Brood Letter

Eight weeks shy of my due date, midwives advised a c-section due to two large fibroids and placenta previa blocking the birth canal—this baby wasn’t coming out the front door! Having undergone abdominal surgeries before, I remained (mostly) calm.

It’s no coincidence that we decided to launch Brood during International Doula Month in 2022.

Let’s talk about family.
These intricate networks of people shape so much of our existence, yet they’re never just one thing. Today marks my kiddo’s third trip around the sun and I posed the big question: “What is family?” His lightning-fast response? “Dinner.” And really, what a poetic take on the essence of family—sharing a meal.

I had an okay relationship with food, exercise and my body—until I had a baby. As a millennial, I’ve contended with the pervasive influence of unattainable beauty standards and rigid health ideals that many of us have faced.

We are not subscribing this year. Instead, we are reflecting on all the ways our families or friends have created magic in our lives for little to no money, but with lots of love and joy.

When my kiddo started sleeping through the night, I stopped sleeping. After 6 months of losing sleep due to the usual – night feeds, diaper changes, comfort cuddles – we decided to do some version of sleep training. It was successful, although tortuous for me (I’m not a cry-it-out kinda gal) but finally we were able to see 5-7 hour stretches of sleep for everyone in the house.

We all grieve, heal and move through loss differently, and through my own experiences with miscarriage I’ve been able to connect more deeply with my own mother, Daphne

For a lot of new parents, especially birthing ones (and let’s be honest, feminized ones) thinking about feeding ourselves and feeding our baby can bring up a lot baggage or challenging emotions

Summer is a lot of work for parents—childcare wrangling, summer camp sign-ups, packing and unpacking for trips and adventures, laundry that never ends (hello berry stains!) and a lot of socialising (some with people we want to see, others not so much).

As the sweet scent of summer fills the air, we find ourselves immersed in a season of adventure. For many of our Brood families, summer hits during the 4th Trimester, a big change in lifestyle for many folks.