Doula Support for You and Baby
Doula Services
Hello!
This blog post is going to be a little bit more on the personal end, but hopefully it will help someone out there!
So yes, I am now offering doula services in addition to photography & videography services. But why, you ask?
Becoming a parent was so incredibly beautiful for us, because we had waited for so long before we had the opportunity to become parents. And honestly it was a bittersweet journey, as well, since our “gain” was someone else’s “loss”, and a loss for our kids, as well. (We adopted our boys from foster care. We have had them since they were 4 weeks old.) Someday, I’ll write a blog about that. But transitioning into becoming parents also really took us for a ride. Our boys had some serious struggles from the start. From being up every two hours, at least, for the first 7 months, and then also dealing with 3-4 hours of screaming….literal screaming…every night until they were almost a year old, we were EXHAUSTED. They were dealing with autism, which we did not realize, so their nervous system was probably all out-of-whack, and they also had some pretty nasty reflux.
I started doing birth photography because I just love seeing individuals transition into parenthood. And ironically, all but one of my birth clients have all had children previously (and all have said they wished they had booked a photographer at their first birth), but I digress. It’s a beautiful transition, no matter what number child you are on!! Everyone is affected by it. It’s a huge life-change, and every child is a special blessing.
So, because of the reason I decided to start offering doula services, I am hoping this year to become certified in postpartum doula work as well as birth doula work. And I am also getting certified through DONA and through Birth Becomes You (they have a brand new doula program, so I’m pretty stoked!) , and I’m also doing a birth doula mentorship through the Sierra Childbirth Institute. I honestly don’t even know if postpartum certification is a thing, but I’d love to be an extra pair of hands during the day so that you can have a little more support. I’m also hoping to qualify to serve as a doula through medi-cal, which is a bit of a process, but I already have three births under my belt as a doula, so I know I can qualify. It just may take a minute to get all of the paperwork filed and approved! So yay! And of COURSE I will continue offering photography services to all of my clients. I genuinely believe that documenting these first moments are going to mean so much to you in the long-run, so photography and videography absolutely will stay at the forefront of the services that I offer.
Home Happenings/Autism Diagnosis
Well, we thought there might be something going on, and thankfully, we finally have answers!! Both of our boys are now diagnosed with high-functioning autism and ADHD. Now we understand the reason why taking them out in public is so difficult sometimes, why SCHOOL has been such a struggle for them, why we have melt-downs and food aversions and lack of social cues and no stranger-danger, not to mention the eloping! Gosh, the eloping….
My background is in both Child Development and Public Administration. I worked in a locked-down facility in Utah for a few years, and primarily with the children and teenagers who had behavioral issues. My husband is an LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) who was a clinician in a special education school in Turlock, so between the two of us, we have had a lot of experience working with littles who have struggles. We started our boys in therapy a few years ago because we knew something wasn’t quite clicking, and we suspected that we would need some extra support. FINALLY, we have a diagnosis for the both of them, which means we can FINALLY get ABA services. I know ABA is a controversial subject, but from what we are experiencing so far, I believe it is going to be beneficial. And having a diagnosis also means that we can receive better support services in the school. We have battled the school system the last couple of years, and I was very reluctant to have them put in a special needs classroom, but now that we are here, I feel like its actually been a pretty good experience. Yes, they are picking up behaviors from kids in the classroom, but the teachers are so much more patient and understanding, and they have so much more support at school. Will we eventually homeschool? Probably. But right now, I need them to learn how to learn. If I can’t get them to sit down and do anything that is not preferred, we will not succeed at home. So here is hoping!
If you EVER have any questions about the IEP process, about getting help for your littles and finding resources, or if you are concerned that your little one might be autistic or adhd, I’m always open to answering questions!! We really do all need each other in this parenting journey!! Im so very happy to help if I can!!
-Shayna
