Chava Birth, Brigham City, UT (2026)

01/12/2026

Those first hours after birth are often quiet in a way that feels almost sacred. Baby is brand new and proud parents are taking it all in. The world slows down just enough to let everyone, including the midwives, catch their breath.

And after that first undisturbed golden hour is when we do a thorough newborn assessment. Listening to heart and lungs. Measuring weight, length, and head circumference. Checking tone, reflexes, color, and how baby is transitioning to life outside the womb. Watching feeding cues and helping with the first latch if needed. Making sure parents understand what they are seeing and feeling in their baby and what is normal in these early hours.

Just as important as the physical checks is presence. Sitting close and answering questions as they come up. Offering reassurance. Letting parents stay connected to their baby while care happens around them instead of pulling baby away like they do in the hospital.

The immediate postpartum period sets the tone for the days ahead. It is about safety, yes, but also about gentleness, education, and confidence. These moments matter. ❤️

📷:

IdahoMidwife

01/09/2026

The uterus holds so much power. It can be steady and resilient while also being gentle and responsive. Birth and every season of the reproductive journey show that strength and softness are not opposites. They work together in ways that are easy to overlook until you experience them.

Our bodies are not meant to choose between being strong or being soft! They are truly designed to be both. Hormones, cycles, pregnancy, birth, and healing all reflect a balance that is constantly shifting and constantly capable. Softness is not weakness. Strength is not hardness. The uterus is a reminder that we can hold firm boundaries, deep intuition, and powerful physical ability all at the same time. ❤️

01/06/2026

Sick season is here and sometimes it seems to catch families off guard. For most older kids and adults RSV especially can just seem like a stubborn cold, but for infants and newborns, it can become something much bigger. Supporting their tiny airways and protecting their space makes a real difference.

What parents can do to prevent illness:
-Wash hands often and wipe high touch surfaces throughout the day.
-Use a cool mist humidifier in the room where baby sleeps and feeds.
-Limit crowded indoor outings for the first few months and keep baby close when you do go out so strangers are less likely to touch their hands or face.
-Have older siblings wash their hands as soon as they come home and change into clean clothes if possible.
-Offer smaller and more frequent feeds when congestion starts. Hydration helps babies manage illness more easily.
-Breastfeed if you are able since it provides antibodies that help protect against respiratory viruses.

What to watch for if baby starts to get sick:
-Increased work of breathing like belly breathing, flaring nostrils, or grunting.
-Feeding that suddenly becomes harder or shorter.
-Less wet diapers than usual.
-Sleep that becomes fragmented because breathing feels difficult when lying flat.
-A cough that changes quickly in sound or intensity.
-Any sign that your baby looks different to you. If you feel uneasy it is always okay to seek care.

What visitors can do:
-Wash hands the moment you arrive.
-Reschedule if you are even slightly sick since a small cold for an adult can be a very big deal for an infant.
-Skip kissing the baby.
-Ask before holding and be willing to wait if the answer is not today.
-Keep visits short and calm so the baby can rest and feed normally.

RSV is common, but prevention is powerful. A little caution helps keep these winter babies breathing easily and healing well.

📷:

01/03/2026

Watching these Chava babies grow as time goes by never loses its impact. Being there when they take their first breath, when the whole world shifts. And then back again, checking in often, seeing how much they change in just a few days, and then weeks, and watching them settle into life on the outside. Those frequent postpartum appointments are some of my favorite parts of care!

Home birth gives us the chance to walk with families through every part of the process. Prenatal conversations, the long nights, the early labor updates, supporting someone through the intensity of birth, and then the visits that follow where we get to see the outcome of all of it. These check ins remind me that the work continues long after the birth itself. It is watching babies thrive, watching families find their footing, and seeing the peace that can come from a gentle start.

And it doesn’t end when care ends! We love the updates and the pictures, even years down the road, because being part of these beginnings is something we hold onto for a long time. ❤️

12/31/2025

Here it is, our 2025 recap! This was so fun to put together. What a wonderful year! Every stat you see across these slides represents such incredible families and truly meaningful stories we were honored to be part of. When I started Chava Birth, I never imagined it would grow the way it has. Closing out the year with SO much gratitude, and looking forward to the babies who will arrive, the sacred spaces we will be invited into, and the new families we will fall in love with in 2026. ❤️

12/28/2025

Early labor is one of those stages that feels exciting and uncertain at the same time. Your body is waking up and doing the work it needs to do, but this is not the moment to push yourself. It is the moment to settle in, protect your energy, and let the process build at its own pace. Rest is productive, especially now.

It reminds me of this slow week between Christmas and New Years when time feels blurry and everyone naturally settles into a quieter rhythm (what day is it?!). Early labor truly benefits from that same approach. When you rest, your body produces more oxytocin and your cervix softens and opens with less resistance. You are not slowing anything down by taking it easy. You are supporting the physiology of birth.

A lot of people feel like they need to “do something” in early labor. Walk more, curb walk, bounce on a ball, scrub a floor, take tinctures, or try to force things to pick up. The truth is that early labor rarely speeds up because of activity. In many cases, doing too much can actually disrupt the pattern and make the process feel longer or more frustrating. Light activity is fine if it feels good, but rest is usually far more effective.

Warm baths, easy meals, hydration, low lights, and quiet spaces help your nervous system settle. If you can sleep, let yourself sleep. If you cannot, simply lying down and breathing through the waves is still helpful. Early labor often stops and starts throughout the day, and that is very normal. Your body is practicing and aligning. Nothing is wasted and nothing needs fixing.

