Meet the person behind
Sweet Peas.

I'm a trauma-informed, evidenced-based, certified birth and postpartum doula, an INA (International Nanny Association) credentialed newborn care specialist (NCS), and a certified lactation counselor (CLC). I have decades of experience in perinatal care and am exceptionally skillful at guiding first-time parents through pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and the earliest phase of their babies' lives. My passion is to use my extensive training and experience to ensure that new families get the best support right from the beginning of their parenting journeys to reduce their stress and increase their sense of enjoyment and well-being as they welcome their babies into the world.

 

As a life-long learner, besides my doula, newborn care, and lactation certifications, I hold certifications in pediatric CPR and first aid, Spinning Babies birth practices, pediatric sleep shaping, managing multiples, postpartum mood disorders, and infant loss/bereavement support. I have taken extra steps, received an NCS certificate from CACHE, formerly known as the famed National Nursery Examinations Board (NNEB) in the UK, and completed Level I-III certification in Relationship Foundations for new parents with Elly Taylor of Becoming Us out of Sydney, Australia. I'm an official Hypno-Doula through Hypnobabies® and a current professional member of Evidenced Based Birth, DONA International, Postpartum Support International (PSI), the International Nanny Association, and the Newborn Care Specialist Association (NCSA). I'm a current Greater San Diego Birth Collective member, as well as a former volunteer birth doula and doula mentor with the UCSD Hearts and Hands program. I'm obtaining my Perinatal Mental Health Certificate from Postpartum Support International (PSI) and recently completed courses to become a certified Parenthood Tour Guide through Becoming Us to provide relationship-informed guidance and a deeper level of family-centered support to the people who choose me as their doula.  In April 2024, I completed a 9-week mastermind under the guidance of Jojo Hogan, the founder of the Slow Postpartum Movement, to further my understanding of international practices in postpartum care.

 

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area as the oldest in a family of six kids, raised my three (now grown and flown) children there, and came to San Diego in 2021 after living for four years in Monterey Bay. Long before I started Sweet Peas, I had a career in the medical field as a radiology technologist, then I ran my own children's portraiture business for a while before becoming a nanny and then eventually a newborn care specialist. These days, when I'm not busy helping new families transition to life with a newborn, I'm writing, practicing yoga, reading, hanging out with my husband, Ian, and our dog, Sable, and enjoying all that the San Diego area offers. In January of 2024, I became a grandma.