That early experience never left me, so I chased it academically too. I studied Sociology and Anthropology, spending years looking at how humans build community and care for each other across different families, cultures, and generations. What I found backed up what I already felt in my bones: going through those first weeks alone isn't normal — it's actually pretty rare, historically speaking. Most families, in most times and places, had support.

Then I became a mother myself, and I lived that gap firsthand. I went through my own postpartum season without the support I knew every new mother deserves. I remember exactly what that absence felt like.

That's when I knew what I wanted to do with what I'd learned. I built The Gentle Nest to be the village for other mothers — for any family in Calgary and the surrounding area who wants one. This isn't about recreating one specific tradition. It's about showing up as the support so many of us are missing: another set of hands, a warm meal, someone restoring and nurturing your mind and body while you look after your baby.