hello, my name is Kristina
I’m a certified Postpartum Doula & Infant Care Specialist, a certified Birth Educator, and a Pregnancy & Postpartum Coach in North Texas.
I am passionate about giving you the information you need so that you feel confident in your parenting choices and connected to your village.
If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to let the stress overwhelm you. When you find yourself consumed with the busy world around you, it’s hard to advocate for yourself and tune in to listen to your gut.
It’s easy to let the stress be all-consuming during pregnancy and not take the time to think about how that affects your birth. I wasn’t intentional in choosing my birth team, and after it was too late I realized I’d chosen one who did not trust my body or my baby. I ended up going through with a planned c-section, and my hospital was less than helpful, which meant finding my own resources for healing postpartum.
I used to run through life from one major life event to the next without much of a pause. I moved to a new state and started completely over twice. I lived and breathed my job as an elementary music teacher while also running after-school choirs. I started two separate additional certifications for elementary general music, plus a graduate degree. I eloped during a global pandemic and then threw a wedding a year later. On our second anniversary, I woke up in the middle of the night to an apartment fire.
I learned that I was pregnant at 15 weeks (those middle-of-the-night wake-ups were apparently not just anxiety from the fire) and then felt guilty that I’d ignored my gut feeling that I should take the pregnancy test for that long. I was then rushed into finding a provider, and I never took a birth education course - I couldn’t find the time. I bought a house and moved when I was eight months pregnant, and I went on maternity leave a week early so I could finish my comprehensive exams.
Living in this whirlwind, I began to realize that something had to change …
Then the moment my son was born,
“slow down my child ,
and let me show you my perfect plan”
I heard God’s whisper to pump the breaks.
My birth may have been filled with stress and a less-than-ideal experience, but my postpartum experience felt supported. My village showed up, and so I was able to find the resources I needed. I threw myself into learning about lactation (and was able to breastfeed exclusively for more than eighteen months). I read all I could find about sleep patterns and trends (it felt like my son never slept), and I surrounded myself with everything I could find about developmental milestones in that first year and beyond (for baby and for mama).
As I reached out and connected with other postpartum friends, I realized how different my postpartum experience was.
I couldn’t understand why the information I found was not common knowledge for every new or expecting mother.
This lit a fire under me, and I began to share what I’d learned with other new and expecting moms around me. I quickly realized the need for more pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum education and support.
I knew I needed to refocus my passion for education and pivot from teaching elementary students about music to teaching women about the wonderfully intentional design for birth and postpartum.
And that’s when I started Waymaker Birthwork
So that you feel empowered, grounded, and confident as a mother. So that you trust your mom gut. So that you are supported and nurtured as you find your footing as a parent.
With my Postpartum and Infant Care Doula certification, I’m able to help postpartum parents thrive. As a certified Birth Restored Educator, I love helping pregnant couples confidently build the birth experience of their dreams.
I’m an educator at heart, but I’ve always considered myself a lifelong learner. And so I continue to seek out certifications and trainings to provide my couples with the most up-to-date information.
I am in the process of completing:
Birthworker Academy Certification to better support my pregnant and postpartum couples
Lactation Workshops to eventually become a certified Lactation Counselor to help my breastfeeding mamas (whether you choose to nurse or pump)
