Things Are Looking Different for Doula DFW

I’m sorry that Bliss and I have been a little radio silent over here. Life is still barreling through, babies are still coming (19 so far this year!), and we still love serving expecting families, but that will look a little different moving forward and here’s why.

To the Year 2021, I have a few choice words to say to you.... YOU SUCK. No really, you do. Screw you and the horse you rode in on. You can leave at any moment. You are no longer welcome here. You’ve hurt my friend time and time again and I won’t have it anymore.

One of my dearest friends and doula partner, Bliss Herron, lost her husband Mark on January 9, 2021 to complications from COVID-19. We know in our hearts his body is healed and he is with Our Savior in Heaven but the grief still hurts. He left behind a wife of over 40 years, 9 children, and 15 grandbabies, one of which was born in the wee hours before Mark’s memorial service.

Then Winter Storm Uri decided to grace us with its presence and shut down power to thousands of homes including Bliss’. Thank goodness for family and friends that stepped in to help when she was without power and water for days. My timing was terrible and I left for a short family trip the day that the storm hit. We thought that it would be unlikely that someone would deliver while I was gone, but naturally the storm brought all the babies. Bliss ended up attending 3 births that crazy week!

Then, Bliss found out the 12-year-old family dog had cancer and there was nothing that could be done. She had to once again say goodbye. Then two days after that, Bliss’ daughter, Elizabeth, had a miscarriage. Make it stop! Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” I promise Lord, I cannot lean on my own understanding of this because none of it makes sense to me.

But if you know Bliss, you know this: she is Christ-centered, remarkable, strong, selfless, and one of the most incredible human beings God will ever place in your path should you have the utmost privilege of knowing her. She will persevere because she always does. And for the times that she needs carrying, because we all do, the village of people she has around her are ready to step in at a moment’s notice.

Sometimes hardship forces us to refocus. It helps us reevaluate where our time and attention is most valuable. To everything there is a season and our season as doulas providing a shared call service is changing and that’s okay. Because whether we work together or not, I know that our friendship will always be there and that's the thing I care most about.

Instead of sharing on-call time for births, Bliss will be taking a step back from regularly attending births and focusing on her family and on another true calling of hers, education and postpartum care. I couldn’t be more excited for her, the Herron Clan, and the expecting families she will serve. She’ll still be very much a part of educating Doula DFW clients as our resident Spinning Babies Guru and maybe even once in a while serving as a backup doula.

So please join me in prayer and positive thoughts for this new chapter for both of us. We are blessed by each of you that continue to invite us into your homes, lives, and sacred birth spaces. We don’t take a moment for granted.

Much love, Britany Bleistein