I See You Life Doula Services

09/02/2026

I’ve been trying to figure out how to explain why I’m creating Luca & Sol, because somewhere along the way I realized this has become so much more than a children’s bedtime story.

There’s a reason these stories happen at bedtime.

That part is intentional.

Think about what happens when you finally lie down at night.

During the day we move. We work. We parent. We answer messages. We make dinner. We solve the next problem.

And then everything gets quiet.

If you’re anything like me, suddenly it’s you, your thoughts and God.

That’s when you think about the person you miss.

The bill you don’t know how you’re going to pay.

Something somebody said.

Whether you’re doing enough.

Something you wish you could change.

What tomorrow is going to bring.

Our little people aren’t that different.

Except they don’t have decades of experience or the language to understand everything happening inside of them.

Nighttime might be when the child whose family moved suddenly misses their old bedroom.

When the child whose parents separated misses the parent who isn’t there.

When the child who lost Grandpa misses him more.

When the child whose mommy became very sick wonders if she’ll still be there tomorrow.

When the new big brother wishes, just for a minute, that he didn’t have to share Mommy.

When something that happened at school comes rushing back.

When the child who feels different wonders where they fit.

The world gets quiet enough for the feelings to get loud.

THAT is why Luca & Sol happen at bedtime.

As a sleep consultant, of course I’m looking at sleep, naps, timing, wake windows, environment, sound machine, sensory needs, routines, boundaries and consistency.

Sometimes your toddler really does just need a schedule change and a firm bedtime boundary.

But as a Life Doula, I’ve also spent years walking alongside people through so many parts of the human life experience.

First breaths. Postpartum. Motherhood. Neurodivergence. Illness. Trauma. Changing families. Grief. New beginnings. And sometimes the very end of life.

And it has taught me to ask something else

What is this little person bringing to bed with them?

Luca & Sol are not going to fix those things.

They aren’t therapy.

And they certainly aren’t a magic trick that makes a toddler sleep.

They’re a tool.

A story might give a child enough safety to whisper:

“I feel like Rabbit.”
“I miss somebody too.”
“I’m scared like Fox.”
“Sometimes I don’t want the new baby here either.”

And suddenly Mom or Dad has an opening:

“Is that what you’ve been feeling?”

Maybe they talk.

Maybe they don’t.

Maybe you just cuddle them, close the book and say goodnight.

Because we don’t need to solve their whole world at bedtime.

We just need them to know they can bring their world to us.

That is the heart behind Luca & Sol.

They don’t swoop in and fix everybody in the forest.

They notice.

They listen.

They offer tools.

They help find words.

They sit beside someone when there aren’t any words.

And sometimes they simply remind them:

I see you.

I’m here.

You don’t have to carry this part alone.

And maybe we don’t have to figure everything out tonight.

Goodnight, little light. ✨

Luca & Sol , a soft place for the things little hearts carry when the world gets quiet.

08/29/2026

I’ve been working on something and I’m ready to start sharing a little bit of it.

If you know me, you know toddler sleep is one of the areas I really love working in as a Life Doula and Sleep Coach I have the privilege to be with lots of families in different stages of life.

And I think toddlers are so misunderstood sometimes.

They aren’t babies anymore, but they aren’t really big kids yet either. They’re right in that weird little in-between stage where they want independence SO badly but still need us so much.

Their brains are busy. Their imaginations are wild. Their emotions are huge and half the time they don’t even have the words to explain what they’re feeling.

And then we wonder why bedtime can be so hard.

This is a huge part of how I approach sleep coaching.

Yes, I’m looking at bedtime, naps, wake windows, the room, sound machine, routines, boundaries and all of those pieces.

But I’m also looking at the little person in front of me.

What are they carrying into bedtime?

Are they worried?
Overstimulated?
Missing mom?
Scared of something?
Going through a big change?

Do they just need a few minutes to reconnect after a busy day?

Because nighttime is funny like that.

Everything gets quiet and suddenly all the stuff we pushed through during the day has room to come out.

Adults do it too.

You lie down and suddenly your brain wants to think about your entire life. 😂

Our littles aren’t that different.

So I’ve been creating something called Luca & Sol, A Little Light Story for Bedtime. 🌙✨

It started as one bedtime story i would read to my kids and somehow turned into something much bigger.

Stories about settling our bodies and ending the day.

