping away from doula work. It's an extension of it. Same heart, same love for walking people through transitions, just reaching a little further upstream.

I'm just really excited for this season, for the chance to keep building on my knowledge bag and grow into more of who I'm becoming.

Come celebrate with me at graduation, summer 2027. I'd love to have you there.