Mama Renewed: Jenny Taylor
This month’s Mama Renewed is Jenny Taylor, mother of two young boys and pregnant with her third! She is the owner of Birthing Buddies Childbirth Services, renting out Aquadoula Birth Pools and obstetric Tens units as well as offering private, in-home prenatal classes.
About Jenny
I am Jenny – woman, mother, lover, partner, daughter, friend, teacher, doula, breastfeeding counselor, believer in the power of women’s bodies to birth their babies…and much more…not necessarily in that order. Three words that capture my way being in this world are Passionate, Loving, and Authentic.
I live in North Vancouver with my wonderful husband and two beautiful boys and we have another baby on the way. I took a break from my career in ESL when my first son was born - I had always wanted children and was happy focusing my time and attention on our new family. Inspired by my birth experiences, I trained as a birth doula and become the owner of Birthing Buddies Childbirth Services.
Why Mama Renew?
When I joined Mama Renew in January 2008 I was feeling stuck in a rut. I wasn’t happy with myself on many levels, especially in my parenting and relationship.
What a wonderful group of women I met! We all came to the group for different reasons, challenging us all to look at our lives through different lenses. I found that I had misplaced aspects of myself since having children, and reconnecting with the core of me was a moving experience. I am pretty neat!
New Insights
Asking for help was a big lesson for me. I was pushed into asking for help last spring when I had many births to attend, and needed the help of friends for childcare. As I asked for help, I began to see that I also needed to learn to say no more often to both potential clients and to opportunities that were exciting, but not the best choice for me in that moment. Recently my ability to say no has slipped, and I have found myself with a crazy schedule once again. But the other night as I felt our baby tumble in my belly, I took a good look at my calendar and said no more.
I am still working on self-care. It is amazing how easy it is to put my needs last, and this is a habit I am working hard to break. For me, self-care means making and taking the time to do things that help me feel good, rejuvenate me and touch my soul. It is hard to do when nurturing a young family but I know that when i do it I am a more connected mother, partner, and friend.
Moving Forward
The exploration of good is good enough was tough for me – my good was / is never good enough for me. I am learning to set priorities and create a balance between my passion for my family and my work. It isn’t always equal, but I now have the tools to recognize and correct that imbalance, or to accept that one exists and work with and around it.
I am still fine-tuning all the areas we explored together in Mama Renew. Some days things go better than others. Over and over again I remind myself that good is good enough