About fear and learning the difference between something being dangerous and something simply being new.

About losing someone we love and what it feels like to miss them when everything gets quiet.

About feeling different, wondering where you belong and learning that you were never meant to look, think, feel or shine exactly like everyone else.

And every story comes back to bedtime.

Jammies.
Sound machine.
Cuddle.
Connection.

What made you smile today?
Was anything hard today?
What do you love about yourself?

And…

Do you know what made you shine in my eyes today?

I don’t want bedtime to become another hour of questioning or processing everything either. The idea is actually the opposite.

A few minutes to connect.

A place for whatever came up that day to land.

And then we let it go for tonight.

I’m not creating a magic book that’s going to make every toddler suddenly sleep through the night. 😂 That’s not how toddler sleep works.

This is going to be another tool I can put in a parent’s hands alongside the sleep coaching I already do.

Connection AND boundaries.

Comfort AND consistency.

Understanding the emotion without letting bedtime become a 2 hour battle.

Because I really believe the things we’re teaching these little people now become foundations they carry with them as they grow.

How do I calm myself?

How do I talk about something that scares me?

How do I live with sadness?

How do I ask for help?

How do I know that I belong?

How do I let today be finished?

There is a whole little person inside that little body we’re asking to lie down and go to sleep.

Sometimes they need a little help getting there.

And sometimes mamas do too.

I have a little light for you. ✨

Luca & Sol are coming. 🤍

08/17/2026

☕️ COFFEE WITH CRISTINA
It’s loooong one

PCOS, endometriosis, infertility, hormones… and now perimenopause?!

Girl. My body has been doing the Amazing Race for years and apparently nobody thought I needed the itinerary. 😂

If you’ve dealt with hormone issues, you probably know exactly what I mean. One thing gets figured out and something else pops up. Symptoms change, your cycle changes, your body changes and half the time you’re thinking, okay… what the hell are we doing now?

I can joke about it today, but there was a time when none of this was funny.

I dealt with infertility for 11 years. There were miscarriages, tracking ovulation, wondering if I was even ovulating, IUI, IVF, hormones, medications, antidepressants, exercise programs, weight-loss plans, appointments, tests and so much waiting.

Waiting to ovulate. Waiting for results. Waiting to see if something worked. Waiting for my turn.

And nothing.

At one point we even looked at adoption. On paper we didn’t meet what they were looking for and the wait lists were long. Meanwhile I kept hearing about how desperately foster families were needed and how many children were displaced and I remember thinking, then why can’t somebody choose me for one of these little humans?

I just wanted to be a mom.

And somehow, through all of THAT, one conversation followed me everywhere.

My weight.

Weight, weight and more fu***ng weight.

There were times I wanted to scream, can we PLEASE talk about something else?!

Talk to me about PCOS. My hormones. Ovulation. Insulin. My cycles. Endometriosis. The miscarriages. What else we can investigate. How I’m doing mentally through all of this.

Talk to the whole person sitting in front of you instead of making every conversation come back to the size of her body.

Because eventually all that focus on my weight did something to me.

I developed serious body dysmorphia and an eating disorder.

My body stopped feeling like the place I lived and started feeling like this thing I was constantly responsible for fixing.

And I tried.

God, did I try.

I educated myself. I took courses and then more courses and then more training. Nutrition, hormones, women’s health, pregnancy, postpartum, food, the body…

I knew what to do.

But somewhere along the way I think I convinced myself that if I could just learn enough, I could fix myself.

Turns out you can’t educate yourself out of hating your body.

You also can’t take enough courses to make PCOS stop being a little BI**CH. 😂

Because PCOS really does come for you like you stole her high-school boyfriend and she’s been holding a grudge ever since.

The random chin hairs showing up like Father Time. Skin changing colour. Skin tags. Hair changes. Irregular EVERYTHING. Weight doing whatever the hell it wants. Ovulation playing hide-and-seek and hormones apparently having staff meetings without inviting you.

Like seriously… WTF is happening in here?!

Then add endometriosis.

F this. I’m out. 😂

Except you can’t actually clock out of your own body.

And that’s probably the hardest part to explain to someone who hasn’t lived it. It isn’t just a list of symptoms. After years, it can get into your head.

It changes how you look in the mirror. How you feel about food. S*x. Your confidence. Your relationship. Your hope. How much you trust your own body.

For me there were also the pregnancies I wanted so badly and the babies I lost.

