Birth, Baby & Beyond Blog
4 Easy Ways Support Breastfeeding Families in Your Life
As doulas, we’re naturally a little obsessed with pregnancy, and early parenthood. This sometimes means that we end up being the go to advisors for our friends when one of their friends becomes pregnant. Or, we hear venting sessions from friends, family and clients...
Night Nannies, Newborn Care Specialists & Postpartum Doulas… Oh My!
You have so many options to help you get through those first sleepless nights with a new baby. Maybe you've heard of night nurses, night nannies, newborn care specialists, and postpartum doulas. If so, you’re probably wondering what the difference is among all of this...
Why Does the Third Trimester Seem Longer?
“Why does the end of pregnancy take forever? Is the third trimester longer?” I can’t tell you the number of times clients, friends and pregnant internet folks who have pondered this with me. For months, they’ve been focused on their due date. And sometimes it seems...
No One Takes Pictures of Breast Engorgement
Pictures of breastfeeding always make me feel a little verklempt. It’s usually a mother and child captured in perfect glowy lighting. I can practically smell the oxytocin wafting off the page. You know what I don’t see pictures of, though? Breast engorgement. The...
Local Businesses to Add to Your DC Baby Registry
As doulas, we love to see your nursery and your well-curated baby registry. Our labor clients show us their masterpieces before the diaper pails have ever been used. It’s so sweet to see everything fresh and ready for the baby. With our postpartum clients, we get to...
Ask a Doula: What Does Placenta Encapsulation Smell Like?
Dear Doula, I heard that I can take my placenta home from the hospital, and you might be able to put it into pills. My friend said the Kardashians eat their placentas, and I’m really not sure if that’s a vote of confidence in it or not, but I’m curious. I mean… I’d do...
Postpartum Recovery Isn’t All Roses
When it comes to new motherhood, there are a few secrets that I hope someone tells you. Babies aren’t the only ones wearing diapers in those first few weeks home. Newborns aren’t the only ones who burst into tears without explanation. You probably won’t feel quite as...
Splash Parks in the DC Metro Area
It’s HOT outside. Personally, summer is my favorite time of year. I think it’s because I tend to be a very sweaty lady, and summer is like the great equalizer. But while I’m witness to amazing summer births, as your doula, I don’t have to be pregnant in the...
Home From the Hospital Doesn’t Mean You’re Alone
One of the most challenging features of the first year of a baby’s life, how fast everything changes. If no one has warned you yet, the first big change comes quickly- on the day you come home from the hospital. When you walk through those hospital doors into the...
Will I Be Able to Breastfeed?
“I want to try.” Because we care about our doula clients ability to reach their goals, we ask everyone if they plan to breastfeed, feed their baby formula, or some combination. And usually, when our labor doula clients are talking about breastfeeding, they say, “I...
In giving birth to our babies, we may find that we give birth to new possibilities within oursleves.
– Jon Kabat-Zinn