by Jen | May 1, 2017 | Personal |
As a child I experienced chronic ear infections in my left ear from an infant on through my teen years. Due to these infections I had many surgeries as well as two stapedectomy surgeries. This has resulted in moderate conductive hearing loss, that will only get worse.
So far, I’ve been able to manage through life with my hearing loss and found ways to accommodate and cope. Now, as a married adult with three young children, I’ll be going back to school after working as a doula and birth photographer for 7 years. My first goal will be my Bachelors in Social Work (BSW) followed up with my Masters as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. AKA, a ton of work. I want to give myself the best opportunity to accomplish this so I can continue to serve those in my community.
I was able to do a week long trial through my ENT’s office and on day 5 of the trial I finally got used to it. It needed additional adjustments because of feed back (think mic too close to a speaker) and feeling like one range/tone is just too high. I wore it all day at the Spinning Babies workshop this past Saturday, full of women talking and interacting.
I found myself not tilting my head as much to hear (this will help with muscular and skeletal issues I’ve been having). I wasn’t squinting to focus on lip reading and hearing. I felt like I was able to focus more on the information and not just trying to hear what was being said. I could hear people clear across the room that I would otherwise end up ignoring, not because I didn’t want to hear what they had to say, but because I can’t typically hear them and it isn’t worth the strain.
I came home and took out the HA (hearing aid) to get a bit of a break and it was such an eye opening, “Man, I really have a decent hearing loss”. Listen to the sound you can hear, now go put in an ear plug. Yep, that’s what I’m hearing.
It it recommended I get a Oticon Opn 2 and will cost $2853 (YIKES!!) I have two options of payment
$175 down non-refundable deposit
½ down $1426 and ½ 30-days later
OR
$175 down non-refundable deposit
Full payment of $2853
So, where do you come in? I’m trying to gain as much work as humanly possible to pay for this sucker! I offer a variety of services, some that are new!

Photography
Family Documentary Sessions starting at $350
Newborn Sessions starting at $375
Fresh48 Sessions tarting at $300

Birth Services
Childbirth Education and Preparation Class $300 REDUCED to $95
Encapsulation starting at $245

Please consider booking or sharing this post with those that would benefit from services!
email me at info@mydoulaheart.com for more information!
mydoulaheart.com | Baton Rouge, LA
facebook.com/mydoulaheart
by Jen | Mar 3, 2017 | Birth Photography, Birth Preparation, C-Sections, Photography |
In the light of the recent story of a supposed birth photographer making harsh statements to a mother with a scheduled cesarean, I wanted to share what cesarean birth can looks like. Whether you were able to chose your birth, or it was decided due to medical necessity, know you will never have a difficult time finding a professional photographer willing support your birth choices or refuse to attend your cesarean birth.
it is lighthearted

it is happy


it is supported

it is family centered


it is anticipation




it is BIRTH!



it is JOY




it is tender

it is choices

it is LOVE

by Jen | Nov 30, 2016 | Doula, Vendor/Networking, Workshop |
Spinning Babies with Tammy Ryan is returning!!

Tammy Ryan, CD/BDT(DONA), CCE, is coming to Baton Rouge to teach a Spinning Babies workshop! Read more about Tammy, her training, and all the wonderful work she does at http://spinningbabies.blogspot.com/2015/02/tammy-dreams-of-reducing-obstructed.html
See images from last years workshop!
Read More! >>
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by Jen | Oct 15, 2016 | Birth Photography, Doula, Photography |
by Jen | Jun 14, 2016 | Birth Photography, Birth Preparation, Breech Birth, Doula, Photography, Twins |
Please do not save, download, crop, or screenshot images.
To request use of images, email jen@mydoulaheart.com
Twin A breech vaginal birth, in a hospital.
That’s a phrase you rarely hear, but one local mother did exactly that! She believed in herself, found a supportive provider that believed in her and breech birth, and she had her babies on her terms with informed consent. As her doula and birth photographer, I was able to capture some amazing moments of Twin A being born.
It’s upsetting we don’t have more trained and experienced providers that can catch breech babies. It’s upsetting that hospitals, administrators, and liability insurance companies have a hand in allowing providers to catch breech babies. But this mother was not having any of that. She was persistent and got the birth she wanted and knew she could have.
We typically read and are told “hands off!” with breech delivery. I want to make a note that from what I observed as a doula and birth photographer, hands on baby with this birth was due to how quickly delivery went along with nothing but the floor beneath baby. If there was any medical reason for hands on baby, I am unaware of it.



Check out these links for more information regarding breech birth:
At this time we wish to not openly share the provider before speaking with them, only because this was such a long process met with many discussions and uncertainty amongst her providers. We don’t want to make it seem like this will happen with every scenario, give false hope, or lower the chances of another family having this option. Hopefully, we’ll get to a place with providers that this isn’t an issue!!