For years I thought if I tried harder, learned more, ate better, exercised more, lost enough weight or found the right thing, maybe THEN my body would cooperate.

And then after 11 years…

I got pregnant naturally.

No fertility intervention that time. It just happened.

For me, I believe that was God’s timing because it sure as hell wasn’t mine.

Now I’m in my 40s and sometimes I look back at that younger version of myself and wish I could sit beside her for five minutes.

I wouldn’t give her another diet.

I wouldn’t tell her what supplement to take.

I wouldn’t tell her to try harder.

I’d tell her, girl, you’re going to be okay. You don’t have to figure your whole life or your whole body out today.

Let’s chunk this s**t up.

What’s happening TODAY?

What appointment do we need to get through?

What’s one decision we need to make?

What’s one thing we can do for your body today?

And if today you’re sad, then you’re fu***ng sad.

If you’re mad, be mad.

If somebody announces their pregnancy and you’re genuinely happy for them but you go home and cry because you desperately wish it were your turn, that doesn’t make you a bad person.

Sometimes you don’t need another person trying to fix you.

Sometimes you just need somebody to sit beside you and say, yeah… this fu***ng sucks.

I really wish I’d had more of that.

So after ALLLLLL of that, apparently my reproductive system recently looked around and said:

You know what Cristina hasn’t experienced yet?

PERIMENOPAUSE.

Girl.

PLEASE. 😭😂

I’ve already got PCOS sitting on my damn couch like she pays rent. Endometriosis is somewhere in the house F’ing s**t up and now PERIMENOPAUSE IS AT THE FRONT DOOR RINGING THE BELL?!

Hellllll nooooo.

Nobody answer it.

Turn the lights off.

Close the curtains.

WE’RE NOT HOME. 😂

Because now every other day it’s:

Is this PCOS?

Perimenopause?

Stress?

Hormones?

Did I not sleep enough?

Or am I just tired because I’m in my 40s and life is LIFE-ING right now?! 😂

But I’m trying to handle this chapter differently.

I don’t want to turn my body into another project.

I don’t want to go back to obsessing over the scale, food or what my body is “supposed” to look like because I know where that can take me.

I have a lot of education now. I have a lot of training. I know a lot more about women’s bodies than I did back then.

But maybe one of the biggest things I’ve learned is that knowing what to do and actually living inside a complicated human body are two very different things.

So I’m trying to give myself some grace.

Support my body instead of constantly fighting with her. Use what I know without expecting myself to do everything perfectly. Laugh about the ridiculous s**t. Cry about the hard s**t. Be pi**ed off when it sucks.

And then figure out one thing at a time.

Maybe that’s also part of why I care so much about supporting women through these chapters.

I can’t go back and sit beside the younger me who desperately needed someone to say, you’re going to get through today.

But I can be that person for somebody else.

So if PCOS is sitting on your couch, endometriosis is fu***ng around somewhere in your house, perimenopause is ringing your doorbell, infertility has broken your heart, or you’re simply exhausted from fighting with your own body…

Come sit.

You don’t have to have all the answers today.

We’ll chunk it up.

And I’ll put the coffee on. ☕️🤎

08/13/2026

🌙 Wednesday Night — But What If You CAN’T Just Leave It?

I was thinking about posting about putting the kids to bed, leaving the dishes, sitting down and taking a minute for yourself.

But then I thought…

Okay Cristina, but what if you fu***ng can’t?

Because let’s be serious.

Not everybody has the same support.

What if looking at that pile of dishes makes your brain feel even MORE overwhelmed?

What if you have OCD, ADHD, anxiety, sensory overload or a brain that simply will not let you relax when you know there are 14 things waiting for you?

What if you leave it tonight and tomorrow morning you’re the one dealing with twice as much s**t?

What if your partner has expectations too?

What if saying, “I need a break tonight,” is met with frustration, resentment or a look like you just asked them to solve your child’s rubix cube?

And what if your “village” is AMAZING at saying:

“Anything you need! I’m here!”

Until you actually say…

Okay. I need you.

🦌👀 Deer. In. Headlights.

Because sometimes there isn’t someone coming to take the kids.

There isn’t a partner saying, “I’ve got everything, go rest.”

Grandma isn’t around the corner.

There isn’t extra money for a cleaner, babysitter, meal delivery or weekend away.