Your only job right now is to stay comfortable, nourished, and rested so you have the strength you need when active labor begins. When you honor early labor as a time for rest, the rest of your birth often unfolds more smoothly. ❤️

IdahoMidwife

12/25/2025

The whirlwind of Christmas morning always reminds me what matters most and these six kids are at the very top of my list. ❤️

May this season hold a little magic wherever you are. Merry Everything and Happy Always from our home to yours. 🎄

12/23/2025

Some births stay with me and this Christmas birth from last year is one that will always come to mind. While most people were opening gifts and settling into the excitement of the morning, this family was meeting their baby for the very first time. The space was warm and steady, filled with that unmistakable energy that follows the moment a baby arrives, but this one with that special feeling that something extraordinary was unfolding right in the middle of an already special day. 🎄

Every once in a while a baby arrives on a holiday (we had a Halloween birth this year!) and the memory becomes part of a story in a way that feels both simple and beautiful in a way we’ll never forget.

There is something truly special about this time of year. Lights in windows, warm homes, and babies who decide to arrive exactly when they are ready. They choose their own birthdays without hesitation, which is just the way we like it, even if it happens to be on Christmas morning. And if I am spending a holiday away from my own family, being at a birth is the very place I want to be. ❤️

12/20/2025

Experiencing the holidays through children’s eyes is always extra magical. One of the easiest ways to make this season feel special for kids is to keep things simple and hands on. I’ve learned over the years that the traditions they remember most are usually the ones that didn’t take much planning at all!

Here are some of our faves:
Drive around to look at lights with hot cocoa in the car.
Make a gingerbread house together and let everyone decorate a side. We usually do a village so each kid has their own.
String popcorn and cranberries and hang them on the tree.
Read holiday stories in Christmas pajamas before bed.
Have a night where you bake something sweet and let them help and choose the sprinkles.
Let them color on butcher paper and use it to wrap gifts for family and friends.
Pick out a new yearly ornament.
Have a holiday music dance party.
Paper chain daily countdown.
Make a little tray of reindeer food and sprinkle it outside.
Advent calendar with small treats or toys (you can even do a scripture a night about the Christmas story if that aligns with your family).
Watch a classic movie with popcorn and blankets and let them stay up a little later than usual.

And yes… we are an elf on the shelf family!

These small moments add up quickly. Kids don’t need elaborate plans to feel the magic of the season. They just need time with you, a few simple traditions, and the space to make it their own. 🎄

12/17/2025

Vernix often surprises people the first time they see it. It’s a creamy, protective coating that forms during the last trimester and plays an important role in supporting babies as they move from the womb to the outside world. Vernix protects the skin, keeps it moisturized, and helps your baby regulate temperature in those first hours. It also has antimicrobial properties that offer natural support while your baby adjusts to life outside the uterus, and sometimes your midwife even ends up with it on her arm as she’s catching your baby!

Babies who are born a little earlier tend to have more vernix, while babies who go past their due date may have very little. Both are normal. The amount of vernix doesn’t tell us anything about the health of the pregnancy or the birth. It simply reflects where your baby was in their development.

When families ask whether they should wipe it off, I encourage them to let it absorb whenever they can. Vernix blends into the skin naturally and gives newborns a protective layer during their first hours. Allowing it to soak in supports the purpose it was designed for and gives the skin an easy transition into the outside world.

12/15/2025

This time of year means something different for every family. Some are lighting candles for Hanukkah this week. Others are deep in Christmas prep, doing other holiday celebrations, or just keeping things simple and quiet. Some are just settling into the slower pace winter brings. Some are feeling all the magic while some are just trying to get through each day in one piece.

Hanukkah is called the festival of lights. It comes from a story where a small amount of oil needed to keep a flame burning, enough for only one day somehow lasted for eight. It is a perfect reminder that sometimes just the smallest bit of light can carry you further than you ever expected.

That idea feels true in life too. Light can look like rest. It can look like help from someone you trust. It can look like a few minutes where your home feels calm. It can look like a baby kicking at the right moment or a feeding session that goes better than the last one.

Wherever you land this season, I hope you notice the light you do have. And to the families celebrating Hanukkah like mine is, I hope these eight nights bring meaning, connection, and lots of latkes. 🩵

📸: .lee.photography

12/12/2025

Here’s a repost of one of my most popular ones. Always a worth the reshare this time of year! 🎄🎅🏻

With Christmas just two weeks away, the pressure for convenience can feel especially heavy in the birth world. Many people feel pushed to induce around holidays, weekends, or other events. Often, these pressures have more to do with others schedules than medical necessity.

When I was in labor with my fourth baby, a hospital birth, I experienced this firsthand. Labor was progressing beautifully, and I felt strong and in control. But the doctor kept coming into the room, asking why I wanted to have such a “long labor” and repeatedly offering Pitocin to “move things along.” I kept declining, trusting my body and my baby to take the lead. He kept offering interventions.

Around 7 p.m. on a Friday night, my baby was finally born after just 12 hours of labor, no pitocin or any other interventions needed. As the doctor was leaving the room, he casually asked, “Are we all good here? I have a wedding to get to and my wife has been bugging me about it all day.” My doula and I exchanged shocked (but knowing) glances.

This moment has stayed with me. It wasn’t about what was best for me or my baby, it was about someone else’s schedule. My next two babies were born at home.

Induction can absolutely be a lifesaving tool when medically necessary, but it should never be used for convenience. Babies know when to come, and the process of labor unfolds in its own perfect timing.

Your birth is NOT an inconvenience.

Have you experienced pressure to induce for non medical reasons? Let’s talk about it.

Chava Birth

01/12/2026

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