Catherine Switzer & babybeets

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Catherine Switzer & babybeets

Labor & Post Partum Doula

Holistic Nutrition

Yoga Instructor

Prenatal Yoga

Postnatal Yoga Doula - to do service. Your birth, your way!

As a ProDoula I offer non-judgemental support for labour and postpartum women, partners and family. It is my commitment to use my head, heart and hands to help guide them through a beautiful life changing event of their life. What is Holistic Nutrition? Holistic Nutrition is based on the ideal that our bodies work in synergy; Mind, Body & Spirit. By providing our bodies with essential vitamins and minerals, along with living a healthy active lifestyle, ideally we can live disease free. Nutrition is a preventative lifestyle. Instead of treating symptoms with Western medicine, such as drugs and surgery, food can empower the body to heal from within. By learning the basics of nutrition and the impact that food has on our daily lives, it is a step towards a happy healthy future, effecting our mood, energy and spirit.

02/04/2025

Today is … I’m trying to reflect on what this last 27 months have been like for me. I always come back to feeling like cancer is such a time thief. Our world was turned upside down.

Hearing the words you have cancer is as scary as you can imagine; actually it’s way worse. The fear, the treatments, the endless appointments, the side effects, being cut open and probed … mostly loosing so much of who you are. But here we are, 10 months post treatment … and I’m finally starting to fully feel like myself again.

Loving on my little family of 3 is what keeps me going. What I’ve struggled with most is saying out loud is that I’m a survivor; I’ve been without cancer in my body for 19 months. But my mortality always feels like it’s tapping me on my shoulder. As of today I’m living, I’m cancer free and I’m surviving. I’m still trying to figure out what lesson I’m destined to learn from this journey. Maybe it’s sharing, maybe it’s me urging you all to check your breast, notice changes in your body and always advocate for yourself. Lastly, you are not alone in this. If you are a friend of someone going through this, show up bc time is precious and you never know who’s going to make it through.

09/19/2024

Go to energy balls … IMO the key to making them tasty is pulsing the dry ingredients in a food processor or blender.

1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
1/4 cup honey / maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil
Pinch of sea salt
Dash of cinnamon
1 cup of rolled oats
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1 tbsp h**p seeds
1 tsp chia seeds
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Warm together your seed butter, honey & coconut oil. Add in salt & cinnamon; mix well, set aside.

In a food processor or blender pulse oats, coconut flakes c h**p seeds, chia seeds until a course flour (you want various textures)

Mix well with wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips and roll into balls or press into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Cut into squares before refrigerating.

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

09/21/2023

Shout out to all the parents who have waltz into cold/flu season before the end of September.

The all nighters
The couch surfing
The line up of buckets
Endless laundry
Catching puke
Wiping noses
Days of contact sleeps
The tears
The ER visits (where for some reason kids magically feel better)

I see you. I’m already so tired and springtime is so far away.

08/22/2023

TW: scars

all of me…

there were many times this year that I thought I would never feel whole again. Never feel at home in my body. Never feel beautiful. Never feel like all of me.

Being invited in front of camera is always an honor. I’m so grateful for her friendship and generosity. She has the ability to make you feel so empowered; a level of comfort, a level of beauty, a level of real. As someone who has always felt some shame for my body, I never knew how comfortable I could feel, mostly naked, showing all of me.

I’m slowly feeling alive again, I’m slowly coming home

05/19/2023

Course of treatment …

I’ve had so many messages from people curious what my treatment looks like. So I thought I would finally answer it for you.

I finished chemo a month ago and although it was a big chunk of my treatment plan, I still have a long road ahead of me.

Chemotherapy • 8 rounds (16 weeks). I was administered 2 different types of chemo

Hercepton • a target therapy because I am HER2+. I go to the chemo suite every 3 weeks for 18 treatments. So I will be done the end of February of 2024.

Surgery • I’m having a bilateral (double) mastectomy with lymph node removal next week.