And maybe you genuinely cannot take another night of s**t piling up around you.

THAT is the conversation I think we’re missing when we talk about moms taking care of themselves.

Self-care cannot always be another thing we tell overwhelmed women they’re failing at.

Sometimes self-care isn’t a bubble bath.

Sometimes it’s saying:

Something in this house has to change because I cannot keep carrying it like this.

Maybe we don’t need to tell another exhausted mother to “make time for herself.”

Maybe we need to ask her:

What is making it impossible for you to have any time for yourself in the first place?

Because those are two VERY different conversations.

And if you’re reading this Wednesday night surrounded by laundry, dishes, kids needing you, a partner who doesn’t quite get it and a village that suddenly got real quiet…

I see you.

I’m not going to tell you to just leave the mess.

I’m going to ask:

What could actually make tomorrow 10% easier?

Because sometimes that’s where we start. ❤️

Cristina
I SEE YOU – Life Doula Services

08/09/2026

☕️ Coffee with Cristina

Maybe you’re not lazy. Maybe your brain and body are overwhelmed.

Have you ever found yourself standing in the middle of Costco or the grocery store thinking:

“WTF? I know what I need to do here. I just need a moment to think, regroup and get ’er done.”

Because I have.

I know I need groceries. I know how to make a list, push a cart and shop for my family. But sometimes I’m standing there surrounded by people, noise, lights, choices and a million thoughts and my brain just stops.

I understand this differently now because I’ve lived it.

After experiencing a traumatic medical event myself I fist hand see it rewired my own brain, I began to understand what it feels like when your brain doesn’t work the way it once did.

Thoughts become cloudy.
You forget why you walked into a room.
Simple decisions feel exhausting.
You know exactly what needs to be done, but you cannot figure out where to begin.

That is part of executive functioning. It helps us plan, focus, remember, organize, manage our emotions and complete everyday tasks.

Trauma can affect it. So can pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, grief, chronic stress, illness, lack of sleep, nutritional deficiencies and certain medications.

Sometimes it isn’t a lack of motivation.

Sometimes your brain and body are doing everything they can just to get you through the day.

A few things that can make it more manageable:

☕️ Write things down immediately instead of trusting yourself to remember.

☕️ Choose three important tasks instead of making an enormous list.

☕️ Break the job down. Don’t “clean the kitchen”—start by emptying the sink.

☕️ Use alarms, notes and reminders without feeling ashamed.

☕️ Eat regularly and include protein, healthy fats and fibre.

☕️ Keep water somewhere you can actually see it.

☕️ Put important items in the same place every time.

☕️ Reduce unnecessary decisions by creating simple routines.

☕️ Step outside, sit in the car or find a quiet aisle when your brain needs a minute to reset.

☕️ Ask for help before you reach your breaking point.

Sometimes I still become frustrated with myself because I remember what I could manage before.

But I’m learning to pause and say:

“I know what I need to do. My brain just needs a moment to catch up.”

Then I regroup, take a breath and get ’er done probably with a coffee in my hand and a list I’ll still somehow manage to forget at home. 😂

If you’ve ever stood in the middle of a store wondering why such a normal task suddenly feels so hard, I see you.

You’re not lazy. You’re not incapable. And you’re definitely not alone.

08/08/2026

What exactly is I SEE YOU Life Doula Services?

The simple answer? I support people through the seasons of life when they need an extra set of hands, a listening ear, experienced guidance or simply someone dependable beside them.

That might look like:

🤍 Pregnancy, postpartum and newborn support
🤍 Nanny care, respite and family support
🤍 Infant and toddler sleep guidance
🤍 Neurodivergent parenting support
🤍 Meal preparation, home organization and recovery care
🤍 Support through illness, aging, grief and end of life
🤍 Helping families find trusted, vetted caregivers

For more than 17 years, I’ve walked alongside families through some of their most beautiful, exhausting, complicated and deeply personal moments.

I don’t believe people should have to wait until they’re completely overwhelmed to ask for help. And I don’t believe support should ever feel cold, clinical or one-size-fits-all.

Sometimes you need professional guidance.
Sometimes you need practical help.
Sometimes you just need someone to step in and say, “I see you. I’ve got you. You don’t have to do this alone.”

That is what my business is.

Support from life’s first heartbeat to its final goodbye and through all the beautifully messy moments in between.

