Luie Journal
In Luie journal you get to meet people that inspire us from the everyday life.
Lovisa Rosell
31 years
Doula and birth/yoga teacher
Stockholm
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A voice for women
Lovisa Rosell is the woman behind @doulaverket on Instagram. She is a rising voice on the Instagram scene and a professional doula. On her Instagram, she shares her thoughts about everything pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. We got the opportunity to ask her a few questions for our Luie Journal. Enjoy!
Tell us about yourself!
– I was born in a small town in Sweden. After high school, I moved to Stockholm, where I studied at Stockholm dance institute. After that, I became a dance therapist and then finally a doula, which I work as now. I’ve always been interested in how the body and our feelings are connected. In that way, I can see a connection between dancing and giving birth. They both are so much about wordless communication. I am 31 years old. I live in Stockholm with my boyfriend and our two kids Isak, four and Luna, two. I work as a doula and hold courses within giving birth and pregnancy yoga.
Why did you become a doula?
– I’ve been interested in pregnancy and giving birth since I was a little girl. I’ve always known that it is something I want to do. I took a little detour and studied dance, but in my final exam, I studied different physical processes in the body and managed to persuade an internship at the maternity hospital. There I was reminded of the intuition I had as a child – to work with everything around giving birth. A few months later I started studying to become a doula.
What is the best thing about being a doula?
– The best thing about being a doula is to be able to meet so many different people and to be able to follow and support them through their pregnancies. It’s not about me as a doula, but about their experience. I’m there when they need me. Sometimes it is enough that I am just in the room, and confirm and encourage what is already, and sometimes I am very hands-on and more concrete in my support, depending on the situation. It’s the women who show me the way. Every birth, I learn something. I strengthen what already exists. The woman who gives birth has the power within her. The people around her are there to remind her of just that.
Tell us about your Instagram platform!
– My head was full of thoughts and reflections that needed to come out somewhere, so I started this account to write both about my experiences as a doula but also about the experience of becoming a mother myself. On my Instagram, you can read about motherhood, breastfeeding, pregnancy and childbirth. I hope to empower women to make choices based on who they are. There is no right way to give birth or be a mother, we are different, and there need to be different alternatives.
Having children can be challenging – do you have a life hack to share with parents?
– Yes, it can be challenging. I grope my way out just like many others. Sometimes I have the strength and feel like a present mother and sometimes I have no patience at all. But my starting point is that children are capable, children want to feel needed and inclusive in the community. I try to let my children be involved as much as possible and they love to help with various daily chores. Small tasks adapted to their ability. Children grow out of trust. So my advice would be to give your children time, trust and love – then the rest will come by itself.
What do you want to say to new moms and dads?
– As parents, we get so much advice from the outside. How to be and do as a parent, what a child needs, etc. Eventually, we risk to lose ourselves and what we believe in. No one knows your child like you. Trust your intuition. Choose what advice you want to listen to. Try to see your child exactly as it is, without your wishes and ideas about what life with children would be like.
What do you think is the best thing about babywearing?
– As a new first-time mother, it was my salvation. I had a child who just wanted to be close. I was stuck on the couch until one day I had to borrow a sling. Since then, I have continued to carry both my children a lot. I think it’s smooth. It gives a feeling of freedom when you are away. It’s easy to breastfeed in when you are on the go. Plus the sling was where my kids wanted to sleep. Using slings has also been the easiest way for their dad to comfort and make the children fall asleep.
What does a perfect Sunday look like at your home?
– I am from a big family, I have six siblings, so I love when the house is full! A perfect Sunday would involve a big brunch with friends and kids that continues all day long.
Just outside of a medium-sized city in the middle of Sweden lives Johanna. A teacher, wife and mom who we got to ask a few questions about her lifestyle in general.
Johanna and her husband Per have two kids, Nanna and Knut. They live in an architectural house that they built themselves. On their spare time, they usually spend time in the woods or work on their garden which they are not very fond of, but hey, some things has to be done right?
Tell us about yourself, Johanna!
– I am 31 years old, and I’ve just started to work as a teacher again after being on parental leave for quite a long time. We had two kids very close to each other (only one year apart). I am currently working only 60% so I can have a lot of time home with the kids. I am married to my husband Per since four years back. Per works in Stockholm, but since covid-19 he is working a lot from home so now we are at home the whole family most of the time.
What does a regular day look like at your home?
– If we are both working, the kids are at pre-school until I pick them up in the afternoon. When we get home, most of the days a marathon of playing around in the house starts. Then we cook food, eat together, bath the kids, brush their teeth and then it’s time to sleep. On the days where I’m free, we are taking it easy in the morning with a slow breakfast. Then we play a bit inside the house before heading to the playground or the woods. If I am lucky, the kids want to take a nap at the same time before the afternoon-play-marathon-dinner-bath-night-routine starts again.
Tell us about your house!
– We live in an architectural house that we built our selves. The house is located a bit outside of town, close to the lake and the woods. We love living in our home and spend a lot of time there. We don’t have so many things interior-wise (except for a lot of toys). We like to keep it clean it gives us a sense of calm.
How would you describe your personal style?
– My style is quite simple. I usually dress in a white shirt and black pants. I am working on having a wardrobe that can last over time and where most of the clothes go well with each other. When I’m home, I wear something comfortable like tights and a cosy shirt. I’ve never understood people who wear jeans at home, haha.
Having kids can be challenging – do you have any life hack to share?
– My worst moments as a parent is when the clock starts to approach 5 pm, and it’s time to cook dinner. Two hungry, tired children are not easy to maintain! Here I think of two options – either letting them watch TV or let the children cook with me. When the conscience says no to TV, all that remains is to let them be involved in the cooking then one child gets a chair, a piece of cucumber and a plastic knife while the other child goes up in the ring sling. That trick works all the time.
Tell us about your experience with wearing your children in a ring sling!
– The best thing about the ring sling is to be able to get the children up quickly and easily. I have two children who like to cling to me like little monkeys, especially my little one has a need to be carried around. Then the sling is a perfect way to get some relief and I can use my arms a little better than when I carry him normally. In addition, it is fantastically cosy! Even my big 2.5-year-old wants to be carried in the sling sometimes, and it’s like we get closer to each other than when I carry her normally in some way, like when she was smaller.
Best Sunday activities?
– Whatever the kids feel like doing. Whenever they are satisfied, I’m happy. But if I’d say one thing it would probably be to go out in the woods and stay there the whole day!
