A Bit About Me…
I live south-east of Perth (in the hills) on a property surrounded by tall marri gum trees, paddocks and kangaroos.
I was born in Tasmania and lived there for the first 40 years of my life raising our children on a hobby farm.
People think I look too young to have five kids. (But, I’m nearly 50, and as you’ll see when you meet my mum and grandma below, I think it’s thanks to family genetics).
I’ve been married to a 6th generation Tasmanian apple orchardist for almost 25 years and we never thought we’d leave the island.
But, when our house was burnt to the ground in a bushfire, we packed our five kids into an off-road caravan and travelled around Australia for two and a half years.
We found ourselves and settled in Perth, Western Australia.
When I am not homeschooling our youngest 3 kids, I love bushwalking and pottering about in my veggie and flower garden.
We have 2 happy dogs and 8 egg-laying hens.
I love walking on the beach and tea and gin and licorice.
I was born at home.
Partly because my parents were hippies, but also because my Dad wanted to be at my birth, and dads weren't typically allowed in hospital birthing suites in the mid-seventies.
So, my parents hired a private midwife, and my Grandmother was doula for my Mum and beautifully led her into motherhood.
The only baby photo I have, the rest were lost in the fires (because my parents house was also burnt to the ground. How young does my mum look?
This is my Mum and I now.
Mum was my doula for all five of my children's births.
She coached me through every contraction; teaching me how to breathe and manage the pain using massage and relaxation techniques. She taught my husband how to support me too.
This is where it all started…
My lovely Nanny Nikki, at 82 years old. A mother of eight and grandmother to over 70 grandchildren!
She was a doula for most of her life and was at countless births, she is the ultimate mother to the mothers in our family.
I’ve been a doula for over 22 years.
I served my local Tasmanian birthing community for just over a decade. And, I’ve been supporting families around Australia and more recently in Perth (last 9 years).
Before I became a mum
(and became completely fixated on birth, newborns and raising my family).
I studied a bachelor of design at the University of Tasmania.
I ran my own graphic design studio where I specialised in logo design.
And I never would have believed that I could birth 10 pound babies at home, with my other kids surrounding me!