Supporting families throughout Barrie, Simcoe County, Muskoka, Wasaga,Collingwood,York Region and surrounding areas

Send me a message to talk about the kind of support your family needs.

08/06/2026

We always hear, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

But no one talks about the village it takes to grieve one.

Because when a baby passes, the meals stop coming.
The phone gets quieter.
The world keeps spinning as if nothing happened.

Meanwhile, a mother is leaving the hospital with empty arms.
A father is driving home without the baby he imagined buckling into the backseat.
A family is trying to figure out how life keeps moving when their whole world has stopped.

Grief doesn’t end after the funeral.
It doesn’t disappear after a few weeks.
It doesn’t have an expiration date.

It needs people who remember.
People who ask about the baby.
People who aren’t afraid to say their name.
People who understand that love doesn’t end just because a life was short.

It takes a village to celebrate a baby’s arrival.

It takes a village to survive a baby’s absence.

If someone you love has lost a baby, don’t assume they need space. Sometimes they need someone willing to step into the silence with them and remind them that their baby mattered—and always will.

08/06/2026

08/02/2026

Coffee With Cristina

Today, while supporting a family, I found myself quietly tidying up as a little boy played nearby.

For a few minutes…

I simply watched.

I didn’t suggest an activity.
I didn’t ask questions.
I didn’t redirect his play.
I didn’t tell him what to build or how to use the toys.

I just gave him the space to be.

What happened next was beautiful.

I watched him create an entire world from his imagination. He experimented. He solved a problem when something didn’t work the first time. He adapted his idea, tried again, and kept going all without looking to an adult for the answer.

It made me stop and think…

If I had stepped in to guide the play, I may never have witnessed what he was capable of doing on his own.

It’s something I see often with the best of intentions.

As parents and caregivers, we sometimes confuse being engaged with being responsible for the play.

Children don’t need us to become the entertainment.

They need us to become their safe place.

That means sometimes we’re building with them, laughing with them, reading with them, and exploring alongside them.

And sometimes we’re simply sitting on the floor folding laundry, drinking our coffee, or quietly watching while they become completely immersed in their own little world.

That balance matters.

Independent play isn’t about creating distance.

It’s about creating confidence.

When a child knows you’re nearby, available, emotionally connected, and responsive but not directing every moment they begin to discover something incredibly powerful:

✨ I can figure things out.

✨ I can create.

✨ I can solve problems.

✨ I can enjoy my own company.

Those are life skills that will serve them long after the toys are put away.

Independent play also doesn’t happen overnight.

Like every other skill, it develops with practice.

If your child isn’t used to playing independently, don’t expect 30 or 60 minutes on day one.

Start with five minutes.

Sit nearby.

Resist the urge to jump in every time they look at you.

Offer reassurance without taking over.

Over time, five minutes becomes ten… then fifteen… and before you know it, they’re creating, imagining, exploring, and problem-solving in ways that might surprise you.

Children don’t always need more stimulation.

Sometimes they simply need more opportunity to become the creator instead of the audience.

As caregivers, parents, nannies, educators, and doulas, we naturally want to engage with children. We love to sing, read, build, play, teach, and encourage and those moments are incredibly valuable.

But so is stepping back.

Because independent play isn’t about leaving a child to fend for themselves.

It’s about being present without taking over.

It’s about allowing them the opportunity to think, imagine, create, explore, become frustrated, problem-solve, and discover what they’re capable of.

Those quiet moments are where so much learning happens.

Children are developing:

🤍 Creativity

🤍 Imagination

🤍 Problem-solving

🤍 Focus and concentration

🤍 Confidence

🤍 Emotional regulation

🤍 Independence

🤍 Resilience

For only children especially, independent play is just one piece of the puzzle. It’s equally important to intentionally teach social skills like sharing, taking turns, waiting patiently, and cooperative play.

“My turn.”

“Your turn.”

“Can I have a turn next?”

“Let’s build together.”

These simple interactions become the foundation for friendships at the park, daycare, kindergarten, church, and in everyday life.

Sometimes the greatest thing we can offer a child isn’t another activity…

It’s the confidence that comes from discovering,

“I can do this myself.”

So today, instead of feeling the need to fill every quiet moment…

Pause.

Watch.

You might be amazed by the little world they’re creating when we simply give them the space to grow.

Cristina

I SEE YOU | Life Doula

Supporting children and families with connection, confidence, and compassionate care.