As soon as we become pregnant we immediately feel this urge to consume as much water as possible. We lug around our 4805856 oz water bottle and make our millionth trip to the bathroom. It's the same in Postpartum - MUST. CONSUME. WATER. We feel an insatiable thirst, especially if you are choosing to breast/chest feed! I don't know about you but there were points in my pregnancy and early postpartum that I was just plain sick of drinking water. Limited caffeine (I still had my

Breastfeed or Formula feed? What about both?! Did you know that was a thing because I sure didn't! She first latched about an hour after she was born. What a strange and wonderful feeling that first time was. Such a relief I thought. I knew that breastfeeding was going to be hard, but I thought "Not us. It won't be *that* hard for us." Why I thought we were excluded was beyond me. It was about day 4? 5? 6? (that time is really fuzzy to me) that we had to give her her first bo

One of our favorite Postpartum Doula tasks is meal prepping and preparing nourishing meals for our clients. Breakfast is one of those meals that can be quickly missed. Before you know it you're reheating your coffee and reading 12:30pm on the clock! Here is one of our go to recipes that you can bake and have for the whole week! Love that. Baked Blueberry Oatmeal (Make it seasonal and add in your favorite fruits!) adapted from Cookie + Kate Healthy Baked Oatmeal Notes & Tips T

Preparing for birth can be all consuming. You go to your OB or midwife appointments, you do this scan and that test, you get the nursery ready, the baby shower invites out, the registry perfected. You do all the baby laundry and narrow down your long list of names. You take your Childbirth Ed course, meet with your Birth Doula, take prenatal yoga and write your Birth Plan or your Birth Preferences. But what about Postpartum? Does your provider talk to you what to expect or ho

You're approaching your due date and everyone is asking you, texting you, asking your partner - Is there a baby yet? Depending on your pregnancy, where you're planning to give birth and your provider, the word induction may come up. Let us walk you through exactly what inductions are, when they come up in your talks with your provider and how to be prepared! Inducing labor (aka labor induction) is when your provider begins the labor process before your body spontaneously goes

Happy Summer Break! Or maybe you’re reading this over the winter as you prepare for a big trip with your newborn! Either way, we know it can feel daunting to pack for vacation with a baby in tow. The idea of bringing everything but the kitchen sink feels good in some ways, and suuuuper stressful in others! We’ve had our share of trips with baby’s and we’re happy to share some things we learned (the hard way...) Whether you’re mapping your road trip or booking your flight, the

*we prefer to use inclusive language like Body Feeding in general. In this case we chose ‘Breastfeed’ due to the specific nature of raynauds to the breast/nipple, specifically. If you have raynauds and you are chest/body feeding we see you and hope this post has helpful information Choosing to use your body to feed your baby whether it be breast / chest feeding or exclusively pumping, already comes with its challenges. But what happens when there is pain involved? Everything

Full disclosure: I’m no expert on Cloth Diapering! Three kids and years of trial and error have led me to the point where I feel slightly comfortable doling out advice on diapering. The best tip though, is to do what feels right for your family. No one else cares what you decide to do. Want diapers from BJs? Go for it. Have an Honest subscription? That’s wonderful! Using cloth AIOs? Congrats! Let’s explore what the options are and hopefully you gain some clarity and confidenc

Ready to introduce your baby to food? Curious to learn about baby-led weaning but you don’t know how it works? Here are some tips to get you started. Baby-led weaning is a fun and empowering way for babies to experience the world of food. It is a process of discovery, learning and intuition for both mom and baby. As the name implies, the baby leads the way to when she or he is ready to wean off of milk as a primary source of nutrition and calories, and onto food. Baby-led

As both Birth and Postpartum Doulas we know the value to good preparation. During Pregnancy we spend a lot of time preparing for Baby's arrival. We get the nursery ready, make sure the little one has everything they need from burp clothes to bottles to bassinets. We take our Childbirth Education classes, our Lamaze and Hypnobirthing courses. Pump the brakes though - has anyone talked to you about the first few weeks / months of Postpartum?? (FYI Postpartum goes beyond those w

