About Brecklen Ables

Brecklen was born and raised right here in Northern Colorado. In college she took time time out to fulfill a lifetime dream of serving in Kenya and Tanzania. She thought about staying for good but returned to finish college in Indiana. It was there she met her husband, quickly realized there is no place like Colorado, and together they moved back to this miraculous state. She is a mother to three wonderful tiny humans--two of whom she gets to hold in her arms and one she will forever hold in her heart. Brecklen is a doula here in Northern Colorado and is the owner of LemonVine Birth Services. LemonVine’s vision: Empowering women to make informed decisions. When not doula-ing or momming, Brecklen loves reading, traveling, baking, and drinking a hot cup of tea. Follow her on Instagram!

Author Archive | Brecklen Ables

Lessons Learned in Target: Self-Love is Bigger Than Me

By Brecklen Ables on November 22, 2019 in Parenthood

I have a good old love-hate relationship with Target as I’m sure most people do. I love it because—Target. It has everything! I hate it because, well we all know the confusion of walking in for toilet paper and discovering you are leaving with three tops, a bag, something from Joanna Gaines, and no toilet [...]

The 6 Stages of Sick Children

By Brecklen Ables on October 25, 2019 in Health and Fitness

So far this year we have been lucky. We have managed to escape most of the dreaded sicknesses that have been making its rounds through Northern Colorado. Well, that is until about a week ago. Then it hit. It seemed like a normal Tuesday. My alarm went off bright and early so I could get [...]

Your Face Makes you Pretty but Your Heart Makes you Beautiful

By Brecklen Ables on June 21, 2019 in Family, Mental Health and Self Care, Mom, Parenthood, Pregnancy

The other day Tiny One, Tiny Two and I were strolling through Target trying to find some bright colors for their wardrobe. (Side note: Tiny One and Tiny Two are what I lovingly nicknamed my children for all things Internet-land.) We were checking out these really cute dresses my daughter found in the newborn section, [...]

Beyond the Baby Shower: 4 Alternative Ways to Celebrate Mama and Baby #2

By Brecklen Ables on May 31, 2019 in Mom, Parenthood, Pregnancy

Let me paint a picture for you: you’ve peed on a stick and two magical little lines have appeared! Woo hoo! You are going to have your first baby! Twenty short weeks go by (don’t you wish you could bypass the first trimester “morning” sickness as easy as starting a new paragraph?) and I can [...]

Mother holding son in the air both looking at each other with adoration

Blindsided by Boy-Mom Life: the X’s and O’s of the XY Mix

By Brecklen Ables on February 10, 2019 in Family, Mom, Parenthood

“Please stop putting stickers on your penis!” The moment the words left my lips, I realized just how ridiculous that sentence was and how I never, ever imagined myself standing in the middle of my living room removing princess stickers from my son’s pants-less body. Growing up, my experience with boys was about the same [...]

Dear Santa: a Real Mom’s Christmas Wish List

By Brecklen Ables on December 16, 2018 in Family, Holidays, Mom, Parenthood

Dear Santa, I know you’re a very busy man, what with the mountains of letters you get from the kids around the world, checking your list twice, and managing all the elves, so I’ll get right to the point. I deserve a Christmas wish list, too. I know you haven’t heard from me since I […]

When You Can’t Snooze the Baby: Surviving Newborn Sleeping Habits

By Brecklen Ables on November 25, 2018 in Family, Health and Fitness, Mom, Parenthood

I’m tired. Like really tired. Like reaching for a third cup of coffee tired. But that’s because I’ve been up all night working—by choice. So I really can’t complain. However, nothing will ever compare to the first time we had a baby and the sleep deprivation was absolutely crippling. Just for a little understanding, I […]

Female Merit Badges by Mary Yaeger which can be found at
maryyaeger.com
maryyaegerdesign.com

The Badges of Womanhood: Breaking the Shame Around Miscarriage

By Brecklen Ables on October 14, 2018 in Family, Health and Fitness, Infertility, Parenthood, Pregnancy

Hanging on the wall in my midwife’s office is a colorful poster: The Female Merit Badges by Mary Yeager. It always made my day to get to sit and peruse the different badges of honor during my prenatal appointments. One for shaving, one for ovulation, one for tampons, one for pubic hair – the list […]

Lead by example: 5 things to do when you lose your cool

By Brecklen Ables on September 5, 2018 in Family, Mom, Parenthood

Have you ever had one of those mornings? You’re in charge of baking four dozen cookies so you wake up at 5:00am to get it done and you entrust your husband to kid duty when they get up at 6:00? And lo and behold 6:30 rolls around and it’s complete silence in the house even […]