I get asked all the time, "Why do you do it?" when talking about the late nights and hard work of supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and through postpartum. For me, all I can say to explain it, is its a calling. Supporting families through this time is my passion. I love helping families through this time and nourishing their bodies with my food.
Cooking has been my thing/stress relief since I was about six years old. Growing up in a Southern household, cooking is a rite of passage. My passion for cooking and preparing meals to bring joy to others started there, but I had no idea what it would bloom into later in life. Fast forward to my junior year of college my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and that totally changed how I prepared food and why. I became very health conscious, learning to eat for nourishment and not just pleasure. From there I set out and created new ways to prepare delicious meals. In 2018 Truu Kitchen LLC was born to help individuals living a busy life to have fresh cooked meals delivered right to their homes.
My journey into motherhood was great! My first born was born happy and healthy in a traditional hospital setting. This pregnancy was uneventful and had no complications. Looking back, in retrospect I had no idea what was about to take place. I didn’t take a childbirth education course, breastfeeding course, new parent education course, or anything. In all honesty I was winging it through the entire process.
Now that I know better, I’m so thankful that I survived without a hospital nightmare story. After giving birth to my oldest son, Timothy - who is five now, I was surrounded by wonderful nurses and hospital staff that listened to me, respected my wishes, and helped a first time mom breastfeed her baby like a champ. I really felt set up for success, not realizing that I had no real plan for postpartum. My mom came to stay with us for a week, but that was it. I was on my own. No meals prepped, no time organization, or baby items. I was a new mom with a new baby and no clue. Then my husband was constantly working to provide for us as I navigated the new parent waters alone. To be honest now that I think about it, that entire period is a blur because I was really just trying to survive.
Fast forward to the birth of my second child. My youngest, Quincy, was born at home with the assistance of my doula and midwife. This time around I was more educated on birth and labor and that served me well. My pregnancy with Quincy-Quince, as he is affectionately called, was completely holistic. I worked out the entire time and went to the chiropractor weekly. As much as I was intentional about planning his arrival I, yet again, had nothing setup and prepared for postpartum. I thought that having my baby in the same city in which I was born I would have a ton of support and help but boy did reality hit me in the face extremely fast. Two days after I gave birth I was up making myself breakfast. My son’s first pediatric appointment I drove him myself and driving back I thought I was going to die because I pushed myself to the limit. I felt alone and isolated, still trying to get my oldest son to school while taking care of a newborn and myself. Many days I would just cry from being overwhelmed. I remember telling my doula and lactation consultant that as soon as I was healed I would train to be a postpartum doula so that no other families nor mom would have to suffer in silence.
Now while I work as both a birth and postpartum doula I educate on having the proper help during the postpartum period. I have combined my passion for family, birth, postpartum, and food together to offer a unique and personalized concierge style service to the DFW metroplex and beyond. My experience made room for purpose. This is why I serve.