Radiation • no start date yet but will be 4-12 weeks after surgery. 30 treatments (5 days a week for 5 weeks).

This doesn’t include the long list of other appointments: ultrasounds, mammogram, biopsy, MRIs, PET scan, dozens of bloodwork’s drawn, follow ups and more.

… and because the question of how I’m doing comes up often and I don’t always feel like answering. I’m doing ok. This break between chemo and surgery has been really nice, soaking in time with my family. I still have a serious case of chemo brain, sleep is non existent without using edibles and I’ve been kicked into menopause (lucky me). The emotional toll can sometimes get the best of me but overall I’m coping well and have the best family and friends 💗

03/22/2023

Finding a lump & the end of our breastfeeding journey ….

I was still breastfeeding when I found a lump in my breast. I have had so many people ask me how I found my cancer… it was mid October and it felt like it came out of nowhere, I was drying off after the shower and it was just there. I sat down and prayed it was a clogged duct and tried to not fall down the rabbit hole of the internet doctor. I told my husband and decided I was going to wait until the morning to asses (still praying it would get inflamed).

I saw my doctor 2 days later, she estimated it was about 2cm and referred me to the CIBC Breast Assessment Center. The weeks waiting for my appointment felt like forever. I’ll talk about that appointment another day.

In all honesty, I had such a disconnect from my breasts while breastfeeding… and if I’m being really honest I’ve been pretty disconnected with my whole body since becoming a mom. So I definitely feel this contributed to why I wasn’t spending the time to give myself regular breast exams. And potentially could have found it earlier.

My breastfeeding journey ended on Dec 23rd because I got breast cancer. I cried through the whole feed as I knew this was the end, we made it 2 years and 14 days. I know that’s a long time; I was ready, Jeannie was ready (she didn’t ask once for milk after we stopped). So even though I breastfed much longer than planned and weaning went so well … I am fu***ng bitter. On one hand I am proud of our journey and the photos I have to honor it, but truly I hate that cancer forced me to stop. It stole the decision to stop from me, from us.

If I can encourage anyone of anything with this post, it is to check those breasts/chests. You should be checking them monthly; set an alarm on your phone/calendar. It doesn’t take long… you’re looking for hard lumps in your breast tissue (painless or painful). Localized tenderness/thickness in your lymph. Unusual discharge from ni**le. Skin changes like dimpling/puckering. Changes in breast size.

So please do yourself a favor and check your tatas.

Photos
1: October 2022
2: July 2021 📸
3: last breastfeed

02/27/2023

big little life update …

you have breast cancer … December 8th, Jeannie’s 2nd birthday, 1 day before my 39th birthday, I heard those words. Words I felt terrified to hear for 2 months while I had appointments and scans and a biopsy.

Fast forward I am … 8 weeks into treatment for Stage 3A HER2+ breast cancer.

I feel like I have so much I could say about how I’m feeling. How scared I’ve been for myself and my family. How my experience as a teen while my mom went through this has lingered as I navigate my own journey. How physically & emotionally I’m struggling. How I know it’s going to get harder as the treatment goes on and surgery happens. How utterly grateful I am for the family and friends who have helped us this past few months. How immensely difficult this is to be doing as a mom and especially a mom of a 2 year old who needs me. How much I miss having my mom right now.

Most importantly I’m reflecting on how deeply personal a journey this is. I’ve debating a long time on how and if I wanted to share with this community …

I’m a big believer in the power of support and having all of you sending positive loving energy definitely won’t hurt, in fact it is welcome.

I think it’s so important to visibly see women in our community sharing this experience. I’ve been lucky enough to have connected with a few… but I want to connect with more. I want to be seen and to see others.

