Ask the Doula

When visiting mothers about two weeks postpartum, I often find moms are feeling more like themselves and ready to start doing more activities.   Their newborns often have other ideas, sometimes wanting to be held most of the day.   To help meet the need of baby and mother I often recommend the use of baby wearing.   The practice of baby wearing is know the world over and has been used for centuries.   It enables the mother to maintain the closeness with her child, but also free her hands for other tasks and activities. Beyond the practical benefits for the mother by wearing her child, there are many benefits of baby wearing for the baby itself.   Many of these benefits are outlined by Dr. Sears on his website AskDrSears.com .   Some of these benefits include a baby that cries less, increased brain development, and more opportunities for nurturing touch which has benefits of its own. While there are many options of carriers available, I like to sho...

Karen is a mother of three children.   Each child had their own breastfeeding experience.   Karen was gracious enough to answer some questions about her breastfeeding experience to be shared with you here on the blog. What were some of the reasons you decided to breastfeed? The reasons I wanted to breastfeed -- I prefer things that are natural, so breastfeeding seemed like the best choice for that. I had seen some people struggle with their babies having intolerances to formula and figured I was less likely to go through that if I chose to breastfeed. My sister breastfed her children, so the network of support was sort of built-in, meaning I didn't have even one person make me second-guess this decision, nearly everyone was very supportive. Also, I wanted to be a stay at home mom so I knew it was definitely the cheaper option (vs. paying for formula).    What were some of your struggles with breastfeeding? My biggest struggle was getting my first 2 babies to latc...