Ask the Doula

What does the doula do on her day off?  She becomes a student!  My quest or mission to be the best doula I can be for my clients, calls me to ever looking for ways to increase my understanding of birth and how to support the mother and family. I wanted to share with you my latest discovery because it is to important to keep to myself.  The Yes to Birth Experience is a collection of interviews with leaders in the birth world about a variety of topics for the expectant mother, partner, care provider, doula, or anyone who is wanting to learn more about birth.  You can sign up to receive these daily interviews in your email mailbox.  Click on this link to get signed up!  Yes to Birth Experience . Discover how to have a healthier, less painful, empowering, satisfying pregnancy & birth! I am only three days in, but am already inspired to share this great information with my current and future clients.  Past clients too, for that matter! Topics covere...

As a new mother... or even a veteran mother you sometimes find yourselves feeling hungry at random times of the day.  For myself 10 o'clock in the morning is the time when I realize that while I did drink my coffee that morning, the toddler stole my breakfast and I never got anything else during the hustle and bustle of the morning.  Post Toddler Theft Count Chocula Cereal   This in between time where breakfast no longer sounds appealing but lunch seems too far away, I find myself glancing through the pantry for a suitable snack to tide me over. While I am reading some great books about healthy food options for pregnancy and postpartum, today I was looking for something purely comfort food based that would take little effort and time. As a result, I present to you Microwave Macaroni N Cheese ! The ingredients are pretty simple.  Macaroni noodles, water, milk, cheese, salt, and pepper Find your largest mug that is microwave safe. Inside add 1...

Happy August Everyone! It has been an action packed summer in our household.   I took a break from doula services to spend time with my family.   This year I had Momma Camp for my older two kids, resulting in various adventures every week.  One even included seeing a different type of birth at Fair Oaks Farms.  School is starting again next week, and Gracious Hands Doula Services is now taking clients for fall and winter. Here are a few upcoming events you should know! Understanding Birth Class August 18, 2018 This class is a great starting point for expectant parents learning about all the various aspects and options of birth.   The birthing process and methods used to encourage the natural progress of labor will be discussed.   Birth interventions, comfort measures, and labor support are also discussed. Class enrollment is open until August 15th.   Register here . Natural Comfort Measures Class September 15, 2018 ...

Support is more than just holding the baby Babies are cute.   There is no getting around the fact that their softness, new baby smell, soft fuzzy heads, sleepy coziness calls out to everyone around them.   It creates a desire to protect, hold, and cuddle that is definitely hard to ignore.   Just introduce a new baby to a group of adults or children and soon the requests to hold and touch the baby come forth.   Even when the baby is fussy, people are quick to offer to take baby out of mom’s arms in their offer to provide relief for mom. But, you will notice that I am not one of those people.   I won’t ask to hold your baby. When I am explaining my role as a doula, I often get one of two comments.   The first usually comes from the older generations exclaiming how they wished there were doulas available for them when they had their babies.   The other comment I get is how nice it would be to hold babies all the time.   They are...