Gracious Hands Doula Services

Gracious Hands Doula Services

My name is Leah Garner. It is my pleasure to offer compassionate postpartum care to families in the Tippecanoe County area. It is my belief that the entire family benefits from an extra pair of hands to help, ears to listen, and a heart to care during the time of transition in the fourth trimester. I have been trained by DONA International to provide nonjudgmental support and education for:

Newborn care
Mothering the new mother
Breastfeeding
Baby soothing techniques
Family adjustment
Screening for Postpartum Mood Disorders
Preparation of nutritious meals
Light housekeeping
Referrals of local resources

I hope to share through this page ideas and resources on how to mother the new mother, support the new family, and basic newborn care. If you have any questions or ideas to share send me a post or email. I would love to hear from you.

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Relaxation, Rhythm, and Ritual during the time of Uncertainty

As a doula I am often speaking with my clients about the importance of the Three Rs in Labor. The terms coined by Penny Simkin refer to Relaxation, Rhythm, and Ritual as the essences of coping in labor in place of Fear, Tension, and Pain. As our society is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have found myself turning to these techniques in my own life as a way to cope during this time of uncertainty. I wanted to share these thoughts in hopes that like with birth, we can embrace the uncertainty one day/contraction at a time until the birth of healing arrives for our nation. Relaxation Uncertainty can make even the calmest person feel some stress. The key to relaxation is understanding what is and isn’t in your control. The simplest thing you have control over is your body and mind. Check in with yourself. Are you feeling tense in your body? Are your thoughts racing? Take time to acknowledge these feelings and ...

Feeding the hungry mother-Macaroni & Cheese

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...

The night the Operating Room went dark…

Have you ever seen an OR room with the lights turned off? Everything put away in its place? All is clean and sterile? All is quiet? Empty…? I must confess that in my own experience I had never seen it happen. I am sure it is the case; an ordinary occurrence for the staff of the hospitals. But for me, my view of an OR has been quite different. When I visualize an OR, it is bright, filled with people, lots of noises, and it is very cold. You often see more of the ceiling than you do of the floor, or even the surrounding walls. The color of blue scrubs and screens fill one’s view. And yet…there was the night the OR went dark. It was a late night supporting a client that needed baby delivered in a hurry. Everyone was prepped, mom was taken in, baby made her arrival, and mom slowly rejoined the conscious world as she felt her baby on her chest. I notice over my shoulder that staff were finishing u...

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