Who is Sindea?

From a personal perspective...

Hello there! I am Sindea, and am the mother to two wonderful little boys, Raiden and Teegan (also known as Indi). I am married to Geoff. Raiden was born in a hospital with the wonderful help of my husband and two outstanding doulas. When pregnant with Raiden I realized being a doula was something I was menat to do. Teegan was born at home with the help of my husband, good friend Lorna for support and two great midwives. Two unique and wonderful birth experiences.

Being a doula and photographer are all important, yet intimate roles. I come into your home, I get to know your family (and sometimes your friends!), I am able to support and witness the biggest events in your life. Because of this, I think it is only fair to help you get to know me as an individual.

I live with my family in Lynnwood. As I mentioned, I am married and have two wonderful sons, along with 2 cats, and a fair number of fish. As you may have guessed, I really enjoy animals. People often ask if I mind that they have pets, since I will be coming into their home- the answer is simple: no. I enjoy them!

While I have been a labor/birth doula since 1997, and a postpartum doula since 2003, I have been a photographer my entire life! (Or so it would seem) I am so fortunate to have found complimenting callings (or careers, if you will) in my life. I have always felt that being a photographer helped me to show beauty in life, so when I decided that I wanted to become a doula, it was a natural transition- to be able to experience this beautiful time in life, and to be able to capture it as well.

Personally, my hobbies and interests include (but are not limited to): photography, Photoshop, scrapbooking, computer generated scrapbooking, stamping, natural health, good nutrition, cooking, and am slowly getting into gardening. I truly enjoy meeting new people from all walks of life, and am thankful I am able to do so!

I am often asked where I am from. I call Washington my home, however growing up I lived in West Virginia and Louisiana. While I keep in touch with friends and family in the Deep South, I love living in Washington - have been here since early 1991 - and have no intention of leaving! I think that this is a beautiful place to live and raise a family.

From a professional perspective...

I received my labor/birth doula training thru Seattle Midwifery School (www.seattlemidwifery.org ) in 1997. This was an amazing experience. I am grateful to all of the wonderful teachers and fellow students from whom I learned a great deal . In 2002 I became a certified doula through the Pacific Association for Labor Support (PALS www.pals-doulas.org ). I received my postpartum doula training through an organization called CAPPA (www.cappa.net ), in Portland, Oregon, Early Spring 2003.

I have enjoyed continuing my education over the years, and in 2004 I became a DONA International Certified Doula ( www.dona.org ). Also, in 2004, I received my training as a Birthing From Within Level 1 Mentor ( www.birthingfromwithin.com ). This enabled me to become a Childbirth Educator in the style of Birthing From Within.

I have extensive experience with breastfeeding and lactation education. I have breastfed both of my children. I have also served as a La Leche League Peer Counselor (www.lalecheleague.org ), and have had extensive training through La Leche League, CAPPA, and Evergreen Perinatal Services (www.evergreenperinataleducation.com ).

As a photographer I enjoy being able to capture life's moments on film (and these days, digitally as well), preferably in black and white! (Although you will see a glimpse of color here and there throughout this site) When attending a birth, I offer labor support as my number one priority, along with the joy of capturing the birth and baby's first moments. Typically I do this in black and white, for two reasons:
-most of the time there are friends and family already taking photos in color
-seeing the birth and first images of the baby's life together are softened by the black and white images.