withlove__ari

After the arts festival today, I had to grin a little. Lately I’m meeting friends for coffee, showing up to community events, lingering just to talk- and actually enjoying it. For a long time, I thought I didn’t have the capacity for any of that.

Turns out, I didn’t need more capacity. I needed a life that didn’t use all of it.

I think part of evolving as a woman is looking at everything you’re capable of carrying and asking: but is all of this mine to carry? Because capability can quietly turn into obligation. & just because you can carry something doesn’t mean it deserves to be carried by you. For me, that meant choosing a slower kind of midwifery. one that leaves enough of me to thoroughly enjoy the people and work I love.

So to the student: get your numbers, finish your clinicals, then slow. the heck. down.

To the midwife: you don’t have to prove your dedication through exhaustion. You are making a difference even if you “only” take 1 client a month.

To the mother carrying seventeen invisible things before breakfast: being able to hold it all doesn’t mean you should. Ask for help before you’re at your breaking point.

And to the woman who feels she has to perform for her place here: you don’t have to earn belonging through burnout.

You get so much life back when you stop rushing through it.

With Love,
Ari

I’ve got some opinions y’all.
…you tend to form some along the way😆

With Love,
Ari

Freshly pregnant, very pregnant, somewhere in between… you’re welcome here.

Come meet other families in the same season, build your village, talk all things birth + ask the questions you’ve been Googling at 2am.

FREE Birth Plan Workshop
August 28th • 6:30 PM
Sherman, TX

Come for the birth talk, stay for the village 💞

I think we’ve made women believe there’s a “right” way to labor.

What position should I be in? Should I walk? Squat? Get in the tub? What can I do to help baby come down?

YES, 100%, there are absolutely times when I’ll suggest a position or movement based on what I’m seeing. That’s part of the work.

But sometimes we get so caught up in trying to do labor correctly that we forget how much of it is instinct.

One of my favorite things to witness in birth is the point where mama stops looking around the room for direction and starts responding to what her own body is telling her.

Sometimes my job is to suggest a position or encourage a change.

And sometimes my job is to recognize that she’s already doing exactly what she needs to be doing- and to let that lady be.

With Love,
Ari

For those who have been around the block or two with me, you already know I’m including your kiddos 😂

Even as a student midwife, I was rarely charting alone. Somebody’s toddler was in my lap, another kid had claimed the cool measuring tape as their personal property, and everybody needed a turn holding the Doppler on mama’s belly.

Anddd I LOVE it

Heck, that’s how I ended up in this work. I grew up being included in pregnancy and birth. Nobody made it weird or treated it like something I couldn’t be around, it was just life.

And clearlyyyyy that stuck.

So yes, bring the whole crew. I’ve got jobs for everybody 🤪

With Love,
Ari

You don’t have to control every outcome in life to be intentional about how you walk through it.

Surrender to each season. Stay informed. Move with intention.

P.s I’m a little more opinionated… should I keep going?😆

With Love,
Ari

I have a feeling this is going to be really good.
I’m oh so thankful for the things that the Lord is doing in this space. Looking forward to serving alongside you!

I spy with my little eye....a doula and a midwife sharing office space! I am so thrilled to have withlove__ari bunking with me. We have shared space many of times in the "birth room" and now we get to share professional space. I am looking forward to this labor of love journey with you, friend. More updates to come. 🥰