It’s all fun and games until the weather hits 80... suddenly your fingers and toes have doubled in size, your thighs are velcroed together, and you can’t tell if your underwear is soaked from sweat, discharge, or your own urine. GOOD TIMES! The upside is you no longer need the extra weight of a big coat or chunky sweater but my oh my the heat can be a real killer. So what do you do? Turn to your trusty Doula for support! Here are a list of our favorite ways to beat the heat:

First off- Congratulations! Welcome to Parenthood! Isn’t it funny that one of the most simple and rewarding acts- a shower- is now something you’re googling how to do ?! We get it. Finding a new rhythm with a newborn in tow can be challenging, daunting, and often quite comical when you keep perspective. There may be lots of new things in your future. For now, let’s figure out how you can shower with a newborn. • If you are one of those lucky parents whose newborn sleeps peace

Doesn't matter if you had as we call it "quickie rickie" "easy" vaginal birth where you were in labor for 2 hours and here baby is, or if you labored for hours and hours and then pushed for hours and hours, your Vulva and Vagina went through some trauma and needs ample TLC. Also side note...even if you had a Belly Birth your pelvic floor, vagina, vulva and anus held a lot of weight for 10 months so these tips and tricks will feel nice no matter what route your baby decided to

I don't know. Should you?! You could! You also could not! As more and more states are making pregnancy a part of the list of priority groups eligible for the vaccine, you may be googling this very question. Ooooooooof talk about a heavy hitter question. Or maybe it's not for you! Maybe you know exactly what side of the line you stand on. I commend you for your stability and unwavering stance. For those of us who are completely unsure, I wanted to give everyone some resources

Congratulations! You are ready to hire a Birth Doula and you’re wondering what to ask to make sure that you hire the perfect doula for you. We get it!! Birth Doulas are trained professionals. Our job is to provide you with judgement-free, compassionate support during your pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. We will guide you through your experience with the latest and most up-to-date education. We will support you physically during childbirth using our broad knowledge base

Clogged Ducts (sometimes called Plugged or Blocked Ducts) is when a milk duct experiences a blockage and in turn, inhibits drainage. When milk builds up behind the blockage, the pressure can cause discomfort, soreness, and even a lump in the breast. We know that aside from wanting to heal the discomfort, there’s often an added concern of things progressing into mastitis. Mastitis is the inflammation of the breast tissue, sometimes caused by bacteria, resulting in an infection

I don’t often share my birth stories because I’m a Doula. I’m a Doula down to my bones. I eat, sleep (what is sleep?), and breathe Doula. And part of that means keeping my own experiences as just that- mine. Your births will be yours and I will never allow my own personal experience to cloud, inform, or take away from yours. I hold a unique role at your birth and I take that responsibility and honor seriously. A piece of my ability to hold space for you is to keep my own “ish

Chances are, if you’re googling this at midnight, or sitting on a bench in 20 degree cold at the park while your kids play (IT ME) you’re probably not. But oof is it easy to go there. It is so easy to feel like a failure. To feel like every snack served, every spill cleaned, every single sock collected, is a reminder of all the ways you screwed up your kids that day. What used to be endless lists of To-Dos at the office, people/projects to follow up on, has become endless lis

There are so many parts of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum that no one talks about. Sometimes, you’ll meet someone who tells it to you straight- but even then we tend to think, “oh, miz for them- that won’t be me...” It’s only after we experience it ourselves, and likely feel isolated, surprised, and frankly, shocked, that we WISH more people would speak honestly about their experiences so it didn’t feel like cautionary tales, but more like common knowledge. One topic,

Pregnancy and sleep don't seem to go hand in hand for me. Maybe it's my body and baby prepping for having a newborn? I don't know! What I do know is that getting comfortable and a good night's sleep requires a lot of prep work. I'm sharing my secrets with you today that have helped me get a decent (not great) nights sleep, and have helped me considerably in getting comfortable. From backaches, to heartburn, to anxious thoughts and pregnancy hormones keeping us up at night, a