Tanya Hladik - doula & photographer

Tanya Hladik - doula & photographer Held in Bloom - birth doula and photographer in Portland, OR Supporting and documenting this amazing journey of pregnancy, birth and parenthood.

Such joy.
10/04/2025

Such joy.

The cliches are true. It does pass by in an instant. It’s so slow some days and it seems like an eternity until it’s nap...
10/03/2025

The cliches are true. It does pass by in an instant. It’s so slow some days and it seems like an eternity until it’s nap time or bedtime. And then one day you look back and wonder how the hell your baby got so big, scrolling your phone with tears in your eyes as you go through photos of your baby as they lay in the next room, napping.

Motherhood is the weirdest ongoing beautiful heartbreak and joy that fringes the ways it stretches and challenges us.

And nowhere in the dictionary will they supply you with the precise word that describes this type of feeling.

Or maybe that’s just what the word motherhood means.

One of the other things I love about breastfeeding is that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Sometimes exclusively p...
10/02/2025

One of the other things I love about breastfeeding is that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Sometimes exclusively pumping is what ends up working out. Or combo feeding, or maybe it’s just for the first month and then the plan changes. There are ideals and then there is what happens, especially in a country that has minimal support for new families where the culture is also recovering from the ideas that promoted formula over breast milk. Any amount of breast milk is incredible for your baby. Every drop contains so much nutrition & immune cells & love. You’re amazing, however your feeding journey is unfolding!




I love how the afternoon light is catching these two, adorned from sweat, amniotic fluid, blood and vernix, glistening w...
10/02/2025

I love how the afternoon light is catching these two, adorned from sweat, amniotic fluid, blood and vernix, glistening with the marks of a birth freshly come

Ready to book your doula & photography? DM me and we can start chatting!
09/25/2025

Ready to book your doula & photography? DM me and we can start chatting!

One of the things that has changed about me since becoming a mom is the way sentimental stuff gets me, even when I don't...
09/23/2025

One of the things that has changed about me since becoming a mom is the way sentimental stuff gets me, even when I don't know why. Like it could be an Ed Sheeran song that in my previous life I might have thought was cheesey, catches my heartstrings and now I'm crying in the kitchen but I don't know exactly why. It's not as intense as it was earlier on, but still, I'm so much more sappy than I used to be, lol.

Those first hormones of postpartum, even when you know the changes are coming, is such a dramatic shift. I remember feeling in total bliss one day wishing everyone could experience this total feeling of love. And then the next day crying and feeling like I was broken and wondering how in the world I was going to make it through healing from giving birth and keeping this little person alive. Some of the mostly blissful feelings I have ever felt in my life, followed by one of the darkest emotional holes I have ever found myself at the bottom of. And then one day overtime it faded. I'm remember thinking I wished someone had told me, which really, I'd been a doula for 10 years so they had. But the realities of becoming a mama are pretty hard to understand until they become you. It's the craziest wild beautiful ride. And a few tears (or a lot) in the kitchen seem to be a pretty normal part of it.

One of the things that makes labor tolerable for people who choose to give birth without pain medication is the rests th...
09/22/2025

One of the things that makes labor tolerable for people who choose to give birth without pain medication is the rests that happen between contractions. Labor is a cycle of rest-contraction-rest on repeat until baby is born. The work and rest cycle allows for time to recuperate and re energize, allowing the laborer to find a rhythm. So it's not all intense.

What I love about this series is how you can see this happening in this mama's focus. You can see how she focuses inward during her contraction, needing the support and presence of her team. And then in the rest, shown in the third slide she is laughing with her friend. It's pretty amazing how labor works!

As labor gets more intense often the joking stops and all the concentration is needed to get through. But some people can maintain conversation and laughter throughout their labor.

What felt helpful for you to do during the rests your labor gave you?

This sweet series taken at

The dad, embracing his wife who just gave birth. Her still deep in the well of strength that got her to this moment. Tha...
09/19/2025

The dad, embracing his wife who just gave birth. Her still deep in the well of strength that got her to this moment. That cheesy bottomed baby, but one minute old. The way the midwife is looking in, leaning in but giving so much space for this moment to happy. The best moment in time ever.

with

It never stops getting me how much wonder this very ordinary phase of life brings. We all were once this tiny. And yet t...
09/16/2025

It never stops getting me how much wonder this very ordinary phase of life brings. We all were once this tiny. And yet the arrival of a new tiny human is nothing short of a miracle. We know where they come from. But really, where do they come from? This little not more than an hour old and still glistening with star dust.

That feeling of fall creeping in the last few days. On our third week of preschool. It's cliche to talk about transitio...
09/16/2025

That feeling of fall creeping in the last few days. On our third week of preschool. It's cliche to talk about transitions in fall. But seriously. Summer is always a whirlwind. Is it like the first years of parenthood? Yes? There is pure joy and bliss. And also it can feel overwhelming. To let everything in. To let the moment be the moment? Maybe this is a stretch. Maybe it's not. Enjoying a few quiet moments while my kiddo gets to have big bold toddler playtime. And also reminiscing about the fully immersive baby experience.

Sometimes it seems like newborn babies still partially belong to the ether. There's just that way that they are wise and...
09/05/2025

Sometimes it seems like newborn babies still partially belong to the ether. There's just that way that they are wise and zen. Full of all the impulses and instincts to make their way in the world. Ready to learn and grow and become. An armful of miracle.

There is nothing is as soft as the light coming in after a baby was born in the wee hours of the morning.
09/03/2025

There is nothing is as soft as the light coming in after a baby was born in the wee hours of the morning.

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2430 Cornwall Avenue
Portland, OR
97214

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