Meet Kelsey Krueger and Aurora Sullivan of Soul Shine Birth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Krueger and Aurora Sullivan.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Our story is one of serendipity and of following our true callings. Both of us at young ages had a curiosity and interest in pregnancy and birth, but it wouldn’t be until later in life that we’d find our way to our doula careers. For Aurora, after trying on a few different careers it was her nanny work that ultimately led her to her passion for doula work. Seven years ago, one of her nanny families told her she’d make a great doula, and she took that idea and ran with it. For Kelsey, her career took her down the corporate tech sales route and after six years, she knew there was a greater calling out there for her. She took a leap of faith to backpack solo around the world, which opened her eyes to her desire to support women in an intimate way.

Though our journeys were different, we’re believers in divine alignment, and we know our paths were meant to cross. In early 2021, a doula meetup brought us together, and instantly, we clicked. We quickly realized we could create something special together, and a few short months later, Soul Shine Birth was born! It’s now been over two and a half incredible years as doula partners, and we’ve built a thriving business that serves the greater Orange County community and now into Northern San Diego County, too. Our passions have allowed us to grow our business in abundant ways. Beyond serving the community as doulas, we’re childbirth and postpartum educators, mother’s blessingway and mother’s healing circle hosts, and placenta encapsulators. In this time, we’ve been blessed to personally mentor a diverse group of sixteen doulas, nine of whom we’ve brought onto our growing team. Together, we’ve served hundreds of families in the prenatal, birth, and postpartum space.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We’re genuinely blessed to say that our business has grown so organically and in all the ways we’ve dreamed of! When your heart is in the right place and you follow your passion, purpose and intuition, the universe has a wonderful way of giving you all the things you need to succeed. It also has been an incredible gift for us to work side-by-side doing what we love every single day. Not just everyone can say they get to build the business of their dreams alongside their best friend. We often call one another soul sisters! Of course, there are challenging days because this work is demanding and we live, eat, sleep, and breathe our business, but when you’re doing what ignites your soul on fire, then the vision is always greater than the challenge!

As you know, we’re big fans of Soul Shine Birth. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We’re a thriving doula duo, which in itself is so unique – most doulas go at this work alone! Since we’re partners with the same drive, values and visions, we’ve been able to accomplish so much in a short amount of time. We specialize in supporting families through the intimate times of their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journeys. This is such a special and unique time that requires so much loving support, and we meet families where they’re at by providing education, prenatal care, birth support, postpartum support, healing circles, and most recently, placenta encapsulation services. We’re deep believers that this transformative time in families’ lives should be a time of empowerment, confidence, love and support, and we’re so proud to uplift families with the care they deserve! You’ll often hear us saying “Start as clients, and stay as friends” because we build lasting and meaningful relationships through this work. Families feel excited to continue to come back to us for ongoing support.

We’re known for being the positive light in our community, which spans into the online space, too. We love being a resource to families through our Instagram, Soul Shine Birth. Our passion and joy for this work shine through in all that we do, hence “Soul Shine”. Our brand is who we are; it’s reflected in everything that we do. We’re both hustlers and doers; when we have a vision, we birth it into life. We’re so proud to create a business aligned with our true selves and one that inspires families!

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
We’re living in a generation where a positive shift is happening in the birth and postpartum space. Families are waking up to the idea that they don’t have to go at this alone in isolation. We’re proud to play an active role in driving this change by being a voice families can lean on and trust. Our goal is to change the perspective on birth and postpartum from one of fear to one of empowerment. During this vulnerable time, a community of support is vital, and not all families have this support system established. At least once a day we say, “It takes a village”, and we are dedicated to helping families build a village they can connect with, rely on and trust.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.soulshinebirth.com
• Instagram: @soulshinebirth
• Other: @soulshinebirthdoulas (TikTok)

Image Credits
Julianne Rose