Tay's Village

07/12/2025

let's liberate ourselves & the next generation ♡

05/26/2025

Mark your calendars! 🗓

As summer approaches, so does the (re)start of our ● Women’s Circle ●

The plan this year is similar to last year…
• Gathering at my house on Sunday afternoons ☀️ (4-6 PM)
• Enjoying one another’s company 🫶🏻
• I’ll provide snacks & sips 😋
(you can certainly bring something to share if you feel called to do so, no pressure)

But also…
• We’re going to add a bit of crafting to our connection time! 🎨 (simple activities that can be completed in an afternoon)
• I have a few ideas in mind, but I’m totally open to suggestions if you have them!

○ Women’s Circle ○
2025 Dates
● June 8
● July 6
● July 27
● August 24
● September 28

We will use Bethel Lutheran Church as a backup location in the event of icky weather.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! Bring a friend - the more the merrier ♡ I hope you’ll join our circle 🥰

05/11/2025

Happy Mother's Day to all of the beautiful mamas in my life 🤍

and "thank you" to those who serve moms & families so lovingly 🥰

05/09/2025

Last week, I traveled across the country to meet a bunch of strangers from the internet. Except, these people aren’t really strangers - they’re women I admire and am so proud to stand beside (even when we’re far apart). They’re my sisters in birth work.

We spent a weekend gathered on the side of a mountain - sharing laughs, shedding tears, holding each other in healing, cuddling babies, crafting like girls at summer camp, simmering in the hot tub, and breaking bread together. There were soul-level connections happening all over the place. My cup was filled to overflowing with love & sisterhood.

When I first joined Birth Belongs To Women a year and a half ago, I was kind of interested in the mentorship, but I was mostly seeking the community. This group started with the blossoming of a beautiful friendship between Jess & Kallie and quickly grew into a field of wildflowers - women from all over the world with different backgrounds & passions, but a shared mission to serve women & families in birth. I’m beyond blessed to be connected with these humans ♡

Some of my favorite things from the trip…
♡ Meeting 40+ other women who fiercely support the mother-baby dyad
♡ Drinking coffee in the mountains 3 mornings in a row
♡ Watching the founders of BBTW interact in-person (one was glowing with new life growing inside, one was giving me side-eye for almost getting abducted by my Uber driver - both were fun to witness)
♡ Holding my friends’ babies
♡ Seeing the meticulous planning all come together
♡ Sitting in circle with a bunch of girlies & babies while experiencing my first mother’s blessing & red thread ceremony
♡ Hanging out with (some of) my favorite study buddies in the Matrona midwifery cohort
♡ Learning how to make friendship bracelets
♡ Sipping sweet tea with supper every night
♡ Being witnessed by women I admire / witnessing them with awe

The moments shared will be held near & dear to my heart for years to come 🥰 I can’t wait for the next gathering “with women” 🤍

04/27/2025

if Tay from 5 years ago could meet the Tay of today, she would cringe at me, for sure 😆

tell me in the comments - what's something you love today that you used to think was cringey?

04/04/2025

Now that I work full time in an office, I wanted to have a little bit of green at my desk to brighten things up. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to bring 2 of my house plants into work with me.

Did I consider the fact that it was -20° on the day I decided to transport them? Nope.

Did they wither and nearly die almost immediately when exposed to the brutally cold air? 🥶 Yup.

I was so sad thinking that I killed my little plants 😥

Before discarding them completely, I decided to trim back the wilted bits. By the time I was done cutting, there was hardly anything left!

I put them in the sun every day ☀️
I watered them now & then 💧
Eventually, new leaves shot up 🌱

I decided to follow their example by reminding myself that it's okay to shed past versions of myself. Growth is good 🥰

03/15/2025

I went to a newly formed book club this past week. We all read a popular book by a trendy author (except for that one in the group who didn’t make it to the ending, so she looked up spoilers on TikTok instead - IT HAPPENS) 📖

During our meet up, we all added each other on Goodreads and then went around the room talking about our favorite genres of books and what we’re currently reading. Two of the women who are very good friends were talking about how one of them LOVED a book she read recently (instant 5-star rating when she finished it) and how the other decided to DNF 2 chapters in and then gave it a 1-star rating. We talked about how some adore romance books while others said they prefer historical fiction or thriller/suspense novels. I couldn’t help but notice the parallels in having reading preferences and having birth preferences ||

Given the choice, I’m gonna pick a fantasy series over a self-help book most of the time. Not because self-help books are bad, but because I prefer to get lost in a fantasy world.

Based on my lived experiences, I’d choose homebirth over giving birth in the medical system any day. Do I think people choosing to meet their baby in the hospital are wrong? Nope - I think we’re all doing the most to be in our preferred setting.

Do you choose to read the same exact books that your bestie reads? Or do you find your next book based on your individual preferences? Are you making your birth choices in the same way?

Tell me what you’re reading in the comments below! OR tell me the title of the last book you put on the DNF pile 📚

01/25/2025

happy 2nd birthday to my baby 🥳
AKA the 2 year anniversary of my fav day ♡

I've said before, but I'll say it again -
bringing a 9lb 13oz baby into the world
from the comfort of my own bed
is the coolest thing I've ever done!

my baby girl is forever teaching me
how strong yet soft I can be 🥰

PS I don't like any of you enough to let you see my bum hole, so that's why I covered it up 🌸

01/08/2025

Every mom I know is making the best choices that she can for herself and her babies. Even when we make choices that differ from another mom’s choosing, we aren’t doing it in opposition to one another. If another woman’s motherhood choices bother you, it might be time to dig deeper within yourself and find out why that is.

10/02/2024

Hey! I'm Taylor 👋🏻 AKA Tay ♡
FKA the Up North Doula

I'm a...
Daughter • Sister
Friend • Wife
Mother • Doula
School Bus Driver by day 🚍
Student Midwife by night 📚

My own matrescence journey opened my eyes to some stuff that I just can't unlearn 👀 Now I make it a point to share what I know and inform others who are curious about the rabbit holes I've been down 🕳🐇

I love pregnancy & I'm a total nerd about physiological birth. I'm a homebirth enthusiast. I'm an advocate for breastfeeding, bedsharing, and other biologically normal things that maintain the mother-baby dyad.

I'm always up for conversations about consp¡racy theor¡es or plotting ways to step out of the systems that don't serve us well 🔥

I believe that women are capable and that we are strongest when surrounded by solid support. My idea behind "Tay's Village" is to create a community of support for moms of young babies, the more seasoned mothers, and those without children (yet). I aim to serve women in the birthing year and beyond - through birth education, pregnancy support, and our women's circle gatherings 🤍

Thanks for being here to follow along on my journey as a doula & future midwife 🥰 I could maybe do this without your support, but it wouldn't be nearly as fun without my friends cheering me on! 😘

09/07/2024

tomorrow @ my house - 4 to 6 PM! hope you'll join us 🤍

Our last ● Women's Circle ● of the summer will be next Sunday, September 8th, at my house from 4-6 PM. I hope you'll join us!

Message me if you have any questions 📨

09/01/2024

Our last ● Women's Circle ● of the summer will be next Sunday, September 8th, at my house from 4-6 PM. I hope you'll join us!

Message me if you have any questions 📨