The Story.

2012

I quit drinking alcohol after many years of unhealthy drinking habits which caused consequences in my early 20s. During my sober period, I lived almost 10 glorious years in sunny Santa Barbara earning degrees in both Psychology and Nursing, kicking off my nursing career, spending sandy weekends on the shore, exploring my inner self, but still, something was missing. I desired a family of my own. I struggled with work-life balance. I wasn’t truly happy.

2019

I met my husband, Patrick, who was an active-duty Navy Seabee, and his son, Deegan, who was 2 years old at the time. We survived a 9-month deployment apart and dreamed of what our lives would be like once reunited. In July, he returned home safe and sound and we ventured to pick up his son from Chicago where he had been staying with Patrick’s sister. In November we married and began our happily ever after. Soon after our wedding night, I became pregnant with our son Jaden.

2021

Jaden made his grand arrival, and boy was it GRAND. My water broke just shy of 31 weeks to my surprise. I immediately rushed myself to the hospital in the middle of the night and was thereafter hospitalized on strict bed rest until further notice. It was eventually decided to deliver him due to signs of cord compression because of the lack of amniotic fluid inside of my womb. He was delivered by C-section at 12:33 PM weighing 3 lb 13 oz and measuring 16.75 inches. By the grace of God, he was born healthy after receiving steroids to develop his lungs prior to joining us Earthside. Despite the Doctor’s bill of health, we knew we had a long NICU journey ahead of us due to his prematurity. He needed to be monitored for weight gain and independent feeding. Any mother who has birthed a baby and was forced to leave him or her in the hospital knows this is a HARD. The instinctual connection that a mother has with her baby is undeniable, and separation immediately following birth is unnatural and quite frankly, traumatic. The night I was discharged from the hospital, leaving Jaden behind, I was overcome with difficult emotions. I was overwhelmed. I entered into survival mode. I consciously made the decision to have a glass of wine that night. And in doing so, releasing my long-dormant addictive behavior.

2022

I’m proud to say I began taking self-care seriously. I began digging into the root cause of my alcohol use. I began a brand new adventure into recovery from trauma and substance use. I began to feel spiritually whole again. I began to feel I could conquer the world. I began the Mindful Mamas group course which I personally developed to support other mamas like me. And the rest is history.

Everyone has a story.
It’s what you make of it that counts.