I have lots to share but also please know I have boundaries in place and I just want to thank you for being here 💗

09/09/2022

Peaches & cucs

This salad came together quickly yesterday with inspiration of what needed to be eaten in fridge. As the summer ends let’s hold onto some perfect flavors for a little longer …

For the salad:

2 cups cucumber, diced
2 large peaches, diced
1 ear of corn, cooked, cooled & cut off ear
Finely sliced red onion
Shaved parmesan
Fresh basil, sliced into ribbons

For the dressing:

3 tbsp Oil
1/2 Lime, juiced
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Peach jam (or honey)
Salt & Pepper

06/17/2022

Jeannie was here …

I was having a conversation about toys with a client yesterday. We were organizing their play area & she asked me if we have toys all over. My response kind of shocked myself “no we don’t have toys, I’m a mean mom”. So like obviously I’m not mean & we have toys but I don’t like to see them.

Why is this important to me/us?

Mess makes me feel unorganized & anxious.

We live in a condo so our living space is open & storage is minimal. This also has made it easy for me to turn down offers of toys from family/friends. Which I know it’s hard but you don’t need 4 exersaucers or 5 battery operated toys that turn on unexpectedly!

We toy rotate every few weeks when I notice Jeannie isn’t as interested in what is available to her. This encourages her to play with them.

Most toys available are Montessori. (Maybe more on this another day).

I borrow/trade toys from friends.

Truth be told she is mostly interested in what we are doing (note the can of tomatoes pictured, she loves playing “market”). So if I’m busy cooking or cleaning or whatever I try my best to include her.

We spend lots of time on walks & at the park. This is definitely for our mental health but getting outside every day is so important. There hasn’t been many days since J was 3 months old that we haven’t gotten out for 1-3 walks/day.

Many parents tell me they’re really overwhelmed by the quantity of toys they have and don’t know where to begin. I want you to know, you’re not alone.

I highly recommend organizing them by category, finding a storage solution that works (think arts/crafts, animals, puzzles, games, cars etc). There may be some protest at the beginning and maybe that means rotating more frequently to satisfy that need (but also they may surprise you). When you rotate it will excite them and you also may be able to start to see what toys you could probably part ways with. This also gives you the opportunity to decide where the toys available to them live. Shelving, a basket etc.

I’m not an expert but I definitely am here to chat if you need.

05/14/2022

ramps • wild leaks
> garlicky, oniony, pungent, a lil spicy with zing

I haven’t posted a recipe on my grid in a long time but during my weekly visit to the , I was so inspired seeing the local spring produce on the stands. I picked up some asparagus & ramps from (my fav place).

Ramp Pesto

1 bunch of ramps
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup of walnuts or sunflower seeds (toasted)
salt & pepper to taste
Optional: 1/2 cup grated parmesan

1) clean ramps thoroughly cutting off root and removing all dirt and mushy parts of bulbs
2) optional to blanch green tops for 15 seconds
3) roughly chop ramps and nuts
4) add ramps, nuts/seeds, salt, pepper & parmesan (if using, I didn’t) to food processor. Turn on while streaming in oil. Blend until smooth.
5) place in clean jar

Enjoy on vegetables, pasta, sandwiches & so much more!

05/08/2022

Honoring motherhood has changed so much for me over the years.

From being a child, celebrating my mom with homemade gifts and love.

From loosing my mom at such a young age, that Mothers Days became just another day, I bitterly watched from the stands.

From becoming a doula; where I am just incredibly honored to support the most wonderful clients.

From wishing and hoping and loosing during my journey of conceiving.

From becoming a Mother myself where my who world changed and the love and struggles shook me.

From capturing the raw perfect beauty that it is when I spent most days not wanting to look in the mirror.

It’s not an easy day for everyone, for so many reasons. It’s been a journey for me that has built the foundation on which I stand today.

… Mother’s Day is a day to honor us all. The women who birthed us, the women who held us, the women who held our hands when we needed guidance, the women who listen, the women who support us, the women who understand us.

Today I celebrate them all… Happy Mothers Day to all the women in my life.

Address

Hamilton, ON

Website

http://www.babybeets.ca/

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